My own positive experience of therapy inspired me to train to become a therapist myself. I struggled to find the words to tell my therapist about the complexity and depth of my feelings. Painting and drawing offered a new language of feeling which opened a door for me.
In 2001, I completed an introductory ‘counselling using the arts’ course with the Place2Be project. I went on to became a Place2Be volunteer counsellor in a school in East Croydon for a year.
Between 2003 – 2007, I studied at the Institute for Arts in Therapy and Education. Gaining a masters degree with distinction in Integrative Child Psychotherapy. I went on to gain UKCP accreditation in 2009 and I have extensive experience working with children and adolescents with a wide range of needs and difficulties.
Mindfulness has been integral to my personal life since 1998. In 2011, I completed a mindfulness training with Bangor University and have been offering mindfulness based training to public and private sector organisations and individuals since 2012.
Early in 2014, I completed training with the Mindfulness in Schools Project. I am a certified .b mindfulness and Paws.b teacher of young people aged 7-18 years. In 2016, I also became a certified teacher of the .b Foundations mindfulness course for teachers and parents.
Also in 2014, I completed training with Kristin Neff, Chris Germer and the Centre for Mindful Self-Compassion to deliver the 8 week Mindful Self-Compassion course.
My therapeutic work with adults grew out of my extensive mindfulness work with adults. When you become more mindful, you often notice areas in our life where you want to understand things more. Or habits of thinking and behaviour which you would like to change. Mindfulness is not always enough on its own. A combination of mindfulness and counselling or psychotherapy can be very helpful.
In 2017, I completed Level 1 training in Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy with Sue Johnson and Leanne Campbell.
I trained in EMDR in 2018 and became an accredited EMDR therapist registered with the EMDR UK Association in 2023.
In 2024, I completed the Syzygy Institute’s Steps 1-3 training in IFS informed EMDR.
I have also completed Level 1 Internal Family Systems training with IFS UK.
I have completed both the Externship and Core Skills training in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy and am registered with the International Centre for Clinical Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy. I work with couples of all age, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation.
I attend specialist training courses every year to continue my professional development in all aspects of my therapeutic work.
As a registered child psychotherapist with the United Kingdom Council of Psychotherapists, I abide by the UKCP code of ethics. I have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring (DBS) check and am insured for my work.