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Published: 28 May 2019

We've been beavering away with new projects over the last few months and I'd like to share a few updates with you.....
We're preparing for our 5th educational group therapy session for our 'Living with fibromyalgia' group and I'm so proud of the amazing bunch of ladies who have been attending. Sassy, bubbly and with bucket loads of courage, we're seeing each and every one of them rising to our challenges with determination, spirit and humour.
We've added another 4 sessions to take us to the end of the year, and I look forward to sharing their progress.
Another year of study ended last weekend with the legendary Babette Rothschild who flies over from L.A. to deliver her training in somatic trauma. A huge fan of her work it's been incredible to be on the receiving end of her teaching, and this enables me to work with trauma in a way that I believe is kinder and more long lasting. My private practice is already showing a positive response to stabilisation techniques from clients who have experienced significant trauma and anxiety in their lives.
The secondary breast cancer care group sessions continue to meet every month, and it's a privilege to work with such incredible women. Breast Cancer Care Cymru held their annual health & wellbeing day at 'Maggies', new to Cardiff earlier this month, an event which was very well attended. In addition to this, workshops for those affected by the psychological impact of a primary breast cancer diagnosis are also being well received on the 'Moving Forward' and 'Friends & Family' courses at BCC, with excellent feedback.

Please contact me if you'd like further info on any of the above.

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Published: 14 February 2019

My colleague and I started a unique concept last week, educational group therapy for those living with fibromyalgia. It's taken a long time to put together an evidence based programme to hopefully build a platform for those who feel isolated and hopeless with a chronic medical condition, and we both feel so excited by this project. We now have the support of several health care professionals and doctors, the occ health department of 2 county councils, a hospital physiotherapy team, Fair Treatment for Women in Wales and an AM from the Welsh Assembly, from whom we eventually hope to apply for funding options for future projects. We both feel privileged to have met such a courageous group of ladies who gave of themselves so honestly and openly, and look forward to our work together over the next few months.

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Published: 07 January 2019

I would like to wish all of you a healthy new year, especially concerning mental health. 2019 looks promising for us in terms of progress as we build on the baby steps made last year.
*The use of a far kinder - and in my opinion - more effective way to work with trauma is proving successful in my private practice. Babette Rothschild’s somatic based trauma therapy places the emphasis on understanding how trauma affects our physiology as well as psychology, and how working with both in tandem creates a stable long term recovery.
*Understanding the reasons we become anxious by giving information on our psyco education is having a positive effect on the reduction of anxiety in medical trauma, both on a one-to-one and group basis.
*Workshops for understanding why we react the way we do , and how our relationships change when given a cancer diagnosis are proving successful within the Breast Cancer Care charity.
*Monthly group meet-ups for those living with secondary breast cancer are continuing, and networking with health care professionals within the cancer field is helping to generate greater support for the ladies attending.
*'Counselling with Cake's' private educational group therapy for those living with a chronic medical condition, begins in February with 'Living with fibromyalgia'. This is a pilot scheme for which we hope to create funding, and the results will be clinically measured to assess the success of the interventions and suggestions made to help manage the condition.
I am excited by this progress and plans for 2019......

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Published: 02 January 2019

Our new educational group therapy for those living with a chronic medical condition begins this February with the emphasis on fibromyalgia. Supported by health care professionals we're proud to be the first in South Wales offering this service which empowers people to help manage their symptoms in a more life enhancing way. We offer a source of education that is largely non-clinical and includes psycho-education and compassion based techniques to name a few, together with the powerful dynamic of group therapy. And of course, there's always time for cake......... See our Counselling with cake page for more details.

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Published: 14 December 2018

please see our 'Counselling with cake' page for details!

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Published: 20 November 2018

We are pleased to be offering a new fibromyalgia educational group therapy course from January 2019, at the same venue in Pontypridd. Dates to be confirmed shortly!

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Published: 11 September 2018

We are thrilled to finally be introducing 'Counselling with cake', group therapy for those living with fibromyalgia, in November 2018.

Long term medical conditions that affect people with little or no psychological support can exacerbate a physiological diagnosis, causing an individual to suffer depression, anxiety, isolation, lack of confidence & self esteem and the inability to function productively. Group counselling that incorporates psycho education, neuro science, mindful based  therapies and learning to be compassionate to oneself and others - in addition to the normalisation of a shared experience - can be instrumental in giving patients with a chronic medical condition the control they have previously lost, and the ability to reinvest in themselves and their lives. Please visit our 'Counselling with cake' page for details and contact us for further information, and for a place. Places are limited to 14.

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Published: 16 July 2018

'Counselling with cake' will be starting group therapy sessions for those living with fibromyalgia, in September 2018 for an initial 3 month period. Meet ups will be monthly for 2 hours in the Rhondda/Mid Glamorgan area. Facilitated by Psychotherapists and counsellors this is not only a chance for people to meet others who share their experience, but is  a therapeutic space in which to learn how to live with, and manage, physical and psychological pain. Living with any medical condition can often feel isolating if our emotional needs are unmet and many feel a sense of empowerment and control through meeting others who share their situation. Dates, times, location and costs will be available by the end of August/beginning September. Please e-mail via the contact page to register your interest.

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Published: 02 May 2018

I am proud to be promoting 'Family & Friends' workshops in conjunction with Breast Cancer Care Cardiff. Following our successful pilot evenings in February & March we have secured funding for further events this year. Having a cancer diagnosis can be life changing, both for those diagnosed as well as those close to them. These evenings give everyone affected the opportunity to meet others and share their experiences in an informal, non clinical and supportive environment. Dates are currently being confirmed in Cardiff for June, September & November, with the possibility of further evenings in Swansea/Carmarthen. Please share with anyone you think may be affected by the psychological impact of living with primary breast cancer in South Wales. Sometimes it helps not to feel so isolated and lonely when thoughts and feelings can be shared.

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Published: 12 February 2018

I'm excited to have signed up for Babette Rothschild's somatic trauma therapy training in London, which takes place over the course of a year. It approaches psychotherapy and counselling with traumatised clients in a safer and more assured way by using a non invasive model of working that is very different to that of exposure. The following is an interesting observation on the merits of working in this way, compared to the more evidence based, cognitive models.

https://www.madinamerica.com/2018/01/trauma-resiliency-model-new-somatic-therapy-treating-trauma/