Qualifications & Experience
BA (Hons) History of Art
Montessori Training
MA Distinction 1998
Tavistock Clinic, University of East London
UKCP registered psychotherapist
Philadelphia Association
I was born in the USA and moved to London in 1969. Having completed my degree (in the USA in the History of Art), I worked for many years in advertising and publishing. From this experience I learned a great deal about the nature of work and business which I find very interesting.
As a psychotherapist I am aware of the difficulties many have in juggling work, relationships,sex and family as we strive for a creative work-life balance. My own experience has also taught me a great deal about living in different cultures.
As my interest in Psychotherapy developed I began studies at the Tavistock Clinic. In 1998 I received an Ma with distinction in Observational Studies, and the topic of my dissertation was ""Born Inside" - a study of mothers and babies in HMP Holloway which at that time was the largest female prison in Europe. i continued to work at Holloway until it's closure in 2016.
To develop further I trained at the Philadelphia Association, founded by RD Laing. This training led to my UKCP registration.
I respect Laing's sensitivity to mental distress and his way of seeing emotional difficulty as a unique experience, and not as a medical problem.
I have worked in a Philadelphia Association therapeutic community and continue to work as a psychotherapist and supervisor in prisons, as well as in private practice. In 2011 I set up the Saturday Forensic Forum which is an opportunity for interested therapists to gather and share information about complex patients in difficult settings. This has brought together years of my psychotherapeutic work in prison.
Working privately or in prisons my approach to psychotherapy is to respect the individual's unique experience and to listen carefully to what is being said (and not being said) in a place of safety and confidentiality.
Publications
The End of the Sentence: Psychotherapy with Female Offenders
Published: 2019
Edited By Pamela Windham Stewart, Jessica Collier
"HMP Holloway was the largest women's prison in Europe, historically holding numerous infamous female criminals and eliciting intrigue and fascination from the public. The End of the Sentence: Psychotherapy with Female Offenders documents the rich and varied psychotherapeutic work undertaken by dedicated specialists in this intense and often difficult environment, where attempts to provide psychological security were often undermined by conflicting ideas of physical security" ~ Brett Kahr
