THERAPUTIC INTERVENTIONS

I am a passionate and driven social worker with a genuine commitment to supporting people to live joyful, fulfilling lives. I strive to create an environment that that encourages connectedness, growth and lifelong learning. 

 I practice from a relational approach and have a warm, non-judgmental, and relaxed manner.  I implement person-centered psychotherapy methods to instill self-understanding among clients and encourage them to adopt new attitudes and feelings towards challenging life situations.  I believe therapy should be done with people, not to people. It is essential to keep in mind that therapy is not a magic pill or a quick fix: therapy is an ongoing commitment with practice and reflection required at home. 

Areas of interest and expertise;

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Personality Disorders

• Self-harm and suicidal ideation

• Ages and Stages / Life changes

• Trauma

• LGBTQI

• Parenting adolescents

• Skills training (problem solving, social skills, stress management, parenting skills)

• Adjustments to change

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I have post graduate training in the following interventions;

• Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT)

• Mentalization Based Treatment (MBT)

• Mentalization Based Treatment - Family (MBT-F)

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) 

• Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)

Please don't hesitate to let me know if you are seeking a particular type of treatment.

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Animal Assisted Therapy

Therapy is often thought to be intimidating, so why not make it slightly more comfortable?

Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) covers a broad range of services but in our case is linked to my training as a social worker. AAT is employed as an adjunct to the therapy modalities already being implemented.

AAT is well researched and so much more than ‘just patting a dog’ or having them present in sessions. AAT is goal directed work to improvement in social, emotional or cognitive functioning - using the human animal bond to support interactions.  The human-animal bond is an increasingly researched phenomenon that highlights the mutually beneficial gains of interaction and relationship between human and animal and helps break down some of the barriers of initial stages of engagement. There are physiological benefits such as lowered blood pressure, reduced heart rate or stress levels.

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What is a Therapy Dog?

A therapy dog is trained to work with one handler but engage with a range of people. The kind of therapy/engagement will depend on the handlers qualifications e.g. occupational therapist, teacher or social worker.  Therapy dogs cannot enter public places such as planes/shops. Therapy dogs are different to service dogs or assistance dogs; assistance dogs are trained to work with one specific person whereas Pikelet is trained to work with many people with my support. Delta dogs and visiting dogs are different to therapy dogs as well, they're usually brief activities rather than an ongoing goal focused intervention such as what we are completing.

As a human-canine team, we have been assessed as having an appropriate relationship, connection and handling skills as well as Pikelet's temperament and obedience being assessed annually. 

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Some of the benefits of working with a therapy dog might include; increased attendance, engagement and motivation in sessions​, support building therapeutic rapport between client and the therapy dog team, physical effects on the body e.g improved blood pressure/heart rate and reduced stress levels and impact on connection, social contact and development of social skills.

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Walk Talk Therapy

If you find sitting in an office difficult, this may be the option for you.  Combining the benefits of sunlight, bilateral stimulation, exercise and nature with talking therapy.

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