About
I have just over twenty years' experience of working with children and young people, beginning my career working in residential care for adolescents, and then working within social services supporting young people leaving care. For the last fourteen years I have worked in mental health services for children and adolescents, working for the mental health charity Mind, for the NHS, as well as directly within schools and an innovative specialist education provision. I'm currently working in private practice in Colchester.
Initially training in solution-focused therapy and humanistic counselling, I gained a Postgraduate Diploma (P.g.Dip.) in Child and Adolescent Mental Health at Anglia Ruskin, before going on to train at The Institute for Arts in Therapy and Education (IATE) sister organisation of the Centre for Child Mental Health. I first gained an Advanced Diploma (Adv. Dip.) in the Therapeutic Application of the Arts, before completing my clinical training and Masters of Arts (M.A.) in Integrative Child Psychotherapy.
I hold full clinical membership of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and am authorised and accredited through their college of Child and Adolescent Pyschotherapies (C-CAP). I am also a registered member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP) and the Institute for Arts in Therapy and Education (IATE).
Services
A warm, natural and relational approach is the foundation of my work with children, young people and their parents. I aim to enable the person to communicate and feel understood from the depth of their experience. This means finding each person's unique ways of expressing themselves, and tailoring my technique to meet them "where they're at". Humour and fun are also important elements of my work. I firmly believe in finding each child's strengths rather than simply focusing on what is "wrong".
My work is enhanced by the use of the sandtray and creative mediums, which can help a child or young person by giving them other ways of showing their inner experience without needing to try and find the words.
Individual Psychotherapy
I provide a safe, confidential space for children and young people to talk and share their feelings and experiences. As well as talking, therapy can involve multi-sensory arts and play. Sandtray/Small World Therapy. Art, Music, Storytelling, Poetry, Drama & Movement are sometimes used if the child or young person wants to, and all have particular features and uses within the therapy.
We're seeking to grow and strengthen the neural pathways between thinking and feeling parts of the brain, and develop an awareness of internal sensations and processes. In this way, the therapy engages the child's whole self.
Relationship Work
Parents and carers can sometimes feel very distant from their child, and vice versa. This can happen for lots of reasons- often simply because one or both have had a lot to cope with emotionally. This, of course, is especially common during the famously turbulent adolescent years.
I offer sessions to meet together in a warm, positive and supportive atmosphere, without blaming and shaming. We will use some solution-focused techniques and some creative methods to begin to rebuild your bonds together. Where ongoing family therapy is likely to be helpful, I can advise you of this and help you to make a referral to a trained therapist.
Parent/Carer Consultation and Support
I have seen countless times what a devastating effect worrying about their child can have on a parent's own mental health. The fear, frustration and sense of utter helplessness can be overwhelming.
I offer one-off or ongoing consultation and support work around child and adolescent mental health, for parents and carers to receive support and guidance on how to support their child to recover. It is a space where parents can feel safe to be honest about their own feelings, in a non-judgemental space.
Supervision & Consultation for Teaching Staff
Teaching staff have an extremely challenging role, balancing as they do the demands of enabling the child's academic development, supporting their emotional wellbeing, and dealing with behavioural issues which can impact on the wellbeing and achievement of the other children in their class. The unconscious processes at play when working with the most vulnerable children and young people can have a profound effect on their own mental health.
I provide one-off consultations and ongoing supervision to teachers and teaching assistants working with any age group. This is a space for the professional to reflect in depth on a particular child's needs, consider strategies to help, and figure out the communication behind ostensibly baffling behaviours.