Ann Edwards
Ann Edwards BACP (Snr Accred), UKRCP
Post Graduate diploma in Counselling (University of Hertfordshire) 2001
Skills and Theory for Counselling Young People (Play Therapy United Kingdom) 2005
Relationship-based Supervision of Individuals and Groups (Ibis Consultancy) 2009
Experience and Background
My background is in art and although I now work as a counsellor and supervisor, painting and the arts is still a very important part of my life. Following completion of a Fine Art degree, I became a parent which led me to become interested in ways of parenting,and communicating with children. This led to a Post Graduate Diploma at the University of Hertfordshire in psychodynamic and person centred counselling. I started a counselling service at a local secondary school and undertook several further trainings specifically for working with this age group. I work with adults, children and adolescents.
I became an external moderator for a local counselling training and a few years later qualified as a supervisor. Since then I have supervised groups of trainee play therapists, trainee counsellors, and qualified counsellors and play therapists. I have also run workshops and trained other people interested in using the creative arts in therapy.
I am passionate about both painting and counselling and while my art and my therapeutic work have a different focus from each other, they have become integrated part of my life.
How I work.
I work interactively, often using the creative arts as an aid to expression and insight. I offer a non-judgemental, warm, and supportive space, in which we can together try and understand what is causing certain feelings or behaviours. I believe that through building a relationship that encourages this kind of exploration, people are freed to make changes or move on from feeling as if they are stuck. My thinking is underpinned by an understanding that our past experiences influence our present patterns of behaviour and relationships
Fees by arrangement