Between the stimulus and the response is a space and in that space is our power and our freedom. Victor Frankl.
  1. Home
  2. Personal Approach

Personal Approach

I work primarily with three complimentary humanistic approaches, namely Person-Centred, Existential and Gestalt. This means that I have an integrated approach that does not preach or direct. I respect you for your unique experience and way of being and believe that everyone has an innate ability to find their way through most of life's ups and downs, yet sometimes we get rocked by significant life events, lose confidence, self-esteem or simply feel lost, depressed and overwhelmed wondering how we've come to land ourselves here. 

As we sit together and talk, I see my job to be to provide a secure base for your voice to be heard without any adverse judgement, so you can have the time and head-space to reflect and explore your innermost thoughts and feelings, be encouraged to be curious about how your thoughts and feelings may be affecting you in your life and relationships. I will gently challenge any less than helpful thoughts, reactions or behaviours as they surface which will help you to discover a greater awareness, understanding and self-acceptance. This will enable you to find a renewed inner strength and way forward, to set you fair for a more positive and happier experience of life.

As a self-confessed eternal student of life, I take the responsibility of continuing professional development seriously; it is important to me to continually extend my knowledge and understanding of what it is to be human by adding many more skills to my practice such as Mindfulness and presence, ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) in the form of continuing professional development. One therapeutic approach that I have been particularly excited about recently is Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) developed by Richard Schwartz over his thirty or more years of practice. I did a short, certificated course in IFS at the beginning of 2018, in order to integrate this approach into my own practice as and when I consider it to be of benefit

Qualifications and experience:

  • BACP Accredited Counsellor/Psychotherapist. 2012
  • BSc (Hons) Reflective Therapeutic Practice. Metanoia Institute, London 2010
  • Foundation Degree in Counselling: humanistic approaches. Existential, Gestalt and Person-Centred. Greenwich University. 2008
  • Certificate in Counselling Skills. London Gestalt Centre. 2006

My experience, in addition to private practice, includes counselling for Surrey Primary Care Mental Health Services; Winchester University Student Services; Hampshire Education Authority counselling staff and parents. In addition I have worked in the voluntary sector where I was involved in setting up a non-profit making counselling service for parents of school-age children.

Other Training and Professional Development:

  • Neuroscience Course for Clinical Practice: Applying neuroscience for the treatment of trauma, anxiety and stress disorders
  • Internal Family Systems (IFS) for trauma, anxiety, depression with Richard Schwartz and Dr Frank Anderson
  • Jung Today: Clinical and Cultural Perspectives 
  • Mindfulness training by Sharpham Trust
  • Cruse Bereavement Care Training
  • Using Video conferencing to Conduct Online Therapy
  • Gestalt Brief Therapy
  • Therapist’s Use of Self in the Clinical Setting
  • Family Constellation Experiential Workshop
  • Implications of Attachment theory with Richard Bowlby
  • Understanding Self-harm in Children & Young People
  • Working with Dreams in a psychotherapeutic context
  • Surrey Drug Care training for telephone work
  • Exploring Catharsis using Co-Counselling & Gestalt Models
  • One year introductory course in Analytical Psychology (Jung)
Search