Specialist in Grief, Loss, Bereavement, Gender, and Identity
I am an experienced Gestalt therapist specialising in bereavement, grief and loss, and gender identity in Brighton and online.
My sessions are available over Zoom, from my private practice in Brighton, or during a walk in the countryside. I create a highly interactive, creative environment that allows you to develop an increased awareness of your present-day thoughts and feelings. This could entail something like gardening, poetry, using your hands to make something, or anything else that helps you feel connected to the present moment. By focusing on the ‘here and now’, Gestalt therapy works towards improving your overall awareness of how you relate to yourself and other people, thereby giving you the fresh perspective you need to make powerful changes in your life and feel happier each day.
Want to know more about the way I work as a Gestalt therapist specialising in grief and loss in Brighton and online? If so, take a look at my About Counselling page.
My Background
I grew up in Brighton in a one-parent family. My dad had died when I was very young, and my mother had a hard time dealing with her grief and melancholy. In general, I was a happy child, but I was often targeted for being gay and experienced the prejudice that being ‘different’ can bring. My reaction was to shut down and isolate myself; I couldn’t work out how to change my situation. Eventually, in my thirties, I decided on doing something radical – giving up work and moving to the Findhorn Community in Scotland to kick start my life and do something different.
Looking back, I will always be grateful that I made the move. Scotland was like a breath of fresh air, and I woke up out of my depression. I was surrounded by people who were supportive and appreciative of everything I brought to this world as a human. Where before I had been teased for knitting or cooking, I was now being praised and valued. It felt like a transformation and after many experiences there, I became a workshop facilitator, leading weekly workshops for the visiting guests on personal development, creativity, gardening, meditation, and mindfulness.
I left Scotland to spend time with my mother during her last years as she died of dementia and started training to be a counsellor so that I could continue building on the group therapy skills I had learned in Findhorn. Becoming a Gestalt therapist specialising in bereavement, grief and loss in Brighton and online has enabled me to continue supporting people in their journey of discovering their authenticity and developing the inherent potential that lies within themselves.
Qualifications and Experience
- Fully registered member of BACP
- Postgraduate Certificate in Gestalt Therapy – London Metropolitan University
- Advanced Diploma in Professional Development – London Metropolitan University
- Diploma in Humanistic Counselling – University of Chichester
- Essentials of Psychoanalysis – The Psychosynthesis Trust
- Awareness in Bereavement Care – CRUSE
- Member of GI (Gendered Intelligence) Network of Therapists and Counsellors – Working alongside Trans, Gender Diverse and Questioning People
- Member Klinefelter’s Syndrome Association
- CRUSE – Bereavement Counselling
- MIND in Croydon – Mental Health
- Emotional Support for Carers – Worthing, West Sussex
- As You Are – Southwick, West Sussex
- Counsellor at the Macmillan Horizon Centre (for Cancer) in Brighton for six years
Additional training in
Eating disorders
Neurodiversity
Couples counselling
Attachment Theory
Trauma
Working alongside Trans, Gender Diverse and Questioning People
Death and Dying
Along with working as a Gestalt therapist specialising in grief and loss in Brighton and online, I can help you with issues such as sexuality, gender, identity, depression, relationships, anxiety, eating disorders, and much more.
