About Me

VIEW OF COUNSELLING / PSYCHOTHERAPY: As an integrative counsellor / psychotherapist, I see the client as a unique individual living within a wider context of community, society, culture and world. We each have our own struggles and dilemmas, our painful memories and our anxieties about the future, but we also have the potential to change at least how we deal with them and relate to them, and the meanings we find in them. Counselling and psychotherapy provide opportunities for you to talk about issues of concern to you, explore your feelings, values and life choices, increase your awareness, and to expand your repertoire of ways of viewing and relating to yourself, others and the world.
WAY OF WORKING: Being integrative in outlook, I draw from various approaches in counselling and psychotherapy. Mindfulness is central to how I work – mindfulness is noticing, allowing and being with whatever you are experiencing. In addition to dialogue, counselling and psychotherapy with me can also involve experiential work, role plays, guided visualisations and dreamwork. Sometimes I may suggest books for you to read.
EXPERIENCE AS A COUNSELLOR / PSYCHOTHERAPIST: As a counsellor / psychotherapist I have experience of working with issues such as bereavement, loss, illness, workplace bullying, trauma, sexuality, family and relationship difficulties, and more general depression and anxiety. I have experience and an interest in working with autistic clients such as those with Asperger’s. I am interested in working with anger and other emotions through mindfulness, as well as in issues of meaning (e.g. in the contexts of ageing and ‘mid-life crisis’) and in creative ways of working with dreams. I am particularly interested in exploring clients' spirituality and their relationship with time. I have written articles for the journal Therapy Today on our relationship with time and on beginner’s mind and an article in Existential Analysis on 'having' and 'being' modes in relation to existential and Buddhist views of self and non-self.
SUPERVISION: I am also qualified as a counselling supervisor and offer supervision to counsellors and psychotherapists of any theoretical orientation. My own approach is integrative and I aim to find an appropriate balance between support and challenge to supervisees and encourage them to reflect on their client work and their own processes as well as possible parallel processes that might happen during our work together. I may also offer different perspectives from which to view all these.
COUNSELLING TEACHING: I teach on counselling courses at a college of further education, where I teach all the major theoretical approaches and trainees develop and practise their counselling skills. I also run workshops on various themes.
OTHER EXPERIENCE AND INTERESTS: From before my counselling and psychotherapy training I have a scientific background too, and I also have extensive experience of teaching in adult and higher education, working with students from a wide range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. I have previously lived in three other countries and have travelled widely in Europe, Asia and Latin America. All this has contributed to my appreciation and understanding of different cultures, and some knowledge of other languages; I speak French as a second language and Turkish as a third language. Other interests include poetry, classical/world music, art and astronomy.

I work with

• Individuals
• Private healthcare referrals

Special Interests

Like all UKCP registered psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors I can work with a wide range of issues, but here are some areas in which I have a special interest or additional experience.

Types of Therapies Offered

• Integrative Psychotherapist

What I can help with

• Age-related Issues
• Anger Management
• Anxiety
• Bereavement
• Cultural Issues
• Depression
• Disability
• Employment Difficulties
• Gender
• Identity Problems
• Race Issues
• Relationships
• Sexuality
• Spirituality
• Stress
• Telephone Counselling
• Workplace Counselling