Want to know what I've been up to in 2021?
I’ve lost count how many times I’ve heard clients tell me that they felt unable to be open about their gender and/or sexuality with a previous counsellor.
I want this to change.
I want more counselling practices to actively include and attract LGBTQ+ clients.
To help make this happen I offer talks and workshops to help fellow counsellors reflect on their privileges and learn what they can do to make their work more affirmative. Learn more here>>>
This passion has been something I've been growing in 2021 through offering more trainings and talks to counsellors.
This, together with seeing clients has been a great year, I'm excited to share it with you.
It’s become a tradition that each year I write a blog to reflect on my year. Here’s my round up of 2021.
Winter
2021 kicked off with the great news that my professional training workshop for counsellors on LGBTQ+ awareness had been given quality checked status by the National Counselling Society. Read more here>>>
Going through this rigorous process helps people put trust in my workshops and has certainly contributed to my training side of my practice snowballing.
In Jan and Feb I ran another 4 workshops for Online Events (a huge online CPD hub for counsellors). I have run workshops for Online Events since 2019. They continue to be was very popular and this year saw over 100 counsellors attending.
For LGBTQ+ History Month (in Feb), Wolverhampton University sponsored a free awareness raising talk on pronouns. This attracted over 400 people, which I'm told is a record of all the events they put on over lockdown. It just shows how pronouns is such a hot topic and so many people were ready to learn more.
Spring
The spring saw me continue to get more bookings for training workshops. I did a workshop on pronouns for students and staff at British Institute for Modern Music (BIMM) and 2 LGBTQ+ awareness workshops for counsellors at Cruse (a bereavement charity).
The Open University then invited me to speak at their Diversity and Inclusion conference. It was so fascinating hearing the other speakers and contributing too.
Activism in the counselling profession is something I am very passionate about. So I was delighted to be invited to contribute to this year’s Psychotherapists & Counsellors for Social Responsibility Activists' Day conference.
My short video on the importance of respecting pronouns in the counselling room was shown on Activists' day together with some other great community videos from fellow activists.
Summer
Pride month (in June) was a busy month for me.
I wrote an article for The National Counselling Society’s magazine on pronouns in the counselling room. You can read it here >>>
I also ran a training workshop on LGBTQ+ awareness exclusively for The National Counselling Society and another workshop open to all counsellors.
I also recorded a talk and podcast on ‘Working Inclusively in the LGBTQ+ Community’ for Counselling Tutor (a huge online CPD hub for counsellors). This has now been made available for their members to catch up online. My talk will continue to help more fellow counsellors think about how to work more inclusively for years to come.
Autumn
Autumn saw me celebrate 5 years in private practice. Read more here >>>
I love this job and I’m proud to be continuing to see clients as well as contributing my experience to help support fellow counsellors.
This autumn I ran another private training for independent counsellors and The National Counselling Society, as well as for counselling teams at Lincoln University and YouthLine.
To celebrate International Pronouns Day in October I launched my new recorded CPD training on pronouns. This proved to be very popular and more accessible for busy professionals than live workshops. I have had lots of feedback that people love that they can buy it instantly, watch as many times as they want and keep it forever. Read more and get your copy here >>>
I plan to create more CPD talks for professionals in 2022, so stay tuned for updates.
The year ended with me working hard to re-design my website. I hope that it's clearer and easier to use now. I’d love to hear what you think.
As I come to a close, I want to say a big thank you to my team who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes with tech support and graphic design to make the training side of my work flourish. Big thank you to Allan, Carla, Kez and Linzi.
I look forward to 2022 and I’m excited to see what the next year will hold.
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