Qualifications

MSC in Counselling Psychology Post MSc Diploma in Counselling Psychology Post Graduate Certificate in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Post Graduate Certificate in CBT for Older Adults Post Graduate Certificate in Mental Health Law

Therapeutic Approach

DBT (specialist), CBT (specialist), EMDR (specialist)

Membership body

BPS, EMDRIA, HCPC

Years practicing

28 years

Issues worked with

Bereavement, Drugs, Gambling, Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), Bipolar Disorder, Personal growth/wellbeing, Physical abuse, Social anxiety, Insomnia, Loneliness, Stress, Suicidal thoughts, Personality disorders, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Anxiety (Worries, Fears, Panic), Depression, Anger, Grief/Loss, PTSD, Phobias, Confidence/Self-esteem, Self-harm, OCD, Trauma.

Personal Statement

I offer CBT, DBT, CFT, EMDR, mindfulness and Solution Focused approaches to help you achieve your goals in therapy. I specialise in the mental health of adults and can work with individuals and couples, and I have worked extensively with people of all ages who might be experiencing:

 

•             anxiety

•             depression

•             obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

•             Work related stress

•             Intense feelings of shame, or guilt

•             personality difficulties

•             addiction disorders

•             trauma (PTSD)

•             loss / grief

•             relationship difficulties

•             life adjustment issues

•             health conditions

•             chronic fatigue

•             memory difficulties

•             carer stress

•             sleep disorders

 

I recommend using cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for many problems.  This is a therapy where patterns of thinking and behaviour are looked at, and we design ways of thinking and acting differently to alter the way you feel. It really works.

 

I am qualified in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) which is often used for people with emotional unstable / borderline personality disorder. DBT is recommended as a highly structured treatment to change more challenging behaviours that can lead to personal problems associated with emotional distress. Again this can really work for many people.

 

I offer Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) which is a treatment for trauma problems. It is a NICE recommened treatment, and can often be a short term therapy to resolve traumatic memories.

 

Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) is a helpful treatment for people with intense feelings of shame and guilt. Compassion focused therapy is an approach which looks more at the emotions with a structured 8 session approach. This helps teach us to be kinder to ourselves and compassionate to those around us, in order to manage intense feelings of depression, shame or guilt. It is less of a ‘diagnosis’ type of intervention, than a feelings intervention.

 

I have trained in Mindfulness, as a method of help in its own right for people with a variety of difficulties, and as an additional treatment to CBT. Mindfulness helps with dealing with stress, and negative emotions but can also be used to enhance our decision making

 

I have many years experience of using Motivational Interviewing to help support people who are thinking about making changes in their lives.