Counselling in Inverness and Strathspey

If you need help or advice urgently please call your GP or ring 999. The following links may also help you with some advice and immediate support:

• How Samaritans can help you
• Get support - Cruse Bereavement Support
• LGBTQIA+ people's mental health - Mental Health UK
• Terms & Conditions Of Addiction Helpline - Addiction Helpline
• The UK's Eating Disorder Charity - Beat

*Please note I do not accept any responsibility for any information provided on external websites.

Speaking to friends and family and making use of your own support systems can without doubt, be beneficial and supportive.

However there may at times be things that you do not feel comfortable sharing or discussing openly with those you are close to, perhaps for fear of being judged or of upsetting or worrying them. Friends and family members have an emotional attachment to you and may struggle to see things objectively or may be faced with conflicts of loyalty and feel unable to keep what you have discussed confidential.

As a Counsellor and Psychotherapist I receive ongoing formal support through my own supervision and have also been trained to listen objectively and without judgement.

In addition to my degree and post-graduate qualifications, I hold a Diploma in Person-Centred Counselling and Psychotherapy (Distinction) and a Certificate in Online and Telephone Counselling. I hold the Diploma in working with Children and Young People and have gained the Temenos Foundation Certificate in Bereavement Counselling.

I am a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. This means that I have met or exceeded their standards and expectations for training and have committed to undertake steps to ensure that my practice remains safe, of good quality and is up to date.

These steps include a commitment to undertaking monthly supervision with an experienced Supervising Counsellor, a commitment to undertaking further training each year to deepen my knowledge and understanding and most importantly a commitment to follow their Code of Ethics.

Further details on this can be found on the BACP website.

I provide one to one therapy for children, young people and adults. I do not currently offer Couples Therapy or Family Therapy.

Many people seek help who are experiencing anxiety, low mood or depression. Others may feel overwhelmed or ‘stuck’ in life and others may have very specific reasons such as bereavement or experience of Trauma.

I am able to offer therapy for a wide range of needs and concerns however if I feel that your area of need falls outside my scope of practice or that you might receive more specialist support via other means, I will advise you of this and can guide you towards identifying alternative avenues of support.

Information discussed in the course of us working together is treated with respect and is confidential.

There are a small number of exceptions where I may have to break confidentiality:

• If I am concerned for your safety or the safety of those around you. Wherever possible, I would discuss this with you beforehand.
• There are legal limits to confidentiality around disclosure of committing or intent to commit criminal offences, such as prevention of terrorism, drug trafficking acts, money laundering and child protection acts.
• If I am summoned by a Court of Law, I may need to answer questions about you, as my client.

A requirement of registration with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy is that counsellors attend supervision to discuss client work on a monthly basis. This is to monitor my work and promote best practice. Any client material discussed will be anonymised and my supervisor is also bound by the same Code of Ethics as I am.

If you have any concerns or questions around this, we can these discuss within our therapy sessions.

In my experience, weekly sessions work best for developing our working relationship and with keeping up the momentum. However, fortnightly sessions are also possible and in some instances we may start off meeting weekly and then agree to move to fortnightly sessions.

If you would like to stop therapy sessions at any point, then that of course is your choice. You are not tied into completing a set number of sessions.

My preference would be that when you are thinking of stopping therapy you let me know and we have a final 'ending' session together to ensure that we end in a planned and safe way.

Please let me know at the time of enquiry if you have a disability or support need that you would like me to make accommodations for. I will do what I can to accommodate your needs.