About me

My background and training

My core training is underpinned by Clarkson‘s 5-Stage Relationship Model, an integrative approach to counselling with psychodynamic leanings.

I have also trained in LGBTQ+ Affirmative Counselling with ELOP, and with Andy Ramage at AreteWay, achieving a Diploma in Coaching and Positive Psychology and accompanying Certificate in Alcohol Free Performance Coaching. I am also trained in Alcohol Assessment and Brief Intervention.

In addition to my private work I volunteer one day a week as a counsellor with London Friend, a London-based LGBTQ+ mental health charity. 

Passionate about supporting people through periods of change, I have been helping people rethinking their drinking habits since 2017. Throughout this time I have been active in supporting online communities, and have volunteered at various festivals and social events community.

Before training in counselling and coaching, I spent nearly twenty years working in further and higher education. I supported colleagues in integrating technology into their teaching and learning practices, and taught others how to teach and support students effectively.

For relaxation I like growing food and flowers (especially for the pollinators!), swimming, practicing tai chi, reading, and hanging out with my family.

How I work

I blend techniques from both counselling and coaching when appropriate. Both share a core belief in each person’s ability to create a fulfilling life. Increased fulfilment leads to greater confidence and empowerment.

• Counselling typically focuses on alleviating past distress. It addresses emotional wounds, resolves inner conflicts, and changes unhelpful thought patterns. This process helps us craft new narratives and reduces psychological pain.
• In contrast, coaching is forward-looking and future-oriented. It helps us define our goals, understand our motivations, and navigate the best path to achieve our desired outcomes.

My clients often find the freedom of movement between forward motion and exploration of the past energising and refreshing.

Whilst we may well be looking at the past through a lens of what was missing and what went wrong, we will also be looking to the future, and working out the extent to which solutions already exist in the present. And where they don’t, we can spend some time looking at how to find them.

Essentially, my work incorporates past, present and future, and my belief that we all have the ability, given the right support and circumstances, to change.

Having an eye on the future means we can build better lives in real time, rather than having to excavate ourselves and/or the past in order to find the ‘magic key’ that’s going to unlock everything for us.

Make an enquiry now if this sounds like the kind of support you’re looking for.