Current employment

I currently work as a freelance Academic Consultant and as such have a number of roles. I write and teach with the Open University on their Psychology (Social Science Faculty) and Openings programmes. I am also involved in teaching research to Diploma and Post-graduate level psychotherapy trainees and supervising their projects. I have a particular interest in qualitative research and how it can be applied in both health care and psychotherapy. To this end, I offer training, support, supervision and mentorship packages to both individual practitioners and institutions. In this role, I currently mentor a number of Phd and D.Psych students, supporting them in their doctoral studies. I have also been honoured by invitations to speak at various conferences and institutions in the United Kingdom and abroad. I was particularly privileged to be invited to teach at a PhD summer school in the Psychology Faculty at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and at the School of Health Sciences, Växjö, Sweden. More recently I have run workshops at the Gestalt Foundation in Greece, a Health Studies Master’s course in Amsterdam, a Clinical Psychology/Psychotherapy course in Bergen, Norway and other psychotherapy training institutions around the UK.

In addition to my academic consultancy, I am currently practicing as an existential, relational centred psychotherapist. I am a qualified Integrative Psychotherapist registered by the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy. I have a private practice and see clients individually at the Scarborough Psychotherapy Training Institute. I adhere to the Code of Ethics and Professional Practice of ScPTI (see www.scpti.co.uk). I have regular supervision of my work and I am covered by professional indemnity insurance.

Professional background

I started my career in 1978 as an occupational therapist working in the mental health field. During a spell in general psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital, London, I found myself drawn to psychodynamic treatment approaches and spent several years specialising in play therapy (at the Child and Family Psychiatry Unit, Maudsley) and group work (an interest I initially developed while working at the Henderson Hospital Therapeutic Community, Surrey). I returned to general psychiatry in 1990 when I was appointed Head Occupational Therapist at St. James’s Hospital, Leeds. Now over 15 years later, I am returning to the therapy field in my private practice as a psychotherapist.

My academic career took root in the 1980s when I began lecturing as part of the Occupational Therapy Programme at the University College York St John, York. As this was the time when the occupational therapy was becoming a degree profession, I sought to do an Open University degree part-time. After gaining my Honours degree in Psychology, I turned away from clinical practice to become a full-time academic. I taught, and also contributed to the writing of, a number of Open University courses, including the first level Introduction to Social Sciences course (D103) and a third level course in Social Psychology (D317). At about the same time, I began my PhD: a phenomenological study which came to be titled The Lifeworld of the Occupational Therapist. Since completing my PhD in 1998 , phenomenology has become very special to me and the centre of my scholarly activity. I have also continued my teaching and writing role within the Open University – a role of continuing variety, stimulation and interest.

In the last few years I have retrained as an Integrative Psychotherapist at the Scarborough Psychotherapy Training Institute, Scarborough, UK and I now see clients privately on an individual basis. I combine ‘existential phenomenological’ understandings with other models of therapy which includes humanistic, gestalt and psychodynamic approaches. My primary theoretical framework is developmental and relational-centred.

Current Research

I am currently researching the experience of 'being-with' with particular reference to the psychotherapy-client relationship. I continue to be involved in research into the nature of empathy and its possible reflexive application in the context of research as well as collaborating with Virge Eatough on experiencing a kindred spirit connection. In previous phenomenological research projects I have explored the lived experience of being an occuptional therapist, learning to hear after a cochlear implant, having early stage multiple sclerosis and the experience of having mental health problems.

My writing and other scholarly pursuits are both my work and my hobby. My latest book entitled 'Phenomenology for therapists: researching the lived world' is due to be out in July 2011. This book aims to be a practical introduction to phenomenological philosophy and methodology. In 2009, the book I co-wrote/edited this with Ken Evans called 'Relational-centred research for psychotherapists: exploring meanings and experience' was published. We wanted to produce a book which would be an accessible introduction to relational-centred research. We argue that psychotherapists have significant skills that they can import into the research project such as empathy and inferential thinking. Previously I've edited 'Challenging choices: qualitative research for therapists', with Claire Ballinger. The various contributors critically examine a variety of qualitative research methodologies and highlight the challenges that confront researchers who opt for the qualitative path. I am also co-editor (with Brendan Gough) of a textbook of relevance to qualitative research: 'Reflexivity: a practical guide for researchers in health and social sciences'. Comprising contributions from a range of researchers, this book is a practical guide to the use of reflexivity at different stages of the research process.

The books for which I am perhaps best known amongst occupational therapists are 'The practice of psychosocial occupational therapy' (1987, 1997, 2004) and 'Groupwork in occupational therapy' (1992). I have also contributed articles to journals which cover a wide range of topics, including empathy, the lived experience of disability, holism, occupational therapists’ perceptions of patients, reflexivity, phenomenology, professional power and the challenge of working in teams.

Existential phenomenology focuses on age-old questions to do with ourselves and others within our world such as ‘who am I?’ and ‘how do I want to live my life?’ and ‘what does it mean to be a human being?’ In reflecting on these questions we can begin to understand our thoughts, emotions, and values and what life means to us. We can also begin to appreciate what it is to find ourselves in an embodied existence born into a certain time and culture, and how that ties in with ideas concerning freedom, choice and responsibility.

A relational-developmental approach highlights the significance of early infant-caregiver relationships and their impact on subsequent relationships. Integrative psychotherapists believe that a person’s early experience influences later relationships: there is a tendency to repeat history, patterns and ways of relating. As people grow into adults, they find ways of coping and containing their distress in habitual ways - these become our what could be called our ‘scripts’. People then resist change, preferring instead to stick to familiar scripts as they offer security and because scripts have often been reasonably useful/successful up till now. However, sometimes people feel the urge or need to find a new way of being in their lives and new ways of coping with their relationships. Old ways of being may themselves be getting in the way of progress and feeling satisfied with current life. Therapy can play a role here in helping people understand their past and present in order to re-shape the future.

The integrative psychotherapist helps clients along the path of discovering who they are bringing together all their complicated emotions, needs and life circumstances. The focus of the therapy is on how the clients relate to others in their world, how they cope generally and whether there are better ways to live more meaningful, satisfying lives. The therapy process can be challenging as it means squarely facing up to those things we might ordinarily try to avoid but the process can also bring with it a discovery of strengths and unexpected joy. The therapy process is also special as it involves a special kind of relationship with one person who is prepared to listen with genuine compassion and curiosity and to accept the client as they are. Being accepted by others can help clients in turn to better accept and appreciate themselves.

Download my C.V. titled April 2011 final (Microsoft word format - 60k)