Current Work
Integrative Therapeutic Counsellor with a specialism in eating disorders and disordered eating
running Your Haven Counselling Private Practice
A little about my journey
I started my training in counselling after many years of searching for a fulfilling and manageable career. I am a qualified medical doctor with an MBBS in medicine but I put my work on hold. I then completed a BSc degree in psychology at the University of Reading. Having immersed myself in the counselling world I have not looked back.
My counselling training introduced me to both professional and personal learning so necessary for work in counselling. I gained vital counselling skills and was able to acknowledge and value my personal counselling attributes. I connected with and explored my relationship with food. I am recognising the early signs of my triggers. In addition I have acquired tools such as assertive communication, saying "no" and letting go of perfectionism.
Working as a counsellor at the University of Cambridge colleges I was faced with many clients who had disordered eating and a diagnosis of an eating disorder. I resolved to learn more about eating disorders and this led to me specialising in this area. I wanted to understand the whole person with the associated physical and psychological drivers which manifest in the many unhealthy ways of coping; the dysregulation of food, self-harm, dissociative states, trauma, body image, self-esteem, perfectionist traits.
I myself am constantly learning and changing in a continually changing world. I am resolute to reach out to others and to help them in unravelling the areas that they are stuck in, freeing them and enabling their change.
Personal Approach
As an Integrative Therapeutic Counsellor I am able to use an approach that is best suited to you as an individual and for your unique experiences.
I am trained in the following approaches:
- Person-Centred
- Gestalt
- Cognitive-Behavioural
- Psychodynamic and I draw on these theoretical approaches depending on your needs.
Specialism
My special interest is in Eating Disorders and I have vast experience working with clients with Anorexia Nervosa (AN), Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), Bulimia Nervosa (BN) and Binge-Eating Disorders (BED). I have the Diploma in Practitioner Skills for Eating Disorders and a Certificate in Nutritional Interventions for Eating Disorders from the National Centre for Eating Disorders (NCFED)
Professional Qualifications
- Accredited Member of the British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy, (BACP Accred)
- NCFED Diploma in Practitioner Skills for Eating Disorders
- NCFED Certificate in Nutritional Interventions for Eating Disorders
- Diploma in Working with Depression
- Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling
- Certificate in Counselling Skills
- Diploma in Pre-school Practice
- BSC in Psychology
- MBBS in Medicine
CPD
A minimum of 30 hours of recognised Continuous Professional Development (CPD) has been undertaken each year since qualifying
Experience
- Eating Disorders Therapist at Orri, Eating Disorder Treatment Clinic, Hallam Street, London working with NHS and outpatient clients
- College Counsellor at Bellerbys College Cambridge: Private International College for Sixth Form Students
- Centre 33: Therapeutic Counsellor working with 13-25 year olds
- JHD Counselling Services: Counselling undergraduate and postgratduate students at several University of Cambridge Colleges
- Play Therapy: sessions in Primary Schools in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
- YMCA Cambridge and Peterborough: School Counsellor for Sixth Form Students
- Talk to Stars: Bereavement Counselling for Children and Young People
- Family Group sessions for Families subjected to Domestic Violence
- Assisted in Nursery Schools, Residential Rest Homes for Elderly, Mental Health Clinics for Schizophrenia and in Research Project at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH)
- Workshops and Talks
Supervision
I attend regular and on-going Supervision (individual)
