With over 25 years’ experience in family law, social work & therapeutic practice, I guide individuals & families through some of life’s most difficult challenges. I have 22 years experience working within statutory services, including Education, Youth Offending Team, Children's Safeguarding and Fostering. I legally qualified, obtaining a Law Degree in 2011 and Masters Degree in Social Work in 2013. I am trauma inform trained, and undertake new learning regularly to keep up to date with theory and research. I am registered with Social Work England and am therefore available for 'expert' work within the courts arena. I have been practicing independently since 2019, but have rebranded to create Anchor and Ascent in 2025, as I intend to develop further services to meet the needs of clients. I fundamentally support people to anchor, building necessary foundations from which to ascent, climb, grow, meet goals and develop. Whether the mountain is the courts or social services, or whether its some internal baggage you're sick of carrying, we process through it together at your pace, in a brave and safe space. I offer a range of services. Every package is tailored to ensure your specific needs are met effectively. Co-Parenting Coaching - Why give power to the courts to make decisions about your children, when as parents you can be empowered and assisted to make those decisions yourselves, in the best interests of the children you have raised and know better than anyone else could. I will;
- work with couples to assist smooth transition from co-habiting to co-parenting, reducing the difficulties that come during separation.
- mediate for genuine solutions, a process in which both parties can feel heard and a strong foundation, with appropriate new boundaries, for future co-parenting, can be set.
- support individuals to manage difficult co-parenting relationships.
- work with children to ascertain their wishes and feelings, to assist in finding routes forward, in their best interests.
- therapeutically support children struggling with family breakdown, to make a healthier transition to their new arrangements. Dealing with Children's Services Social Work interventions -
I am seeing an influx of cases that have been poorly managed by LA Children's Services which have led to awful outcomes for children and families, cases of judgement rather than assessment. I can assist you to understand the frameworks and language so that you can communicate the information these services require effectively, to help you to rectify injustice and/or poor outcomes. Legal support within the Family Courts arena, both public and private law cases -
- prepare you to self represent.
- managing allegations.
- managing abuse.
- assist you understand and engage in court processes and structures.
- help you to understand and engage with Cafcass or LA Children's Services.
- advise you on how to present evidence succinctly and effectively.
- offer supervision of contact in complex cases when progression support is required. General Therapeutic Intervention -
If you've ever engaged with counselling or CAMHS or therapeutic groups and felt it was too open ended, it didn't give you pathways to move forward and you were left still feeling stuck and frustrated on completion, our package might suit your needs better. We provide trauma informed direct work interventions with children and adults to assist change, improved outcomes and/or progression. This includes managing anxiety and depression, parenting support with difficult or dangerous behaviours, transitioning through adolescence, rebuilding following trauma. We tailor packages to suit your specific identified needs and review regularly to ensure continued relevance. Our aim is to assist you to complete your goals in an appropriate time to you, so you can get on with enjoying life. Many young people find sitting in a room boring and emotionally intense, so we undertake most of our sessions outdoors to assist connection. We have found that nature has a calming influence, in the right circumstances. For young people we offer more activity based therapeutic sessions, which particularly suits those children and teens who are struggling with ADHD type traits. I completed bush craft training in 2018 to make these sessions a little more interesting. Training for Professionals -
I have worked within various educational and social care residential provisions, providing therapeutic support to hard to reach young people and assisting to develop healthier staff cultures through training sessions and individual supervision, to improve environments for children and the adults working with them. I also provide accredited level 3 (DSL) Safeguarding Children Training to groups and individuals, generally within your own venue, which improves engagement and understanding much better. Wellbeing Retreats - WATCH THIS SPACE.........
