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Professional profile

Deploying the five C’s

 

Compassion, Curiosity, Creativity,  Commitment and Connection

"Real love is no easy path- readiness is everything. May we grieve loss without personalizing it. May we learn to love ourselves in the absence of the lover".

Jeff Brown

annnnd that’s where it all began …….. "In the depth of the darkest black hole I found myself and there I sat empty, full, for many a year, with myself, beside myself and in spite of myself .... One day I saw myself and I became"  (SJS, 1997)

Counselling is a process of self-discovery, our here and now relating with others and self may be outdated, rooted in our early experiences or frozen somewhere in time because of upsetting and traumatic experiences.  Change requires effort, determination and a commitment to our self, which, often doesn’t come easy for many, the voyage however, is life enhancing and can bring about a deep, lasting, life enriching change.  Having made a choice to swim through a molting ocean  to sunnier shores, I’ve discovered  as I've travelled, life its self, owns me nothing, it never promised me to be anything but life, as an adult, I've discovered it is up to me to make the gift of my individual life as productive, peaceful, happy and rewarding as I can. That said, that thought alone at times has empowered me and at other times scared the living day lights out of me; at those times I sought support from others further along the path then me. I've also discovered I'm rubbish at math's, scared of dizzy heights and mice and  I'm grounded, emotionally rich and love 'being'. 

 

 We are all walking a path and it is our personal choice how far we walk up or down, turn around on the spot or hop, skip, and jump along our individual way.

Counselling can support you to walk - how far you go is your choice!

Ethical practice - Committed to offering an informed, skilled, knowledgeable and professional service; I am a registered member of British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapist (BACP) Reg.MBACP Membership No. 572325. The largest professional body representing Counselling and Psychotherapy in the UK.   I embrace and adhere to their code of ethics and principles for the Counselling Professions professionally and endeavour to   embrace these values into my personal living. 

 

MY CAREER - began in placement  with Cruse Bereavement Care, Doncaster, where I stayed for seven year gaining experience in many roles from Counsellor, Referral Secretary, joining Management team and securing the Branches first commissioned Assessment Officers post, creating and identifying 'best practice' for client assessment prioritizing individual needs. Training two other officers to deliver and work with the assessment tool.  Accumulating 16 years’ experience supporting people bereaved including sudden, traumatic and/or expected death; those struggling to come to terms with a loved one who completed suicide, those sat on the edge of despair contemplating ending their own life. Those who have lost loved ones through murder and family members shocked and impacted by their loved one who committed murder!  Along with the many and varied losses such endings bring.

 
Trained with Victim Support, Doncaster, supporting people impacted by the affects of crime, shock and trauma of finding self a victim of crime i.e. criminal damage, vandalism, harassment and bullying or witnessing crime and telephone support. 

Serious crime trained connecting with and supporting people through the traumatic experience of finding self a victim of mugging, physical and sexual assault, childhood sexual abuse and  domestic violence.

 

Trained with  Surestart family centre  which aimed to offer every child the best start in life, supporting families in their own homes with child behavioural issues, early year care, practical and emotional issues, improving well-being.

Supporting people impacted by alcohol misuse, users and family members impacted by someone else misuse within a local charity, gaining seven years’ experience supporting users, family and extended family members.

 

 

Qualifications -A professionally qualified practitioner  through The Counselling & Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body CPCAB in the modality of Humanistic Counselling.   Humanistic counselling  aims to focus on supporting  clients to develop a stronger sense of self and self worth, through self-awareness and development, responsibility and growth.  Compassionately supporting  clients to explore and recognise their innate individual gifts, strengths, creativity, problem solving and decision making skills along with developing personal autonomy i.e. self-direction and making personal choices in the here and now. 

 

Experience has taught me  and I understand ‘one size doesn’t fit all’ so I have further training and  draw from the modalities of Bereavement, Trauma and Mindfulness informed  Therapies. Transactional Analysis (TA) Solutions Focused (SF) Brief Interventions (BI), The Stages of Change model and Motivational Interviewing (MI) and  Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). 

 

The here and now cannot, not  be affect by all that has gone before so particular attention is paid to integrating the past into the present  curiously and creatively exploring, connecting and finding insight into how the past is influencing your here and now.  I am well versed with attachment theory of Bowlby and Ainsworth, and  psychoanalytic approach of the Jungian school of thought and utilise Carl Jung’s theory; successfully working with patterns through the process of self-awareness, transformation and striving for self-actualisation i.e.  the motivation to reach for and achieve one’s fullest potential; the process Maslow, Rogers and Jung agreed upon, the psychodynamic and Humanistic schools of thought integrated almost!

