I currently work both in private practice and continue to work for the NHS in a Community Mental Health Team. As a Practitioner I belong to the BACP who are my professional body. I am a ‘Registered Member’ of the BACP, ‘Accredited Registrant’ with the NCPS & ‘Senior Professional Member‘ of ACTO, these mean that I abide by their ethical frameworks while working as an Integrative Therapist, and that I undertake frequent continuing professional development to keep up to date with current practice. I receive regular supervision to make sure my work is clinically safe and effective. A copy of the commitments we make as members of the BACP while working therapeutically can be found by clicking here.
Experience
- Adult Psychotherapist & Counsellor – West London NHS Trust, providing both long term individual Psychotherapy & Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) to individuals and groups.
- Extensive experience working within an NHS Crisis Team and previously as a Mental Health Advisor on an NHS crisis line.
- Prior to working within mental health services, I worked for an NHS Ambulance Service, both operationally and in control.
Specialisms and interests
- Self harm
- Suicidal ideation
- Complex Trauma & Dissociation
- LGBTQ+ / GSRD Affirmative Therapy
- Blue light Emergency Services – Police, Fire & Ambulance Service staff (including students)
- NHS Staff
Clinical Qualifications & Specialist Training
- Registered Member MBACP of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
- Professional Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (RACC)
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Intensive Training (British Isles DBT Training)
- Intensive Training (2023) and Advanced Training (2024) in the DBT Prolonged Exposure Protocol for PTSD (DBT-PE) (Dr Melanie Harned & Annie McCall)
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy for Complex PTSD (DBT-PTSD) (Prof. Dr. Martin Bohus)
- Training in the Application of the Semi-Structured Interview for Dissociative Symptoms and Disorders (SCID-D) (Dr Mike Lloyd – CTAD Clinic)
- Training in the Application of the Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in Adults (DIVA-5) and theory to offer Diagnosis and Assessment of Adults with ADHD (UKAAN)
- EMDR Therapy (Module 1 & 2)
- Certificate in Online and Telephone Counselling
- Advanced Certificate in Clinical Supervision including Online and Telephone working
- Critical Incident Debriefing
Education and Training related Qualifications
- Award in Education and Training
- Award in Teaching and Assessing Mental Health Qualifications & Mental Health First Aid Instructor (Qualsafe Academy)
- Basic Life Support Instructor Course (BLSi) (Resuscitation Council (UK))
CPD
As part of my on-going professional development I frequently attend courses and study days that are related to my practice, courses attended include:
- Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT): Basic Training (Prof. Anthony Bateman)
- Optimising DBT for LGBTQ+ People (SfDBT – Dr Jake Camp & Dr Kim Skerven)
- Advanced Clinical Skills in DBT: Skills for DBT Team Leaders to Promote Team Adherence (Dr Christine Dunkley & Basma Kilani)
- Getting to Adherence in DBT Individual Therapy: Essential Strategies, Practical Tips, and Common Pitfalls (Dr Melanie Harned & Dr Sara Schmidt)
- Doing Individual DBT Sessions: A Step by Step (Prof Michaela Swales & Dr Christine Dunkley)
- Treating Traumatic Invalidation among Transgender and Gender Diverse People: A Call to Action (Dr Melanie Harned & Dr Colleen Sloan)
- Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors -Transformational Approaches to Treating Complex Trauma (Dr Janina Fisher)
- Interventions for Complex Trauma & Dissociation (SLaM)
- Sex Positive Treatment of OCSB (Out of Control Sexual Behaviour) (Silva Neves)
- Pink Therapy Supervisors’ CPD – The Queer 7-Eye Model of Supervision (Silva Neves & Rima Hawkins)
- Boarding School Syndrome: The Anatomy of a Trauma (Dr Joy Schaverien)
- Queering Therapy Spaces and Working with Gender Diverse Clients (BACP)
- An introduction to Schema Therapy and working with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPS)
- Gender, Sexual, and Relationship Diversity (Dr Meg-John Barker)
- ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) for Depression and Anxiety (Dr Russ Harris)
- An Introduction to Theory and Practice of CFT (Compassion Focused Therapy) (The Compassionate Mind Foundation)
- Knowledge & Understanding Framework – Working with Personality Disorder: Raising Awareness (West London NHS Trust)
- Dissociation and Depersonalisation (SLaM – Dr Elaine Hunter)
- Traumatic Grief (BPS)
- Advanced assessment and treatment opportunities for people with insomnia (BPS)
- An introduction to sleep: Psychobehavioural assessment and treatment strategies for people with insomnia (BPS)
- Understanding and working with: Hearing voices, delusions and paranoia (BPS)
- Working with Attachment and Trauma (BPS)
- Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy 8 week course at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre (part of Oxford University)