About me

My work has been influenced over the years by the practical good sense of cognitive and behavioural psychology, alongside the relational warmth and wisdom of the humanistic approaches as well as the radical insights that come from body-orientated work. In my later career I have trained and been ordained as an Interfaith Minister.  This is a particular form of ministry that seeks to focus on the innate spirituality of us all.  I have learned from many great people, including theoreticians, practitioners and clients. I see that all human beings are a mixture of things we have in common and things that make us unique. For instance, we all need security, the capacity for self-regulation and a sense of meaning and purpose. Without these life is very difficult. When these universal needs are met, our true individuality can be more freely expressed.

I have been a professional psychologist all my working life. I gained a Master’s degree in Educational Psychology in 1975. My first post was in Cambridgeshire and from there I took up a senior position in Cumbria in 1983. The work in education gave me a first hand understanding of the crucial influences of context, expectation and developmental experience in determining outcomes in people’s lives. I went on in my career to study and qualify in psychotherapy, and later to study for ordination in Inter-faith ministry.

I have established a busy private therapy practice working mostly with adult clients. In my therapeutic work I start from the position that all my clients are born to live a meaningful and satisfying life. My style of therapy is focussed on helping them find a stable and healthy sense of themselves and to manifest this in their current circumstances. This can involve helping address a range of symptoms such as stress, anxiety or low mood, which get in the way of healthy growth. These symptoms are often related to personal history and the work may well involve a review of earlier life experiences, decisions and conclusions. I have also developed something of a specialism in working psychologically with issues experienced in the body, including tension and similar physical symptoms that sometimes show up as postural habits. Patterns and connections often emerge which were previously not in conscious awareness and so it is of central importance that my clients and I build a working relationship of trust and confidence so that new insights can be processed in safety.

Psychotherapy cannot change what has already happened in a person’s life, but trauma and loss do not have to hold us hostage forever. I believe that with understanding and support these painful experiences can be left in the past and can cease to haunt the present.