Helping you to live well again
Together we can make it better - let me show you how
So here I am, the counsellor with a difference…
….the difference being, I retired from Lincolnshire Police as a police detective in 2016 and that gives me a unique wealth of experience that I can call on to help support you in your therapy discovery.
You won’t have to waste valuable therapy time explaining your role, I get it.
You won’t have to explain all the terminology, I get it.
You won’t even have to justify why you feel a certain way or worry about being ‘politically correct enough’ or any repercussions to your career development… I get it.
“I want to provide a safe place for emergency services personnel to completely ‘stand down’. Completely, honestly and truthfully without fear or shame.”
Making the life change from 12 years of active police service to civilian life was one of the most traumatic times I have experienced. I thought my life was over. It was! BUT… only as I knew it!
After fracturing my spine I was placed on restricted duties which usually included various errands like making drinks for the office or transporting vehicles here and there. It went on like this for months. I felt like I had fallen into the reject bin, alone.
Medical retirement was not a pleasant process, I felt like ‘just a number’. Where was this ‘police family’ I had always heard about?
I had given my all to my career. I worked through living with a chronic health condition without a soul knowing about it. I used my annual leave for hospital appointments. I couldn’t let my team down. I couldn’t let the public down.
I did not share my problems because I feared the inappropriate comments, the ridicule, the bullying that I had witnessed several times in the past among colleagues. I feared that I would be held back in my career development due to having an invisible disability and it remained hidden until it no longer needed to be.
I took back the reins that had been cruelly snatched from my grasp and altered my way of life. It is still MY life.
Now, I have retrained as a counsellor where I can use my years of operational experience of being ‘on duty’ to help YOU - our UK Emergency Services.
I can help you whether you are police, fire or ambulance, to process and deal with your issues before it takes over your life, your health, your wellbeing.
I started Blue Light Counselling after working as a trauma counsellor whilst training and post-qualification. During this time, my life took on a change. A wonderful change enabling me to use all the skills I had newly learned, alongside the ones that are ingrained in me.
I offer a bespoke, discreet, fully confidential, and completely independent counselling service (from my therapy room in Lincoln and online) to help you to be able to cope better with your own life, alongside the stresses and strains that you take on in everyone else's life – which is, your job.
What can we achieve together?
Through careful exploration together, we can identify areas that may need our focus in order to move forward comfortably and safely. We can work together to disempower the pain, anxiety and stress by using a range of evidenced-based psychology and counselling theories and techniques which I can tailor to you and your individual needs.
We can overcome what’s keeping you awake at night, whatever it is that you don’t want to share with work for whatever the reason and get things back on track for a better and brighter future.
In case you were wondering…
I hold the Advanced Diploma in Counselling Therapy Level 5 with Distinction (as well as levels 1-4). I teach counselling skills Levels 1-4 (BACP approved courses) for a CPCAB training centre and have recently created a Level 2 Understanding Substance Misuse course starting in 2024.
I am a qualified Psychotherapist and Registered Practitioner with the Terence Watts Institute for BrainWorking Recursive Therapy® - BWRT®.
I am a Certified Practitioner of Auriculotherapy using ear seeds and provide a holistic treatment option based around acupuncture principles of the ears - no needles or pain in sight!
I am qualified as a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional in Advanced Trauma, PTSD and Dissociation.
I have Level 2 qualifications in Counselling Adult Survivors of Sexual Abuse including False Memory Syndrome and Dissociative Identity Disorder. I also have Level 2 qualifications in Suicide Awareness and Prevention, Mental Health First Aid and Understanding Autism.
I have complex trauma training in progress for Interventions from EMDR, Parts Work, CPT (Cognitive Processing Therapy) and Polyvagal Theory. This area is a real passion for me and my chosen specialisation for therapy.
I am also qualified as a Transpersonal Coach and hold a Level 4 qualification in Coaching. Coming later this year… Hypnotherapy and some future online course options!
I am always studying and learning about new methods and techniques to help me strive for excellence in the service that I can provide for my clients.
