I have worked within an agency setting as a volunteer and a paid counsellor since 2002. I set up my Private Practice in 2005; here I have worked with adults, young people, children and couples, both heterosexual and same sex and I continue to work with adults.

For couples work, as well as working individually, I am also able to offer a joint experience of working with another counsellor, Lulu Russell – www.lulurussellcounselling.co.uk This way of working as a ‘couple’ with a couple is sometimes helpful to the dynamics of couples work offering a mirrored view.

The agencies I have worked for and in some cases continue to, as a counsellor and/or supervisor, are:

• Childline
• Redhill Counselling Service
• Central Sussex College
• Horsham and Crawley Counselling Service and PACT
• The Worth Project – Domestic Violence Charity
• Dialogue Therapeutic Services – part of YMCA Sussex Downslink Group offering counselling in schools
• The Hangleton and Knoll Project – local community project in Hove
• Carers Support West Sussex
• CBT Services
• Nuffield Health
• Vitality Insurance
• Horsham and Crawley Counselling Group and within that also PACT – Parent and Child Therapy
• City Academy Whitehawk
• Shoreham Academy
• Social Services both in East and West Sussex
• St Catherines Hospice
• The University of Sussex
• The University of Brighton
• Northeastern University London

I would now consider myself a very experienced practitioner with over 7000 counselling hours to date alongside over 3000 hours of supervision. During my time with Dialogue worked in other primary and secondary schools in the Brighton and Hove area: from 2008 up to 2014 when I left Dialogue working solely for City Academy Whitehawk. Whilst working in schools I worked with children and young people both individually and in groups, but I was also made aware of how important it is to build good relationships with children’s parents finding this an important facet of this work which encompasses working with the family, whilst being mindful of the confidentiality of the relationship as well as needing to help to signpost them to other agencies that may be of help to the family as a whole. This understanding and belief I pass on to counsellors new to these roles to help them to build the best relationships they can with their clients.