About Steve
I did not come to this work in a straight line, and that turns out to be the most useful thing about me.
How I got here
I spent most of my working life in management and security. Counselling was not the plan, and for a long time I would have been the last person in the room to talk about how I was feeling.
Then I was diagnosed with cancer. Twice. I went through severe treatment on both occasions, and afterwards a long, grinding employment tribunal. It was a bad few years and I did not get through them on my own. People listened to me when I needed it, and that is not a small thing to have been given.
I retrained as an adult, in difficult circumstances, and took a BSc degree in Person-Centred Counselling at the University of Derby. I now work in private practice in Crewe, Cheshire, supporting people through bereavement, serious illness, anxiety, depression and the sort of change nobody asks for.
Why I do it
Because I know what it is like to be the one who needs help and to find it difficult to ask. I know how it feels to sit in a waiting room, to be handed information you cannot take in, and to be told you look well when you do not feel it.
I would not be where I am without the people who listened to me. Doing the same for someone else is straightforwardly the most worthwhile thing I have ever done for a living.
It also means I do not get uncomfortable when a conversation goes somewhere difficult. Death, fear, anger, the resentment you are not supposed to admit to. You can bring all of it. I am not going to flinch and I am not going to try to cheer you up.
Qualifications
- BSc (Hons) degree in Person-Centred Counselling
- University of Derby, 2022
- Registered Member, BACP
- Bound by the BACP Ethical Framework, in regular supervision, and fully insured
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Trained in ACT, used alongside person-centred practice where it helps
- Foundation in Compassion Focused Therapy
- Trained in CFT, used alongside person-centred practice where it helps
- Level 2 and 3 Diplomas
- Person-Centred Counselling
Beyond the counselling room
Alongside private practice I work in cancer patient advocacy, and I train care teams. It keeps me close to the communities I came from, and it is where a good deal of what I understand about illness actually comes from.
- Board member
- International Kidney Cancer Coalition
- Co-chair
- IKCC Annual Summit organising committee
- Community Development Officer
- Action Kidney Cancer
- Training
- The Resilience RoomCPD on loss, grief and resilience for care teams
I have spoken at international oncology conferences, run sessions for cancer charities including Mission Remission’s Recovery Café, and worked with the press on campaigns about the financial toll of a diagnosis. I also host the Living with and Beyond Cancer podcast.
What people have said
I lost my mum on top of several other recent bereavements and Steve helped me understand that it was ok to take longer than I thought was normal, to process what had happened. Steve made it possible for me to start that process as I knew he was right there with me.
I can’t thank Steve enough, I’m not sure where I would be right now if it wasn’t for his help and support. Steve listens without interrupting and really helped me understand what was going on for me.
Steve’s Recovery Café workshop on the impact of a cancer diagnosis on mental health was delivered with deep insight, compassion and authenticity. The session resonated powerfully with our community of cancer survivors. Steve created a space that felt safe, validating and reassuring.
If any of that sounds like the right fit
Send a message and we will take it from there. If you would rather have a quick word on the phone first, say so and I will ring you.