Central Psychotherapy About

In  the early 1980’s,  I was drawn to volunteering in human rights organisations developing a community response to the HIV pandemic.  I chose to train as a counsellor to enhance what I felt were my innate skills for relationship and communication.

Having first qualified in 1988,  I used and developed my counselling skills in the voluntary sector and the NHS. During that time I worked in mental health, youth and addiction services, sexual health and HIV.

I have been a qualified practicing psychotherapist working continuously for the last 15 years, focusing initially on bereavement, disability and depression.

For the last decade, I have specialised in complex trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) working with survivors of torture and organised violence.

I am an accredited and Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (RMBACP). and a qualified Supervisor for Counselling and the helping professions. I have trained in Co-Counselling, Motivational Interviewing, Narrative Exposure Therapy and am a qualified practitioner of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing).

My approach is called ‘Person’ or ‘Client Centred’. This approach, founded 70 years ago by Carl Rogers puts you, the client, at the centre of therapy, not the counsellor as ‘expert’. The expert on you, is you.  It follows your agenda, not the counsellors, and does not seek to lead, diagnose, control, label or judge.

This therapeutic relationship provides enables exploration, reflection, change and growth on your terms and at your pace in a safe, structured environment.

It provides a unique opportunity to have time and attention focused on you. A space controlled and determined by you in relationship with your counsellor.

I provide high quality, professional and tailored non-managerial support supervision, individual or group, to counsellors and other practitioners in the helping professions.

In a high pressure, high stress working environment, the attritional wear and tear on the wellbeing of individual staff can often be lost in ‘habits’ and organizational culture of coping. Supervision provides a unique, confidential and supported space to explore, develop, process and resolve this impact.  Supervision and counselling are very different concepts. What links the two themes is the approach taken, which in this case is ‘Rogerian’ or Person Centred.

The supervision itself would focus on the nature and impact of the work, helping to identify problems and explore effective solutions from a personal and a professional point of view, with due consideration to ethical and professional practice, and the potential impact on the well-being and safety of clients.

Supervision identifies both personal and managerial strategies for dealing with the pressure and challenges of client work. The approach is tailored to the needs and ways each person works best with, as identified in the initial one to one contracting session.

I have over 30 years experience in providing training to diverse communities of individuals and to organisations and professional bodies on a wide range of organizational, management, human, community, employment and social issues, including:

1. Disability Awareness
2. Understanding Self Harm
3. How Discrimination Works
4. Heterosexism and Homophobia
5. Working with marginalised Communities
6. LGBTQI Awareness
7. Interpersonal Dynamics
8. Drugs and Drug Awareness
9. HIV and Sexual health
10. Sexism and Gender Awareness
11. Assertiveness
12. Basic Counselling Skills
13. Organizational and service development
14. Management issues and team dynamics
15. Reflexive practice and ending with clients.
16. Working with a Human Rights approach.

This training has been delivered to doctors, nurses and other health and social care professionals, as wells as to students, volunteers and voluntary organisations. Packages can be tailor made to you or your organisations requirements. I also provide 1:1 Consultative Developmental Supervision for people starting new projects and initiatives.