Experience

For the past twenty years, I have worked closely with people and the issues they face as a result of trauma and difficulties in their lives.

I have primarily worked with various forms of abuse, mainly presenting in relationships, such as physical, emotional and sexual abuse.

For many years, I worked in prison settings, supporting individuals to understand the links between experiences of childhood trauma and violence, and I gained extensive experience working with individuals, families and communities affected by substance use and with those experiencing multiple disadvantages because of complex mental health.

As the director of a residential, I worked closely with self-harm, eating disorders, anxiety and depression.

In addition to my current private practice work, I am the head of service for a counselling service in Sheffield, leading a team of qualified counsellors and counsellors in training. I volunteer for Cruse Bereavement and work as a volunteer counsellor for a service that supports women and those who identify as women who have depression or related mental health distress. I dedicate as much time as possible to my continued personal and professional development.

Interests

I have a particular interest in shame, trauma, and identity work as they relate to our relationships with ourselves. I am also interested in the human search for significance in the world when seeking meaning in our own experiences and relationships with others.

I have learned for myself that facing our experiences is hard and that it can feel difficult to own or hold our painful stories too close to ourselves.

I have also learned that a failure to bring into the light, talk about, and share what is true for us, no matter how hurtful, heavily contributes to feelings of loneliness, lost connections, and isolation and that this, in turn, adversely affects our ability to experience happiness and good mental health and well-being.

Being alongside others in their journeys, I have learned how my life makes the most sense and how best to find my own place in the world.

I look forward to working with you.