History
Like many of my colleagues, I became a psychotherapist as a result of receiving psychotherapy myself. My initial period in therapy followed the end of my first marriage. The impact of this experience was such that I realised I needed professional help. To the outside world I appeared intelligent and successful, but inside I was at a complete loss, overwhelmed by emotions that all my years of academic learning had left me wholly unequipped to manage. During the first few sessions I began to detect glimmers of meaning in this chaos, and to see how therapy might provide the setting in which to repair old wounds and rewrite old internal scripts that I hadn’t previously realised were even there. It was a frightening crossroads. Part of the challenge was to let the cupboard door open so that the dark contents could reveal themselves. The greater part of the challenge was to trust that the therapist could stay alongside me while I did this, without judging, shaming or rejecting me for what might come to light. It turned out to be a profound and life-changing experience.
At the time I was a broadcast journalist, having previously been a primary school teacher. It was some years later that a career break gave me the opportunity to pursue what had become by then a clear ambition to train as a psychotherapist myself. I entered the training at bcpc, the Bath Centre for Psychotherapy and Counselling (www.bcpc.org.uk), in 1991, following it through its various stages until graduating with a diploma in Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy in 1999. This gave me registered practitioner status within the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (www.psychotherapy.org.uk). As well as developing a private practice at this time, I also spent ten years counselling in NHS Primary Care and on the staff of the Bath University Counselling Service.
In 2000 I undertook a further year’s specialist training in working with couples. My subsequent experience in this field led to a greater awareness of relationships as systems, unconsciously co-created by the individuals involved. This in turn drew me to look at larger systems – groups, companies, organisations – through the lens of systemic psychotherapy. The work I do with organisations aims to support them in recognising and creatively disentangling dynamics that give rise to conflict, stress and loss of corporate unity.
I supervise the practices of other health and social welfare professionals, as well as receiving regular clinical supervision myself – a statutory requirement for all counsellors and psychotherapists.