I qualified as an Art Psychotherapist in 2001 from Queen Margaret University College in Edinburgh.
I have always wanted to be an Art Therapist and prior to my professional studies I gained a variety of work experience, such as leading arts and crafts clubs and working at a summer camp in America, to help build a foundation of skills for working with children, young people and their families.
I studied Art and Psychology in Staffordshire University for my undergraduate degree, and following this, worked as a support worker for a student with Muscular Dystrophy for a year. In 1998 I moved to Edinburgh to study, then spent a year travelling the world and working in New Zealand. When I returned back to the UK, I was offered a position with the charity Barnardo’s, working as a Parent Support Worker to help manage challenging behaviour in the home. I also felt honoured to work as a child advocate for Family Group Conferences alongside the behavioural support work.
In 2003 I moved to Devon from Wales, to work as an Art and Play therapist in special education, working with looked after children who needed specialist behavioural and emotional support. I went on to complete a Postgraduate Diploma in Child and Adolescent Mental Health at Leicester University a few years later and also acquired my postgraduate certificate in Play Therapy with the British Association of Play Therapy.
In 2016 I moved into the statutory sector to work with the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) as a Senior Mental Health Practitioner. Since then I have developed skills in other models such as Low Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (LICBT) and Child Accelerated Trauma Treatment (CATT), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT) and Habit Reversal Therapy (HRT), all of which I am able to apply to working with children, young people and their families when the need is identified.
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with friends and family, often returning to my home town in Wales. I love baking, watching movies, sunset walks on the beach (and making sandcastles), BBQs and recently I have been trying to teach myself sewing. My real passion is travel though and whenever I get the chance, I try to explore new places and go on new adventures.