About Me
I am an Integrative Relational Psychotherapist and NHS Primary Care counsellor.
I have worked with referrals form GPs, Midwives, Social Services and Self-Referral. I can work Face to Face on Telephone, Video and with Translators.
I am also now offering group therapy later this which will have a focus on Gestalt Group Facilitation, Transactional Analysis, Inner Child concepts and Psycho dynamics.
My Credentials
In 2017 I completed my BACP certified BSc (Hons) in Integrative Psychotherapy with the Sherwood Psychotherapy Training Institute. My placement was with Nottingham Counselling Service where I worked with a diverse range of people both short and long term. During this time, I was also a member of a therapy group that has been running in Nottingham from since the 1980's. For the past two years post-graduation I have been working for Trent PTS, an NHS IAPT service together with running my private practice. My post-graduation development has included ‘Compassionate Minds’, ‘Counselling for Depression’ and ‘Person Centred Counselling'. I have now completed an advanced Group Facilitation course with the Gestalt Center and Couples Therapy qualification with The Tavistock Institute.
My Story
I am originally from Ipswich and grew up close to the Suffolk coast. I began my working life washing up dishes in the busy seaside town of Aldeburgh in 1997. This was tough work and long hours with angry chefs but I believe that their work ethic put me in good stead. Later I worked in pubs and for a carpenter while on a visit to Australia before becoming a support worker for people identified as Autistic in 2004.
Nottingham became my new home in 2006 and I have enjoyed learning about the people and history of the city ever since. Names like Players and Raleigh fill me with wonder and I have also enjoyed researching and exploring Nottingham's social and travel history. Music has always been my first passion as the music of the Rolling Stones and the Who helped me to feel closer to my father who was not always present while growing up.
Nottingham has presented many opportunities for me. For a while I ran a small shop in West End Arcade selling curiosities, records and vintage record players. I have also enjoyed being around the local DIY music scene, frequenting the Chameleon Cafe and Stuck on a Name studios on many occasions. I have also very much enjoyed working as a support worker around Nottingham shire , mostly in residential care, but also in hospitals and the community, supporting adults and young people.
Around 2013 I had the realization that my lifestyle was catching up with me a little and that I needed to slow things down and think about the next stage of my life. I entered therapy for the first time: having met my therapist through a friend I had a positive feeling and felt like I had met the right person to help me move on. My therapist was integrative and relational. She helped me to understand my relationships and reactions. I began to understand myself better, could communicate more effectively and make better decisions.
I slowly became passionate about the therapeutic world and began reading the works of Carl Rogers. I was on the road to being a therapist myself.