About me
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The first thing I should say is, that despite working in the often very serious field of mental health, I'm an informal person. I like to laugh. I love writing, music, film, nature and I am constantly grateful that I love what I do and get enormous fulfilment from working with my clients.
I present a real version of myself in my therapy with you, and I urge you to do the same. One of my biggest goals as a counsellor is to model the things that I suggest in our work. I am not a perfect person, and I don't expect you to be. Becoming comfortable with our flaws and working on being okay with the right kind of vulnerability is a big part of my approach. In terms of my background, I spent more than a decade of my early career working as an IT consultant for a blue-chip tech corporation. I hated it, but for lots of complicated reasons I stayed. After much deliberation and my own therapy, I decided to become a talking therapist and committed my life to make myself content. |
That meant quitting a well-paid, secure and status-enhancing career. It meant moving my life to another country and living differently. It has meant making sacrifices and working hard on understanding myself and others.
I live as well as I can and as authentically as I can, and I support many clients who would like to do the same.
I live as well as I can and as authentically as I can, and I support many clients who would like to do the same.
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In terms of my personal development, I identify as a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) with the High Sensation Seeking (HSS) trait.
For more information on High Sensitivity click here. Highly sensitive does not mean easily upset or vulnerable - it describes being naturally highly attuned and attentive to people, experiences, feelings and the world around us. My HSP trait is a big part of what I consider makes me an effective therapist and an empathetic listener. I naturally consider the feelings and thoughts of others regularly. I am an extremely deep thinker and consider myself proficient at sharing those thoughts while listening to the unsaid. Professionally, I previously ran a successful private practice in Southville, Bristol, UK - blending working face-to-face with individuals and couples, alongside online counselling sessions with clients all over the world. It was a perfect combination of using the business skills that I had gained in my previous corporate life, along with my IT degree, my HSP traits and my psychotherapy training and experience. |
These successes informed my decision in 2018 to move my private practice exclusively online - owing to the fantastic results which my clients presented and also to fit my new lifestyle living in rural France. I work hard to live to the values of my ethos, striving to create the kind of contented and full life for myself that I so often encourage my clients to do for themselves.
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My Training
I am a fully qualified, BACP accredited counsellor with a Post-Graduate Diploma in Integrative Counselling. My accreditation award recognises that my work has met the BACP's higher standard as an experienced, competent, ethical and independent practitioner. My training was also BACP accredited meaning that those who have achieved this qualification have adhered to the highest standards of professional ethics and training requirements throughout their studies. As a result, I am a Registered Accredited Member of the BACP and am bound by their professional framework. You can find my entry on the Professional Standards Authority Accredited Register here. |
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My Qualifications
- BACP Accreditation MBACP (Accred) - Post-Graduate Diploma in Integrative Counselling - Bachelor's Degree (Hons) - Multimedia Production Technology - Certificate in Counselling - Foundation Certificate in Coaching - Couples Counselling CPD Trained - Beck Institute Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) Trained - Trauma of Money (TOM) Certified Facilitator I am continuously training and updating my skill set in order to keep up with the changing demands and needs of my clients. |
I hold current, valid professional indemnity insurance, and am fully DBS checked in the UK.