Life can be hard, sometimes intolerable, making it difficult to eat, sleep, work or maintain healthy relationships. Counselling can help to make things easier and improve wellbeing and ability to take care of self. I believe that the relationship between client and counsellor has the potential to raise awareness and understanding to help move things forward and unlock positive change. I work in an integrative way, which means I draw upon various methods and models to best support your needs. I work with clients past experiences, influences and relationships as all are relevant and impactful on the way we feel today. Balancing this material from the past with what's happening in the here and now of the counselling room, is at the heart of my approach to therapy.

I work as a member of IIZUKA's implementation team to analyse client requirements, configure Case Manager™ and implement the solution. I gain an in-depth understanding of each customer's requirements, business context and operational procedures. I manage the process using a range of techniques including writing specifications, modeling diagrams and configuration of prototypes.

Capacity4change delivered business development services to the charity, public and private sectors. Services included coaching, mentoring, research, training, strategic planning and fundraising.

The Bethel Doula Service provides help and emotional support to refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable or isolated women in Birmingham during pregnancy, childbirth and once their babies have been born.I was contracted to lead the development of the parent organisation, the Bethel Health and Healing Network. My role was to implement a strategic vision, develop a sustainable funding strategy as well as manage the staff team. I successfully negotiated a long term funding relationship with the Birmingham clinical commissioning groups, and began partnership negotiations with potential partners CGL and Gateway. I enabled the charity to establish a professional office base and set up systems of better governance and management of staff and service delivery.

Relate Birmingham operates in the areas of Birmingham, Solihull, Sandwell, Wolverhampton, Walsall and South Staffordshire. It provides the following services: relationship support and counselling, sex therapy, education and training and counselling for families, children and young people. It was my job to manage, market and develop an annual programme of workshops for the public and professionals and training to external organisations. This included managing a team of part-time and sessional trainers, generating income to support the provision of Relate's core services as well as monitoring and maintaining the quality of the education and training service to the highest level.

While at BVSC for a short term assignment, I delivered business development services for charities, community groups and social enterprises in Birmingham. I enabled organisations to develop business plans, tender documents, funding strategies, governance structures etc. as well as provided guidance and support to members of the Birmingham Health and Wellbeing Consortium on partnership development, contract readiness and service development. I also co-ordinated Sports 4 Change, a pan European sports volunteering exchange programme with partners in Poland, Germany and Sweden.

A part time paid placement whilst studying counselling, offering one to one counselling and mentoring support to students with mental ill health at Birmingham University (sub contracted by Clearlinks Support Ltd).

Red provided development and capacity building services for the third and public sectors to help them engage and work with volunteers and communities and to help charities harness the resources of the corporate sector. We were a delivery partner for Modernising Volunteering, a three year research and development project funded by Capacitybuilders, led by Volunteering England with v, CSV and the Nationwide Foundation that ran until 2011 - aspects of this work are being taken forward by ivo.org. In its five years Red Foundation became a leading provider of quality and effective consultancy and capacity building services, combining a high level of experience and knowledge with a passion for volunteerism and social action and it's potential to transform communities. Our clients included a mix of national and local civil society organisations alongside local authorities. Our achievements included developing the first city wide volunteering strategy for Westminster which is still being followed today.

My time as a self-employed freelance consultant helped me make the transition from maternity leave back into work. The services I offered to organisations in the voluntary and public sectors included; executive coaching; fundraising strategies; volunteering policy & development strategies; strategic development and business planning advice; developing governance systems; building and motivating teams; research and information gathering; advice on youth participation; recruitment support and advice.

I lead Youth Action Network as it transformed from a small member-led umbrella group into a major national youth volunteering infrastructure organsation. I successfully attracted both government and charitable funds of close to £1 million in order to achieve our vision of supporting a healthy level of youth-led community-based action nationwide. YAN became a respected influencer of national policy and I was involved in discussions at the heart of government, in national commissions and consultations as well as a number of national infrastructure organsiations. Key tasks included; strategic leadership; project management; staff and volunteer supervision and support; financial management and funder liaison; quality assurance; representation and stakeholder relationships; public speaking and policy development.

At BCU's Institute of Art and Design, I managed a 27 strong staff team and co-ordinated a budget of £250,000. Lead policy in management and development of Union’s non-commercial services across multi-campus university, developed student-led approach to service delivery. Management of several services such as Advice Centres, Design Unit, Student Activities, Art Shops, Copy Centre, Website Development. Staff management, marketing and promotion, research, financial management. Member of senior management committee.

Head of Students' Union department. Responsible for advising and supporting 25,000 UCE students. Management of full-time advice workers and co-ordinating team of volunteers. Lead policy development around student welfare, safety, housing, academic representation. Took additional responsibility for co-ordination of pioneer student-to-student training programme as well as leading policy and delivery of volunteering opportunities. Member of sub group of Association of Managers in Students’ Unions (AMSU)

Temporary relief worker in inner London Citizens Advice Bureau. Offering generalist and specialist advice and advocacy to a wide variety of clients. Established remote community-based advice surgery on Newham council estate. Case recording, statistical analysis, report writing.