 |
M.Ed.
R.C.C. |
I grew up in England, obtained
a B.ed Degree from Manchester University and began my career teaching
Humanities in a Comprehensive High School in Bristol. I then graduated
from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, with a Masters
Degree in Counselling Psychology in 1975 and went to work in the States.
I worked as a counsellor in a Residential Treatment Centre with
teenagers, and following this, as a Consultant for Metro-Nashville
School Board, in Tennessee.
The models and techniques which
influenced my work at this time were: Jungian and Adlerian psychology;
Eriksonian Hypnotherapy; Developmental psychology; and a number of
Family Therapy models in which I trained whilst in the U.S. Most
influential, however, was the work of Carl Jung whom I felt understood
the depth of the human psyche and its continual movement towards
healing. I found that in bringing together this understanding and
philosophy with Eriksonian Hypnotherapy was a very powerful method of
working alongside the psyche, reading its cues and clues and entering
into a relationship of healing teamwork.
In private practice in Vancouver in 1987 following the birth of two children, and the death of my husband, I began to train in body-mind psychotherapy. These were; “Psyche and Soma”, a verbal, intuitive and somatic psychology (Dr. Ian MacNaughton); “Bodynamics”, a developmental and somatic psychology (Lisbeth Marcher and Eric Jarlnes); and “Somatic Experiencing” the renegotiation and resolution of trauma (Dr. Peter Levine). These models furthered my experience and understanding of the ways in which the body-mind moves towards healing.
Philosophy: Private Practice
The philosophy that guides my private practice is an integration of my life experiences, training and years of learning from clients with whom I have worked. I have observed that each of us has innate instinctual wisdom, which is experienced and organized quite differently for each person: So that it is in “tracking” and “pacing” (Erikson), each individuals experience of body sensation, image and symbolism, language, emotion, and thought processes, that client and therapist become a team in listening to the wisdom of the psyche.
Paying attention to all these aspects of awareness allows us to access healing energy. Often symptoms of illness, or lack of well-being are the body-mind giving us healing messages. Attending to these signals through felt experience is often all that is necessary to begin the healing process.
For all of us in this process we rediscover the ability to journey that we were born with, the ability to learn and grow from every life experience. The use of the word journey in this context is similar to the Jungian meaning; the hero or heroine’s journey in which one finds one’s own way “home”; that is into deeper connection with oneself. In following the path of your own knowing you are empowered and strengthened, and gain a sense of mastery and peace within.
In my private practice I work with individuals families and groups in my offices in Vancouver and North Vancouver. I am accepting new clients into my private practice.
