Your Role: Systemic Psychotherapist

Your Connection to the Course: I have completed all three levels of my training at Derby University, beginning in 2001on the first foundation course at the uni. I then completed my formal training on the first MSc at Derby University, being the first person to complete all my training through Derby!

The internalised Gary!

I cannot think of my systemic training through Derby without thinking of Gary! He and the training have been fundamental in my development both personally and professionally. The therapist I am today has been shaped by the challenges and supervision I feel privileged to have experienced with Gary and all those that have been part of my journey at Derby. There are many sparking moments from my experiences but two really stand out and often come to mind in my work with families. They both involve you Gary in our work at the training clinic. One was where you shared with the family aspects of your own experiences as a young person. For me, this really connected with the “self” of the therapist and what it means to share this with a family in a way that is therapeutic. The second was in being able to hold a position in regard to actions taken by a parent but also holding out a branch for them to take hold of, in terms of doing things differently. These were relatively short moments in the therapy but have stuck with me in terms of my own stance as a therapist.