I have been working as a therapist for 15 years. Prior to that my experience ranged from teaching in Africa to broadcasting, from running a fringe theatre to pulling pints. As well as working in the theatre, I also trained as a dramatherapist and have a keen interest in story, myths and the dramas which we play out in both our inner and outer worlds. I bring a wealth of life experience to my work, which is essential for entering into the very differing worlds of my clients. At present I combine a private practice in psychotherapy and supervision. In addition, I am a trainer and supervisor at Re.Vision Centre for Integrative Psychosynthesis Psychotherapy and have taught and run groups in the UK, Holland and Sweden.
I work with a wide range of clients: hetero- sexual/lesbian & gay, old/young and people from different cultural backgrounds, both short and long term. Presenting problems include depression, relationship difficulties, abuse, coping with feelings of anger and hatred, questions of motivation and direction and crises of meaning and purpose.
I have extensive experience in working with death and dying. I was a volunteer for a number of years at London East Aids Network (LEAN), and the Senior Counsellor for five years at the Paul D'auria Cancer Support Centre. At present I supervise counsellors and therapists at St Joseph's Hospice who work with both patients and the bereaved relatives and friends of hospice patients.
While the focus of therapy is necessarily on the individual, I believe it often ignores or underestimates the impact of the social and environmental context within which we live. Clients present not just out of a troubled personal history; they also carry collective distress.
In recent years I have become particularly interested in ecopyschology and in the ways in which our disconnection from the web of live may be an unnamed dimension of our personal grief. Last year I co-organised the EFPP Summer School at Canterbury University, Between Hope and Anguish: the Soul’s Challenge in a time of Planetary Crisis. (See below for details of the programme). I am also a facilitator of the Be The Change Symposium, a presentation addressing issues of environmental sustainability, social justice and spiritual fulfillment.
Programme: Between Hope and Anguish:
the Soul’s Challenge in a
time of Planetary Crisis
(please click to open)
In recent years I have become particularly interested in ecopyschology and in the ways in which our disconnection from the web of live may be an unnamed dimension of our personal grief. Last year I co-organised the EFPP Summer School at Canterbury University, Between Hope and Anguish: the Soul’s Challenge in a time of Planetary Crisis. (See below for details of the programme). I am also a facilitator of the Be The Change Symposium, a presentation addressing issues of environmental sustainability, social justice and spiritual fulfillment.
the Soul’s Challenge in a
time of Planetary Crisis
(please click to open)
These various strands inform my work. However, for me the most important aspect of being a therapist is meeting the individual where he or she is and establishing a relationship in which I can accompany them on their journey, wherever that takes them.
What is the therapy?
I am trained in Psychosynthesis, a therapy which recognises a spiritual dimension of the psyche. We are not merely the slaves of our complexes but also aspire to qualities of generosity, beauty and service to others. Assagioli, the founder of Psychosynthesis spoke of “the repression of the sublime”; just as we repress painful childhood memories we also repress our longing for something greater.
Integrative Psychosynthesis emphasises both the depths and the heights of human experience, and also integrates theory and methods from the Jungian, Psychodynamic and Gestalt schools of psychotherapy. Hence the approach combines sound clinical practice with a spiritual perspective. Central to Integrative Psychosynthesis is the potential for an awakening to something larger, to the Soul and to the greater connectedness of all things.
Integrative Psychosynthesis emphasises both the depths and the heights of human experience, and also integrates theory and methods from the Jungian, Psychodynamic and Gestalt schools of psychotherapy. Hence the approach combines sound clinical practice with a spiritual perspective. Central to Integrative Psychosynthesis is the potential for an awakening to something larger, to the Soul and to the greater connectedness of all things.
Diploma in Integrative Psychosynthesis Psychotherapy (Re.Vision Centre for Integrative Psychosynthesis Psychotherapy 1994).
Diploma in Clincial Supervision (Minster Centre 1999). As a UKCP registered psychotherapist I abide by their Codes of Ethics.
I am also the Vice-President of the EFPP the European Federation for Psychosynthesis Psychotherapy.
Ecopsychology
Be The Change: Symposium
Psychosynthesis & Ecopsychology
Paul D'auria Cancer Support Centre
St Joseph's Hospice
London East Aids Network (LEAN)
East London, offering Psychotherapy and Counselling.
