About Derbyshire Counselling Service

I am a Person Centred Counsellor with professional background in Social Work and Counselling. As a former sufferer of Anorexia and depression I am able to draw both upon my personal and work-related experiences in my practice. I recovered completely from my Eating Disorder and depression and it is my intention to help others do the same. I also work with other mental disorders and help people to deal with their everyday problems.

I am one of the very few counsellors who has the insight to appreciate and understand the full extent of my clients’ condition. I use this unique approach in Empathic Counselling to create a relaxing and non-judgemental environment that is key to growth, recovery, independence and rediscovery. I am skilled in working with the complex and painful issues that surround a mental illness.

We should not under-estimate the impact that everyday problems have on our lives and those around us. So please get in touch. No problem is too small. It feels good to talk to someone who understands what you are going through

My training, work experience and any achievement

Derbyshire Counselling Service
Privately owned sole trading counselling practice based in Belper
• Responsible for providing counselling for self-referring clients
• Organisation, publicity, business management and accounts
• Liaising and reports to agencies
• Professional development

Sheffield Star, Health Section
Freelance journalist
• Responsible for researching, writing and submitting health related articles
• Ghost writing for other journalists.

Darnall Dementia Group,
Counselling and support of sufferers of dementia.
• Responsible for working with the sufferers of dementia
• Assessment of needs, counselling and support
• Developing memory recall functions within individual clients
• Implementation/transfer of theoretical knowledge base to a useable platform for client use
• Improving users quality of life by implementing a variety of experiences

Family and Social Services, Lothian Regional Council
Field Social Worker, Manager
• Responsible for all social work in three childrens centres with a caseload of a minimum 80 families who were all victims of sexual, psychological and physical abuse.
• Extensive counselling of individuals and families, conducting person centred and structured family therapy.
• Staff management, liaising with voluntary and statutory agencies, networking with groups on a local and wider level, groupwork, raising sexual health awareness in the area.
• Planning and implementing experiences for clients, e.g. days out, education, household duties
• Crisis management, e.g. child deaths, under-nourished babies
• Professional development, attending conferences, CPA meetings, various input and discharge meetings, senior staff meetings at both the home unit and social work headquarters, delivering supervision.
• A Levels, Shirecliffe Further Education College. Sheffield 1982/83
Sociology, English Literature, Social Policy, Government and Politics, Economics.
• B/A (HONS) Social Studies Sheffield Hallam University 1983-1986
• Dip/MSc Community Education/Psychology with counselling accreditations
Edinburgh University 1988-1989
• In Service Training with Lothian Regional Council. Counselling 1990

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ACCREDITATIONS
• BAPCA The British Association for the Person Centred Approach. Full accreditation.
• B-EAT Beating Eating Disorders. Full membership with online business listing.
• South Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Full member public health board.
• Holds current CRB certificate.

Further Information

I offer generous discounts for those on low incomes.