I am a compassionate trauma-informed integrative psychotherapist with my own deeply lived experience and personal journey. I live and work in central Bath. Alongside many trainings over the years, I am committed to my therapeutic practice and my own path of personal development, healing and spiritual enquiry. My personal experience in life has been extensive and rich. I’ve walked a diverse path so far through life and this has enabled me to bring understanding to working with many people from all kinds of backgrounds, cultures and lifestyles. Development and practices that sustain and resource me on this journey are somatic meditation, embodied enquiry and the wisdom of the natural world.

Alongside my person-centred core training, my practice has naturally gravitated to become influenced by the integration of Eastern and Western philosophies about the bodymind and selfhood. This draws on ancient Buddhist psychology and teachings into the nature of human experience at many different levels. I am currently studying a four- year in-depth psychotherapy training in Mindfulness-Based Core-Process Psychotherapy with the Karuna Institute. 'Karuna' is the Sanskrit and Pali word which translates to 'compassion'. Core-Process psychotherapeutic paradigm integrates Western psychodynamic principles with Buddhist psychology, compassion practices and relational mindfulness practice in a way that is unique in the therapy field, working with thoughts, emotions, body senses and awareness, imagination and spirituality. Core-Process Psychotherapy enquires into human experience at many different levels. There is a gentle invitation to reconnect to your deeper self, become curious about how present moment experience is arising in the body, bringing spaciousness to the bodymind and developing awareness to how things are from moment to moment. This holistic approach offers a unqiue way to explore our suffering and well-being. Core-Process Psychotherapy can be described as a Mindfulness-Based approach. My enthusiasm as a therapist embodies the healing qualities of compassion and the wisdom of our somatic archeology involving the connections and unearthing of the stories that live within our bodies, within our psychology and our spirit. All practising Core-Process psychotherapists are expected to maintain a daily meditation practice. This helps sustain awareness and develop a resonant relational field of presence from which to pay close attention and hold clients at depth. My work is also informed through bodymind theories and practice combining somatic-based trauma therapy, compassion-focused therapy and relational mindfulness which are intrinsic to my therapeutic practice.

I believe that both the body and mind need to be present for healing to occur. I am compassionate about supporting people to find ways to get back in touch with themselves, wherever they may find themselves; enabling them to find connections to their inner authenticity and wisdom so that they can feel less identified with their traumatic stories, patterns and conditions and become more present to their true sense of themselves.

Research has repeatedly demonstrated that the way we think, beliefs we hold, and emotions we engage in impact our well-being. Choices and decisions we engage in send chemical information throughout every cell in our bodies. Equally when we have experienced trauma, become immobilised, and other emotional dysregulation, holding fear and doubt about our capacity to effect change, this has a chemical impact upon our cellular activity. This bodymind communication via our nervous system takes place in milliseconds. The flow of bodymind communication via physiology, thought and emotion become signals that are received by our cells. There is no separation between mind, consciousness, awareness, emotions, and body.

The biodynamic perspective of craniosacral work is based on an understanding of the natural forces that organise our form and function. The approach maintains that there are a series of subtle rhythms which are expressed through the body, as well as an essential stillness that lies at our core. The integrated functioning of this system of rhythmic motion is a primary factor in determining our health and well-being. The subtle motions are essentially produced by our inherent life force, referred to as ‘The Breath of Life’. The Breath of Life acts as our most fundamental organising force which governs all other aspects of our physiological functioning. When our natural rhythms are restored and integrated, health follows.

My craniosacral training and work with adults and young people incorporates extensions of somatic trauma work developed by Babette Rothschild’s approaches for working with the effects of trauma on the body and Dr Stephen Porges’ findings about the autonomic nervous system. My training and work is grounded in an understanding of body and anatomy physiology. I have a deep respect in the knowledge that our consciousness is not separate to our physiology and biology. These subtle rhythmic motions stimulate neural activity and messages into the immune system and our cells, influencing the pathways of our recovery and reducing the levels of stress hormones. This fundamental organising force is at its essence a recalibration of the mind-body-spirit system. Transformation involves change and is different to solely change in that it is a whole re-set of our organismic system, rather than change in any one or two particular parts of the system. This provides great insight into how the body is organised and maintains homeostasis and equilibrium.

Craniosacral Therapy and Biodynamic Craniosacral Bodywork compliments and integrates effectively alongside the Somatic Trauma Therapy and Core-Process Psychotherapy that I offer.

‘My belief is in the blood and flesh as being wiser than the intellect. The body unconscious is where life bubbles up in us. It is how we know that we are alive, alive to the depths of our souls and in-touch somewhere with the vivid reaches of the cosmos.'

D.H. Lawrence

• Working with Neurodiversity in the Developing Child, Adolescent & Adult in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy - CTET

• The Living Matrix - The new science of Fascia applied with Biodynamic skills in Craniosacral Therapy - CTET

• Introduction in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy - CTET

• The Significance of Polyvagal Theory for Touch and Somatic Therapists with Dr Stephen Porges 

• Working with Domestic Abuse in CYP & Families - BACP

• Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) - LivingWorks 

• Enhanced CBT-E Certificate Eating Disorders - NHS

• Compassion-Focused Therapy for Eating Disorders - NHS

• Eating Disorders for Professionals - SWEDA

• Somatic Trauma Therapy Training - Post-Graduate training with Babette Rothschild

• Anxiety & Depression - The Polyvagal Theory and the Body Dialogue

• Compassion-Focused Therapy Training - NHS

• Introduction to Hakomi Mindfulness-Centred Somatic Psychotherapy - Hakomi

• Working Alongside Trans, Gender Diverse & Questioning People - Gendered Intelligence

• Introduction to Embodied Relational Psychotherapy (ERT)

• Trained to Teach .b Mindfulness Course in Secondary Schools 11-18 years with Mindfulness In Schools Project (MISP)

• Mindfulness-Based 8 week Training Course 
  

• Post Graduate Diploma in Mindfulness-Based Core-Process Psychotherapy - Karuna Institute (in progress)

• 2 Year Diploma in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy Practitioner Training - Circle Cranio - Accredited by the Craniosacral Therapy Association UK    (in progress)
  

• Diploma in Living Anatomy & Physiology in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy - CTET 

• Certificate in Craniosacral Therapy Professional Practitioner Training - Turning Point Training - Accredited by the Complimentary Medicine Association (CMA)

• Diploma in Relational Mindfulness - Karuna Institute

• MA in Counselling & Psychotherapy Practice 1^st Class

• Professional Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling CPCAB
  

• PGCE in Psychology of Education

• Counselling Children & Young People Level 5

• Certificate in Counselling Children - Place2Be

• DipHE in Informal & Community Education

• BA (Hons) Social Science (Psychology)