About Me

Birdhouse Therapies was born from my work as a Psychotherapist, counselling adults and adolescents both in private practice and schools.
Maya Angelou once said, ‘there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you’. What I love, as a Psychotherapist, is being invited to hear and bear witness to each of my client’s untold stories and hopefully ease their agony.

Over the years of listening to these stories I found myself wondering how each story would be if the narrative of the early chapters had been different. It became increasingly important to me to be able to offer therapeutic support at this stage so that each child could have the potential to change their storyline.

Prior to training as a Psychotherapist I worked extensively with children wearing a variety of hats; as a Play Scheme Leader for children with learning and physical disabilities, in residential care with children with learning disabilities and behavioural/emotional difficulties and in a therapeutic community working with children with histories of severe abuse, trauma and broken relationships.

My mission is to offer a ‘safe nest for children to grow their wings’ for those children who, due to circumstances outside of their control, are having difficulties either emotionally, physically, cognitively or behaviourally that are holding them back from reaching their potential and limiting the narrative of their story.

Qualifications
  • 2007: Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy: The Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy Education
  • 2014: TA 101: Foundation in Transactional Analysis
Training
  • 2013-2105: Postgraduate Certificate in Therapeutic Play Skills: Play Therapy United Kingdom (certificate pending)
Additional Training Courses
  • Art Interventions in Therapy
  • Working Therapeutically with Children
  • Understanding Self-Harm
  • Working with Gender Dysphoria in Children and Adolescents
  • The Therapeutic Use of Story, Metaphor and Narrative
Professional Membership and Standards
  • I am a registered member of the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP), have professional membership of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP) and I am registered with Play Therapy United Kingdom (PTUK) and work within their respective Ethical Frameworks for Good Practice.
  • I have regular supervision to ensure that I am working in a professional and ethical way at all times and attend regular CPD courses as I see my own development, both personally and professionally as integral to my work.
  • I hold a current DBS Certificate and Professional Liability Insurance.