I am a fully registered counsellor, member of the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) and abide by their ethics code. This includes regular supervision to continuously monitor and improve the quality of my work and attending seminars and specialist training to enhance my practice.
I obtained my first Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling at the Richmond Adult Community College in 2014. At RACC my learning involved incorporating different therapeutic concepts in my practice such as Person Centred, Humanistic, Psychodynamic, Jungian, Existential and CBT. After much consideration I chose to adopt elements of the Humanistic and Existential theories in my practice. It’s an approach that is more congruent with my beliefs and aims regarding therapy.
In 2015 I also gained a BSc in Reflective Therapeutic Practice at the Metanoia Institute in London. The course is also validated by Middlesex University. This second graduation helped me to reflect deeper – and critically – on my own experiences, background and history and how my “baggage” is present in my work. As a result I gained a lot more clarity and self awareness about my therapeutic “style” and what I can and cannot offer to clients that seek my help.
Prior to becoming a counsellor I worked for over 12 years as a key worker for various organizations and worked with a diverse group including offenders, survivors of violence and domestic abuse, homelessness, addiction and within the mental health sector. In my previous career in the social care field 2 very important lessons were learned:
1 – Beyond any label lies a human being who has the right to be heard.
2 – No one is completely good nor completely bad.
Getting a qualification is like learning to drive. It’s the experience afterwards that will make all the difference. It’s been 10 years and I’m still a work in progress. The learning never stops and that’s a positive thing. The therapeutic process mirrors real life; with all its ups and downs, always changing, growing and evolving towards new and uncharted territories.
