About Me

My name is Leah and I’ve been working in therapeutic communities for over 18 years. I started out working in criminal justice and substance abuse then have slowly traversed to running my counselling practice for adults and young people.

 

Over the years I have had the pleasure of working with many fascinating and inspiring people who have ensured I could never get bored of the work I do.

 

When I’m not working, I enjoy being outdoors in wide-open space, walking my dog, running, watching my children grow and enjoying being around people, family, and friends.

 

The most familiar phrase I’ve heard in this job is, “bet you’ve never had to do any of this stuff”. Believe me, I would not do the work I do if I didn’t trust first-hand that it works.

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My Background

 

I trained as an Integrative Psychotherapeutic Counsellor as I believe, each of us being unique and individual , the integrative approach allows me to call upon  aspects of many different therapeutic traditions. Examples include psychoanalysis, cognitive behavioural therapy, transactional analysis and humanistic approaches such as gestalt and client centred. In my view each client is unique, and will bring their own story. Having many resources within my integration ensures the client and I are well equipped to face what ever terrain we enter and can tailor the work to suit their individual needs.

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I believe that the relationship I form with the client provides the biggest scope for change. I therefore believe in working collaboratively, alongside the client to explore aspects of the past if needed and find positive ways forward for the future. A strong sense of empathy allows the development of trust and security within the counselling partnership and create the much needed secure base.

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I have 18 years experience working in therapeutic environments, initially with addiction, criminal justice and youth services before setting up private practice 7 years ago. Within these role's I have faced many aspects of trauma, mental and physical health conditions. Alongside counselling these roles have given me valuable experience in using motivational interviewing skills to bring about change and CBT intervention to challenge thinking processes, creative therapies and groupwork. I facilitated a Mindfulness group, a proven technique for combating stress, depression and relapse prevention, a practice now woven into my counselling work.

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I have experience of working with  attachment and relationships, types of abuse, trauma, addiction, emotional dysregulation, bereavement, managing anxiety, anger management, mental health and depression. I believe that the needs of clients continue to evolve and change, for this reason I regularly attend additional training and supervision in line with the requirements of UKCP and BACP.

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I completed my BSc (hon) with the Matrix college of counselling and psychotherapy. I'm registered with UKCP and work within the UKCP/ BACP code of ethics and practice for counselling and psychotherapy.