WELCOME TO SUNFLOWER COUNSELLING

How I Work

I work in a person-centred way. In practice, that means I won't be diagnosing you, giving you advice, or steering you toward a particular outcome. Instead, I'll be listening closely and helping you make sense of things in your own time and your own way.

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Person-centred counselling is based on the belief that real change happens when we feel properly heard, accepted, and understood, rather than fixed or corrected. You're the expert on your own life. My job is to be alongside, listening with care and helping you make sense of your experience in your own time and in your own way.

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Alongside this, I also draw on other training where it's useful, including grounding techniques, trauma-informed practice (understanding how past difficult experiences can still affect us in the present, and taking care to work safely with that), and an increasing focus on somatic and embodied approaches, paying attention to what's happening in the body as well as in thought and feeling. I also draw on psychoeducation where it's helpful, sharing information that might support your understanding.​

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What Informs My Practice

My practice is shaped as much by experience as by training. I've worked with grief, sudden loss, identity and neurodivergence over many years, the latter informed not only by clients but by personal and familial experience of my own. I also bring both professional and personal experience of home education, and understand the realities, approaches, and community that come with it.

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My approach continues to develop. I've recently completed further training in psychodynamic theory, which has deepened my understanding of how early experience and unconscious process can shape the patterns we bring into adulthood, alongside my core person-centred approach. I'm also increasingly drawn to somatic and embodied ways of working, recognising that grief and trauma often live in the body in ways that talking alone doesn't always reach.

 

I continue to work with the Road Victims Trust, supporting individuals affected by road death, serious or life-changing injury, or witnessing a road collision. This work continues to deepen my experience of supporting people through sudden and overwhelming loss.

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Training and Qualifications

• CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling

• CPCAB Certificate in Counselling Studies

• CPCAB Certificate in Counselling Skills

• BSc (Hons) Psychology

• Counselling Tutor Certificate in Online and Telephone Counselling

• IARTT Rewind Technique (for trauma)

• Road Victims Trust Training (sudden traumatic loss and road collisions)

• Spokz People Purple Therapy Training (disability-affirming therapy)

• Counselling Tutor Certificate in Working Therapeutically with Autistic Clients

• BCTS 30-Hour Psychodynamic Counselling Course

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I’m committed to ongoing professional development, regularly engaging in further training, personal reflection, and engaging with other professionals to ensure my practice remains thoughtful, ethical, and responsive.

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Areas I Work With

I have experience supporting clients with a wide range of concerns, including but not limited to:

• Bereavement and grief

• Sudden or traumatic loss

• Serious injury

• Witnesses or survivors of road collisions

• Neurodivergence, including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and dyscalculia (diagnosed or self-identified)

• Individuals supporting a neurodivergent family member, friend, or person they care for

• Home education

• Identity and self-exploration

• Disability, and chronic conditions

• Life transitions

• Family and relationship concerns

• Caring responsibilities

• Domestic abuse

• Discrimination

• Individuals with an aging family member, including support around elderly and palliative care

 

This list is not exhaustive. If you're facing emotional or personal challenges, or wanting to explore and further your understanding of yourself in a safe space, I invite you to get in touch.

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