My experience as a counsellor has involved helping clients deal with a wide spectrum of life's difficulties. I am accredited and registered with the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy ( BACP) and I am also qualified to supervise other counsellors' work.

Most of my experience has been gained working for the NHS for eight years in GP surgeries and also a Women's Health Clinic which included hormonal and sexual issues. I have worked as an associate lecturer in a university setting in the area of Personal Development and also helped many with faith and spiritual problems.

My way of working includes mainly the Carl Rogers person-centred model, with psychodynamic principles taken from psychotherapy, and cognitive behavioural therapy. This may mean only one or two sessions or longer term work according to your particular needs.

I am a counsellor and supervisor accredited with the Association of Christian Counsellors (ACC), and in those roles have many years of experience in helping people with a range of personal and relational issues. Difficulties may arise from present circumstances, or from events in our past history and early years, and I can work with you for just a few sessions or for a long time according to your need. As a Christian I am also experienced in helping people who are struggling with faith issues, or even from the effects of spiritual abuse.

I describe myself as an integrative counsellor which means that I draw on a range of counselling techniques, but mainly based in psychodynamic and CBT models. I believe that the most powerful element of the work is the opportunity to develop, for a time, a special working relationship with someone who will listen carefully to you, without judgement, and help you to make sense of and work through whatever may be going on in your life at the moment.

I am also a Myers Briggs practitioner. The Myers Briggs Type Indicator is a widely used tool to help individuals discover their preferences in the way they live their lives and relate to others, and to recognise how different preferences in others may lead to conflict and misunderstanding. It is very useful in partnerships and in teams and I often use it for couples and for groups of people who work together, as well as for individuals wishing to know themselves better.

I have been an accredited and registered member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists since 2001. I trained at Sheffield Hallam University as a mature student and gained my diploma in Counselling in 1999.

I have had 5 years experience working as a bereavement counsellor at St Luke's Hospice in Sheffield, as well as nearly 11 years experience in the NHS counselling patients in GP surgeries. Increasingly my work has drawn me towards couple counselling. It can be a valuable process for couples who are experiencing difficulties in their relationship. I have been a Christian for nearly 20 years, I am married and have 4 grown up children and 6 grandchildren.

My background is in psychology, research and public health where I have a longstanding interest in psychological therapies. I completed my Diploma at Sheffield Hallam University in 2004. I have also studied the CWR model of Christian Counselling.

I am a member of both the British Association of Counselling ad Psychotherapy (BACP) and the Association of Christian Counsellors (ACC) and abide by their respective code of ethics. At the moment I am in the process of preparing for accreditation.

I offer a safe, confidential, trusting and supportive space to explore whatever issues and difficulties you feel are important to you. The approach I take is 'integrative', placing the relationship with my client at the centre and applying specific approaches when the need arises (e.g. CBT, existential, Gestalt approaches etc.). I don't give specific advice but will work with you to find the best way forward towards a positive and healthy future.

My experience of counselling covers a range of areas including bereavement and loss, posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety, relationships and self-esteem. I can work with you for just a few sessions or on a longer term basis.

I have worked within a variety of settings using a Cognitive Behavioural approach to therapy (CBT), including adult mental health (both private and NHS) and as a counsellor at Women's Aid. I have also facilitated group work, looking at issues surrounding substance mis-use and mental health awareness for asylum seekers and their workers.

CBT is more structured than many therapies, seeking to help you understand your difficulties and learn different ways to cope. CBT focuses on the way we think (cognitive), behave and feel (both physiologically and emotionally). I work with my clients towards goals agreed at the start of therapy, and an important part is enabling my clients to maintain these themselves and know how to cope if their problems arise again in the future.

I have worked with many difficulties including anxiety, depression, OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), panic/ agoraphobia, trauma (including PTSD), phobias, bipolar disorder and eating disorders.