WHERE MY JOURNEY HAS BROUGHT ME

Hello and welcome,

I am here to offer what you need to decide if you'd like to work with me. Together, we can explore how best to do that in a friendly and compassionate way.

I thought it might help if I described my journey to becoming a mindfulness counsellor and where that leaves me now.

My journey to becoming a mindfulness counsellor

Faced with the aftermath of World War Two, I joined a society that cultivated members’ spirituality. This resulted in many years study and spiritual practice alongside training in various counselling methods, which included:

• Gestalt;
• Psychodrama;
• Trauma work;
• Community work based on the famous Tavistock Method;
• Continual updating through in-service training; and
•  An MSc in Psychological Counselling from Surrey University.

I also conducted training for staff in Nigeria and for Swedish mental health workers.

Working in Africa, New Zealand, Australia and America has given me a wealth of experience of other cultures and a timely understanding of them. I have especially enjoyed outdoor education work, which has deepened the love of nature I now incorporate into my life and work. Twelve years as a manager sharing community life with those who suffered from mental health problems, four years as staff team member in an eating disorders unit, and auxiliary work in a trauma team have offered me a broad vision of a range of problems, including the need to manage stress and anxiety in a calm and open-minded way.

Where I am now

All this has given me a profound awareness of the human state. In Mindfulness, I have found a way to bring all this experience and training into the present moment. It has cultivated a greater compassion for myself, others, and the whole universe, and I have discovered a new, peaceful place in its ever-changing patterns. It is this I encourage others to share as we work together to manage the stresses and anxiety encountered in our frantic world. Personally, I can say with patient practice, it works.