TRAINING

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Prior to training as a therapist from 2007-2011 I trained as a performer at ArtsEd (2001-2004) and performed in West End musicals such as Mamma Mia, Blood Brothers, Fame and Starlight Express. Dealing with my own mental health issues from a young age I had a transformative experience working with a therapist in my twenties that inspired me to train to become a therapist myself.

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My clinical training was at Birkbeck College, University of London, where I obtained an MSc in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy. I am a senior accredited member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) a full registrant of the British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) and an accredited Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT) practitioner. My training and experience is aligned with SCoPEd "column C", the highest level of a new framework attempting to set clearer standards within the profession. 

 

I undertook the DIT clinical training in conjunction with the Anna Freud Centre, as well as a training in Mentalization Based Treatment (MBT) for working with those with a Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) diagnosis. In addition, I received a training in supervision in 2016 with the British Psychotherapy Foundation (BPF). In 2018 I completed a diploma in Group Work Practice at the Institute of Group Analysis (IGA) as well as training as a meditation practitioner in both Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), with Mindfulness UK. In 2024 completed a doctorate in psychotherapy at Metanoia Institute / Middlesex University, researching minority stress and began the final three years of a five year training to become a group analyst at Group Analysis North in Manchester (a UKCP registered training).

 

Ethics are at the heart of psychotherapy and I adhere to the code of ethics as set out by the BACP: https://www.bacp.co.uk/media/3103/bacp-ethical-framework-for-the-counselling-professions-2018.pdf 

 

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EXPERIENCE

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My first role was as an honorary psychodynamic psychotherapist for an NHS secondary care Community Mental Health Team, working long-term with patients with complex needs, a really challenging but rewarding formative experience. I worked as a student counsellor at both London Metropolitan University and University College London as an individual and group therapist. I also spent several years within NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services as a Dynamic Interpersonal Therapist (DIT) for South West London and St Georges' Mental Health Trust, the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and Compass Wellbeing CIC, an NHS-Funded social enterprise offering mental health services to the population of Tower Hamlets. In 2017 I took a position at Birkbeck College as a Widening Participation Student Counsellor where I ran a research project on the barriers to counselling faced by men, refugees, and care leavers. In 2018 I returned to NHS secondary care, this time for East London NHS Foundation Trust, working as a group and individual psychotherapist in the borough of Newham.

 

I have worked in independent practice since 2013, moving to full time in 2021.

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PERSONAL THERAPY

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It's often said that a therapist's own experience of personal therapy is the most important part of their training and experience for two reasons. Firstly, we get to experience what it is like to sit in the other chair. Secondly, and most importantly, only when we truly know ourselves can we attempt to help others. I see my own therapy as a lifelong process and it has included:

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• a five year Jungian analysis as part of my initial training.

• two years of person-centred therapy including hypnotherapy.

• two years of psychodynamic psychotherapy.

• a further two years of Jungian analysis (in the US)

• two years of group analysis (ongoing, of an intended five).