About Me
‘I am a human being; nothing human can be alien to me’ – Terence, Roman playwright
Background
I began training at Sussex University to be a psychotherapeutic counsellor in 2001. Prior to that I worked for a decade and a half in journalism and Television, writing for and putting together magazines and programmes involving sport, music and comedy. Exciting though that all was, I felt an increasing sense of dissatisfaction and a growing need to ‘go deeper’, hence the retraining as a psychotherapist, and later as a supervisor of therapists. I’m now a Senior Accredited Psychotherapist with my governing body, the BACP, whose ethical guidelines I adhere to. To date, I’ve completed over 18,000 hours of client work, from young adults to people in their 70s, presenting with issues ranging from childhood trauma, to ADHD, anxiety and depression.
Training
My original training model was psychodynamic therapy, which takes into account the client’s past and how it keeps impacting now despite their adult self’s best, logical intentions, though I have a broad range of training. I regularly attend further training workshops, most recently in Yoga Therapy.
I’m also a qualified Personal Trainer. I don’t take a ‘one-size fits all’ approach to working with clients: whatever specifically suits the client who’s sitting before me is the right approach. As Bruce Lee once said, ‘Take what’s valuable, discard what’s not’.
Qualifications and Training:
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PG Diploma Psychotherapeutic Counselling
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PG Diploma Clinical Supervision
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Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
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EMDR Practitioner
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Internal Family Systems Informed EMDR Practitioner
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Lifespan Integration Practitioner
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NLP & Hypnotherapy Master Practitioner
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Flash Technique for Trauma Practitioners
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Emotional Freedom Technique (Tapping) Practitioner
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Polyvagal Theory In Therapy Practitioner
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Changing the ADHD brain - moving beyond medication
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Trainings with Uncommon Knowledge:
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Uncommon Hypnotherapy
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Uncommon Hypnosis
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Conversational Reframing
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How to Lift Depression Fast
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How to Stop Anyone Smoking
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The Rewind Technique for Traumas and Phobias
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How to Lift Low Self Esteem in Clients
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The Therapeutic Relationship
One thing that’s always central is the importance of the therapeutic relationship between myself and the client. Martin Buber, a German philosopher, described two forms of relationship: ‘I-it’ and ‘I-thou’. With ‘I-it’, there’s a distance, as if one person is delivering a statement or a demand whilst the other waits for their turn to do the same.
Social media and much modern day interaction, where we present ourselves ‘in the best possible light’ is like this. The ‘I-thou’ relationship, though, involves a genuine curiosity and interest, an authentic listening, reflecting and responding. It’s how we truly meet, and it’s how I work.
