Finding The Best Fit For You
Recognising that we need support to identify and make changes is the first challenge on our journey; finding an effective counsellor is the second. I firmly believe that that right person is out there for all of us but faced with an unregulated profession and with so many modalities and so many counsellors to choose from, how do we know who can I trust to help me?
Qualifications, Training and Continuing Professional Development
I am an accredited member of the BACP, having completed a rigorous ten month assessment process to evaluate my competency, training and ethics. Extensive and thorough training is critical to delivering safe and effective counselling and psychotherapy. It is possible to buy very short and cheap online counselling courses directly from the internet, incorporating no clinical practice. By choosing a member of a recognised professional body such as the BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy), you can be assured that strict entry requirements have been met and ongoing requirements to maintain professional standards, are being adhered to. These include aspects like receiving regular monthly supervision and minimum hours of continuing professional development (CPD).
I am educated to degree level and my qualifications include:
- Aim Level 2 Certificate in Counselling
- Aim Level 3 Certificate in Counselling
- Aim Level 4 Diploma in Counselling Practice
My training has been completed over 4 years, requiring attendance in person for this duration. My Diploma represents the beginning of a lifelong journey of learing and personal development and I continue to add to my knowledge and skills. I regularly attend seminars, conferences and training workshops to keep my knowledge and practice updated. I also read extensively around attachment theory, neuroscience, trauma, shame, stress, addiction, anxiety, object relations and self-psychology, ensuring that I can offer you the most effective interventions. I want to offer all of my clients the best that psychotherapy has to offer. Since qualifying I have undertaken additional training in many areas such as:
Healing Early Attachment Wounds PESI UK
Foundation Skills in Polyvagal Theory PESI UK
Anxiety Treatment Techniques (CCATP Certified) Psychotherapy Excellence
Dialectical Behaviour Certification (C-DBT) Psychotherapy Excellence
The Therapeutic Frame Confer Psychotherapy Training
Treating Trauma - Essentials for Working With Inherent Relational Complications PESI UK
Complex Trauma and Shame: Somatic Interventions PESI UK
Clinical Applications of Polyvagal Theory PESI UK
Internal Family Systems Therapy: Healing Traumatic Wounds, and Alleviating Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, Addiction and More PESI UK
Polyvagal Informed Masterclass PESI UK
Emotional Neglect and the Adult in Therapy PESI UK
Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Transformational Approaches to Treating Complex Trauma Janina Fisher, Psychotherapy Excellence
Treating Adult Clients of Emotionally Immature Parents PESI UK
My Experience
My counselling experience began at a domestic abuse charity where I was given the opportunity to work with clients who had experienced many different forms of abuse. Together, we worked through a wide range of difficulties, including low self-worth, shame, trauma, anxiety, loss of confidence, distorted identity, stress and personality disorder. Currently I am into my fourth year as a volunteer therapist at a local hospice, where again, many issues come into the counselling room. While bereavement and loss are major features of the work it is often the case that other issues arise and are addressed during the course of the therapy, such as relationship difficulties, depression and anger. Loss is a central part of the human condition, not just from bereavement but in many, often more subtle ways: loss of confidence, direction, identity, hope, trust. Working confidently and skilfully with issues surrounding loss is important to me because when we are seeking change, we are inevitably also contemplating loss.
My Standards
I am committed to to the highest professional standards so that I can deliver you the best quality counselling. This includes dedicated continuous professional development over and above what is recommended by the BACP. Client safety is my overriding priority and if your presenting issue is beyond my competence, training or expertise, I have a professional referral process enabling you to access the appropriate support quickly.
I am fully insured and am a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP); abiding by their strict ethical code of conduct at all times. I am committed to raising standards within the profession and campaign for increased regulation so that clients can be assured that they are working with a suitably qualified, safe and competent professional.
DBS checked. References and training credentials available on request.