Professional Background

I am a Senior Accredited Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and have been in private practice for a number of years. My training has always focused on understanding the impact of early relationships, trauma and attachment on adult life.

I am currently undertaking a Professional Doctorate in Psychotherapy/Psychological Trauma, a four-to-five-year programme that deepens my clinical practice and keeps me engaged with current research and thinking in the trauma field.

About Me

I work with adults whose lives look “sorted” from the outside, education, career, home, caring responsibilities, a busy diary  but who privately feel as though they don’t really cope  well. You might feel anxious, overwhelmed or feel “too much”, or as if you’re always one step away from everything unravelling. Clients often report feeling they are not living the life they had imagined but feel unsure how to get back on track.

Many of the people I see come from complex or dysfunctional families, including narcissistic or very self-focused parents, or have lived through sexual or relational trauma. You may have learnt to get on with things and appear capable, while inside feeling insecure, unseen or not quite real to yourself. Perhaps you sometimes disconnect or “switch off”, lose track of what you feel, or find your reactions don’t always make sense, even to you.

Therapy with me offers a calm, steady space to make sense of all this. It’s an hour a week that is just for you, no multitasking, no need to perform. Time to think, feel and slowly explore how your history still shapes your relationships, choices and sense of self now. You don’t have to arrive with a clear story or neat explanation; we can start from “something isn’t right and I don’t know what to do about it”.

How I Work

I’m a psychodynamic psychotherapist, which means I’m interested in the patterns that run through your life  how earlier relationships and survival strategies continue to influence the way you see yourself and others. Together we pay attention to both your present life and the longer story behind it.

My style is warm, thoughtful and grounded. I don’t expect you to tell everything at once, especially if you’ve experienced loss or  trauma. We go at a pace that feels manageable, staying curious about parts of you that may feel confusing, shameful or “too much”.

For some people, therapeutic and reflective writing can be a helpful tool alongside talking  for example, letters you never send, fragments of memory, or short pieces that capture something you can’t yet say out loud. Writing is always optional; it’s simply another way of helping you find your own words and story.

I mainly work with adults who are functioning in daily life and able to commit to regular, longer-term therapy, including those who have histories of trauma, dissociation or difficult life experiences but are not in immediate crisis.

Professional Registration & Memberships

• Senior Accredited qualified Member of British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Registration number 378204.
• Member of the European Society for Trauma and Dissociation (ESTD).
• Member of Lapidus, the national organisation devoted to the promotion of writing and creativity for personal development.

Qualifications

Academic

• PGDip Psychodynamic Psychotherapeutic Counselling.
• MA Psychoanalytic Studies.
• BA (Hons) Therapeutic Psychology & Counselling.

Professional Certificates

• Trauma and Dissociation Blended Learning Course 2022/23 – European Society for Trauma and Dissociation.
• Complex Trauma Certification Training Level 1 and Level 2 with Janina Fisher.
• Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust Certificate in Theory and Treatment of Trauma.
• Understanding and Working with Complex Traumatic Dissociation – European Society for Trauma and Dissociation.
• Certificate in Supporting Adult Survivors of Childhood Abuse – NAPAC.
• Foundation in Group Analysis.
• Certificate in Couple Relationships – Tavistock Relationships.
• Certificate in Counselling and Psychotherapy.
• Post qualifying Certificate Online and telephone Counselling.
• Certificate in Coaching.
• Certificate in Clinical Assessment Skills – WPF.

Additional CPD Training

Trauma

• Healing the traumatised mind, brain and body with Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk.
• Healing traumatic stress: helping mind, brain and body with Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk.
• 2nd Annual PTSD International Conference – Nscience.
• 2020 Trauma Conference – Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Voices talk mental health.
• Trauma, Dissociation & Recovery – PODS (for Dissociative Survivors).
• PTSD and Working with dissociative disorders – PODS.
• Attachment and Traumatic Bonding – Christiane Sanderson
• Managing Power, Control, Boundary and Attachment Dynamics when working with Survivors of Abuse – Christiane Sanderson
• Living in a Fog: Complex Trauma, PTSD and Dissociation – Christiane Sanderson
• Sex & Sexuality in the Therapeutic Space – Christiane Sanderson
• Courage in Trauma therapy.
• Demystifying Trauma & Dissociation.
• Religious trauma and spiritual abuse  – Michelle F. Moseley
• SCID-D Training – an interview tool for evaluating dissociative symptoms in adults and adolescents. It is considered the most comprehensive and reliable instrument for assessing dissociation in clinical settings – Pottergate Centre.
• Reflective practice for people who work with non-recent childhood abuse survivors – Tavistock.
• Discovering the role of the Traumatic Attachment in the treatment of Trauma related disorders

General CPD

• Managing Power, Control, Boundary and Attachment Dynamics with Survivors of Abuse.
• Sex and Relationship Diversity in the Therapy Room – Dr Meg-John Barker.
• Preoccupied Attachment – Fear of Abandonment.
• Fundamentalist religious childhoods and adult health – Implications for practice – Dr Gill Harvey.
• Working with suicide.
• Therapeutic conversations to change lives – Dr Margot Sunderland./li>

Groups

• Working with and facilitating groups (CPD36) – Tavistock.
• Facilitating Support groups.
• Working with online therapy groups.

Writing

• Facilitating Writing for Wellbeing.
• Therapeutic Writing Workshop.
• Therapeutic and Reflective writing training.
• Facilitation and workshop development training – International Wellbeing-through-writing Institute.
• Expressive Writing Intervention: Helping to facilitate a client’s processing of trauma/distress.
• Poetry Therapy workshop – Charmaine Pollard

Supervision

• Certificate in Psychodynamic Supervision.
• Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Supervision.

Bereavement

• Bereavement counselling – Accredited Foundation Course.
• Approaching Bereavement counselling in a hospice setting.
• Working with end of Life narratives.

Outside of my client work, I bring a rich background in business before retraining in psychotherapy. My experience spans domestic violence support, services for women and girls, and hospice counselling. When I’m not working, I enjoy writing and taking walks with my Labrador, which allows me to reflect and recharge. This blend of professional experience and personal interests enriches my therapeutic practice, providing a balanced and empathetic approach to supporting my clients.