I have had a rich and diverse career, with a common theme of working in the education sector. My experiences and skills encompass creativity and working closely with people, as a video director, volunteer co-ordinator, counsellor and supervisor and mindfulness teacher.
I have a private practice offering counselling to adults and young people, and supervision to trainees and qualified supervisors, as well as to allied health professionals who engage in relationally complex and emotionally challenging roles.
At Wrexham University as a sessional lecturer, I have taught on the Resilience for Health module, providing an introduction to Mindfulness, and previously facilitated the personal development groups for the Diploma for Counselling. I am currently part of the staff team, developing the programme's portfolio, to provide short courses and CPD for our graduates to continue their learning and engagement with the university.
In my free time I like to swim, walk, illustrate and develop a growing interest in writing.
Research Interests
I am interested in the continuing personal development of counsellors and their self-care. This is an important part of their learning on the Diploma and in the counselling field generally, but it is very subjective, unique to the individual and difficult to monitor in terms of evaluating it's impact on everyday life and work. Counselling can be an isolating profession, so reaching out for support as the helper needing to be helped, may be difficult and there is some evidence that burn out within the profession is on the rise.
With new regulations coming into place via our largest professional body, in the next few years, there is a requirement for a specific number of personal development hours, in order to achieve the highest standing within the membership. This is something new and I am interested in how counsellors will attend to this.
Teaching Interests
I came into teaching very gently, firstly in the voluntary sector, training potential volunteers to support families for Home-Start, alongside offering some CPD in a basic Listening Skills short course.
I trained as a Mindfulness Teacher at Bangor University and remain interested in teaching in this area in the future, particularly after the Resilience for Health Module success.
I continue to teach on the Diploma for counselling and hopefully will co deliver some of the short courses we have planned.
Personal development and self care of counsellors are future interests for teaching and research.