 

None of us grew in isolation in partnership I utilise  psychosocial theorist concepts such as  Bandura,  Erikson, Freud,  Piaget and Festinger because diversity,  difference and cultural background  play a part in our here and now functioning.  

 

 

Counselling changes lives, counselling is a commitment to our self.

Qualifications, Training  & CPD:

  • Registered Member of British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapists Reg MBACP

  • Accredited Bereavement Counsellor (Cruse)

  • BACP certificate of proficiency 

  • First Aid qualified

  • CPCAB Advanced Diploma In Therapeutic Counselling

  • AQA Certificate in Counselling Theory

  • AQA Certificate in Counselling Skills

  • AQA Certificate in Counselling Children & Adolescents

  • AQA Sociology A Level

  • AQA Psychology GCSE

  • AQA Sociology    GCSE

  • NOCN Brief Interventions -  misuse of Alcohol 

  • Drug misuse awareness - Drug Train

  • Cognitive Distortions - Drug Train

  • Mindfulness-Based CBT

  • First Aid at Work L3

  • Advice & Guidance L3 -  City & Guilds

  • Customer Service L3 - City & Guilds

  • British Sign Language - BS -L1

  • Cruse Bereavement Care

    • Certificate in Supervision 

    • Certificate Grief Program (60 hours)

    • Certificate of Accreditation 

    • Certificate of Telephone Counselling

  • Victim Support Training program

  • Serious Crime Trained

    • Supporting victims of domestic violence

    • Supporting victims of sexual abuse

  • Doncaster Alcohol Services (DAS) 

    • Solution Focused Brief Therapy Skills - Waypoint

    • Relapse prevention

    • Brief Intervention

    • Stages of Change Model

    • Motivational Interviewing (MI)

    • Body Process in Counselling

  • PODS  

    • Child Sexual Abuse

    • Working with relational Trauma, dealing with disorganised attachment

    • Trauma & the Body - Somatisation and dissociation

  • Healthcare NHS Trust

    • Time limited Counselling/Brief Therapy

    • Professional Issues

    • The Inner Family

    • Healing the Inner Family

Hospice CPD

  • Working with Suicide

  • Bereavement Master Class - Lois Tonkin                             'Growing around Grief' 

  • Safeguarding L3

  • Safe Guarding Adults

  • Care of the Body after Death

  • Learning Disability Awareness

  • Mental Capacity Act

  • Privacy & Dignity

  • Being Open

  • Consent

  • Equality & Diversity

  • Fire Training

Completed many on-going training workshops to maintain and enhance my awareness, skills and knowledge.  I believe in life-long learning both  personal and professional development. Undertaking for example: Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking Children/ Young people, Sex and the Internet, The emotionally Absent Mother, Men & Bereavement, Anger Management, The Impact of Shame, Working with an Interpreter, Focusing Orientation Therapy, Communication Skills Creativity, Psychodrama and many more.

Completed a successful project funded by the National Lottery to identify 'Best Practice' for Assessing client needs; wrote, developed and delivered a Post Bereavement Assessment tool facilitating over 200 client assessment sessions, training 2 further Officers in the use and delivery of the tool and  led  group supervision. 


I have written, developed and facilitate a 6 monthly Psychoeducation Bereavement Support Program within a Children's Hospice setting; delivering on a monthly basis supporting families through the chaotic and traumatic effects the death of a precious and beloved Child brings.

I have written, developed and facilitate professional workshops on self-care, vicarious trauma, anxiety awareness, building resiliency and raising awareness of relational dynamics.

My general interest is in the wholeness and connection of  an authentic Human Being; how people relate to one another, how we relate to our self, what is healthy relating?  What is not healthy relating?  Supporting the alleviation of distress by exploring everyday solutions to everyday conundrums, pressures and stress and how to cope,  handle what life throws at us and  build resiliency,  emotional, body, and spiritual  integrity to live in a balanced, peaceful and happy  way!

I have 18  years’ experience  engaging in counselling and 16 years engaging in counselling Supervision.

If you feel we can work together in partnership, work towards  reaching  your goals and positive outcomes  for your self-directed future -  please contact me for an initial appointment.

Together we can - together we are stronger

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