How can I help?

A little bit about me…

I am passionate about helping clients navigate the challenges that face them and over the last 3 years, have taken more and more of my work outdoors. Walking and talking, whether that be in one of the great Sheffield parks or in the Peak District offers perspectives, real life practice opportunities and metaphors that aren’t available in the clinic room. Becoming more in tune with our relationship with nature also serves to reconnect us to ourselves, which in turn helps us find solutions that have become obscured by busyness, burn out, anxiety or suffering.

I have worked for the charity https://mindovermountains.org.uk/ as a well-being lead on day walks and retreats, have run events for the outdoors company https://www.beyondtheedge.co.uk/ focusing on managing fear and anxiety and have also co-led nature connection events for the https://www.mountain-training.org/help/our-association/ The sessions that I now offer are a culmination of 3 decades of training and experience as a psychologist, coach, therapist and avid hill walker.

I qualified as a clinical psychologist in 1997 after 6 years of undergraduate and postgraduate training in clinical psychology.  I spent five years working in a Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS) service post-qualification. This involved both inpatient and outpatient settings and I also worked part-time as an expert witness in Child and Family Courts.

I left the NHS in 2002 and, after a career break, resumed my role as an expert witness, spending seven years working in the courts, volunteering for the Interchange project in Sheffield providing therapy to 13-25-year-olds and working as a locum in the NHS.

I returned to the NHS in a substantive post in 2013 until leaving at the end of 2022; during this time I took on many roles, including supervisor, line manager, Clinical Outcomes Lead, DBT lead and Clinical Team Leader as well as being an honorary teacher at Sheffield University on their doctorate training course in clinical psychology. I now have a private practice in Sheffield and online working with children, adults and families, as well as developing an interest in the therapeutic effects of green spaces.

Qualifications and Professional Registration

  • Bachelor of science special honours degree in psychology with clinical psychology (B.Sc Hons, University of Hull, 1994)
  • Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (D.Clin.Psy, University of Hull, 1997)
  • Chartered clinical psychologist (C.Psychol, British Psychological Society, [BPS], 1998)
  • Associate Fellow of the BPS (AfBPS, 2006 – present)
  • Recognised by Cardiff University Law school as an Expert Witness (2011)
  • Honorary teacher at Sheffield University (2017-2020)
  • Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with Children and Young People (Dip CBT/CYP; University College London, 2014)
  • Post Graduate Certificate in Transformational Leadership (PG Cert Leadership; University of Northumbria, 2019)
  • Accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapist with the British Association of Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy (BABCP, 2020 – present)
  • Recognized as a practitioner psychologist with the Health Care Professionals Council (HCPC – 2015-present).
  • Completed Intensive DBT training with British Isles DBT and certified as a DBT therapist in June, 2022.
  • National Navigation Award Scheme (NNAS) Gold Award and Mountain Training Association Hill and Moorland Leader Award (2023)
  • European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) Accreditation (2024) and qualification as Senior Practitioner (2024)

Let’s talk

I do my best to respond to messages within 72 hours. Looking forward to hearing from you!