My first experience of counselling was during a relationship breakdown.  The empathy and support my counsellor offered me allowed me to move on and get my life back together.

 

After gaining a PGCE in Adult Education I worked at the City of Bristol College for 17 years as a lecturer and Programme Co-Ordinator.  Increasingly I found that students were facing complex and  difficult life issues.  I didn’t feel equipped to support them adequately and remembering my experience of feeling supported by my counsellor when the chips were down, I decided to train as a counsellor.  After completing the AQA Certificate in Counselling Theory and Skills in 2002, I continued my training with Relate.  I started working with couples and individuals in 2003 and qualified as a Relate Counsellor in 2005. 

 

For several years I continued with my teaching career whilst also working as a part-time counsellor at Relate Avon.  I took voluntary redundancy from my teaching post in 2014 which allowed me to dedicate time to a writing project.  I set up my private practice in 2016 and still work for Relate Avon.

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Wanting to understand better how anxiety and/or depression impact on individuals, their relationships and families, I completed the Certificate in Behavioural Counselling Therapy (Working with Couples with Depression) in 2018. As well as gaining greater insight, the training equipped me with the skills and techniques to support clients to manage their anxiety and/or depression and build healthier personal and working relationships.  More recently I qualified as a family counsellor.  As well as enriching my practice, this training reminded me that we all form part of some sort of system.  Just as every family is unique, each family member holds a special position within theirs from which to offer an individual perspective on what is happening in the family. Understanding how these different perspectives weave together to create harmony or discord is fascinating and working with families to create consensus and understanding is hugely rewarding.