As a child and young person, I found rich sustenance in myths from a wide range of traditions. Much later, I learned about Jung’s concept of the collective unconscious, the work of mythologists such as Joseph Campbell, Michael Meade and the analyst Clarissa Pinkola Estes, which highlight the deep wisdom and healing contained in these archetypal stories; these stories continue to move and inspire me. 

Prior to retraining as a psychotherapist, I enjoyed a successful 20 year career as a user researcher, using qualitative techniques based on ethnography to understand more about the human experience and translating these insights into the design of public services for central and local government. Here, I learned the art of servant leadership, the immense gifts of multidisciplinary collaboration, and refined my story-telling skills, giving voice to the unconscious and latent needs that I had observed in my research, creating empathy as well as generating real solutions to issues that users of public services were experiencing.  

My psychotherapy training deepened my knowledge of the psyche, my understanding of the formative forces at play in the development of the Self, and the essential role of creativity in accessing the unconscious. My training, clinical experience and my own personal process, have equipped me to hold a secure and powerful container for others in their journey of transformation.