Warm, thoughtful and straightforward
Before becoming a therapist, I worked in HR. A period of taking stock in my own life led me to think about what really mattered to me, and I found my way to this work.
Authenticity, kindness, inclusivity and empowerment are at the heart of how I practise. I believe everyone deserves a space where they can be fully themselves and feel genuinely welcome, whoever they are and however they live and love, and where they can find their own voice and trust it.
What restores me is laughing, art, the gym, being outside whatever the weather, and stopping to say hello to every cute dog I pass.
Experience and training
I trained integratively, so I can draw on different approaches according to what each person needs. My clinical experience includes:
Sutton Counselling & Psychotherapy
Kingston Women’s Centre
Rape Crisis South London, Croydon (formerly the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre)
Manager Referral Specialist in an Employee Assistance Programme, supporting employees referred by their managers because of workplace issues
Clinical Team Leader, including rapid response critical incident support for people and organisations after traumatic events, among them major incidents of national significance
Coach and trainer for therapists
I have also completed specialist training in relationship and intimate partner therapy with the Contemporary Institute of Clinical Sexology (CICS).
I’m CIPD qualified, and my HR career was spent largely in employee relations and training managers, often in difficult and sensitive situations. That experience gives me a feel for the pressures and politics of working life, which can help me understand your situation more readily. You remain the expert on your own experience; my background simply means we may not need to start from scratch.
I am a BACP Accredited psychotherapist. Accreditation is a higher level of membership of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), awarded only after substantial supervised clinical practice and a rigorous assessment. I am on the BACP Register, which is accredited by the Professional Standards Authority, an independent body accountable to Parliament. I work to BACP’s Ethical Framework and attend regular clinical supervision.
Where authenticity heals
Authenticity sits at the centre of how I work. I’m warm, honest and human, and I don’t pretend to be a perfect therapist. I bring myself to our sessions so that you can feel free to bring yourself too, including the parts of you that feel messy, unsure or hard to say out loud. There’s room for a touch of humour too, even when the work is hard.
Many people come to therapy feeling out of touch with who they are. They may have spent years meeting other people’s expectations, holding parts of themselves back, or living by rules they never really chose. Therapy can be a place to notice this, and to move towards a way of living and relating that feels more true to you.
For some people that means understanding where old patterns come from. For others it means finding words for what they feel and want, or having the experience of being accepted exactly as they are. However you live and love, you’re welcome here.