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Hi, I am Paula - I have lived and worked in Devon for 20 years, drawn to move here by the rich, living tapestry of sea, moor and hedgerow.
Before training as a counsellor my path led me through university, travel, bookselling, textile design, and working with children and teenagers. In my late 30s, following the birth of my daughter, I found myself having to navigate ‘without a map’ through the painful territory of attachment loss and trauma.
My own healing journey in therapy led me to decide to train as a counsellor myself in 2010. I have learnt to harness my own experiences of trauma and loss to deepen my ability to meet clients in their vulnerability, and support them in creating new patterns of connection. My attachment landscape, past and present, continues to influence how I sensitively attune and come alongside those I am working with.
My desire to create a sacred space for relationship and connection is very much what drives me as a counsellor. I bring to this work an implicit understanding of the loss and pain of disconnection. I believe that we all have the ability to connect in satisfying, meaningful ways, but sometimes we need support to re-learn how.
I’m now in my 50s and a new adventure is unfolding as I step forward into my second half of life! I am curious to explore what it means to be an elder in these challenging times of change, how my energy and life purpose may evolve.
It certainly feels to me like a time for expanding our spirituality, for becoming more conscious and awake, and for learning to reconnect in community.
I recently trained in Way of Council circle facilitation, which resonates powerfully with my love of authentic relationship.
Driven by a desire for transformation and healing to be as easeful and effective as possible for my clients, I am also training in neuroscience-based changework techniques, which can create rapid change within the unconscious, where all our core beliefs and unhelpful programming resides.
Training, qualifications & experience
2012 – Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling
2016 – Professional Diploma in Counselling Children & Adolescents
2018 – Specialist Diploma in Relationship Counselling
2021 – certificate in Online & Phone counselling
2021-2023 – invaluable learning of attachment and relational healing through my own experience as a client of attachment-informed EMDR
2024 – ongoing learning on The Transformational Healing Blueprint program (Hypnocatalyst.com) – neuroplasticity tools for change.
I am a registered member of BACP British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy.
I have extensive experience of working with young people in school and college settings, and have worked as a volunteer for a local bereavement charity. I have also been an approved adoption therapist for working with adoptees (young adults and older).
I believe a good counsellor is one who continues to develop their skills and understanding throughout their working life. I am committed to my personal and professional development, and attend workshops, engage in personal therapy, and learn through research and reading.
Nobody escapes being wounded. We all are wounded people, whether physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually. The main question is not, “How can we hide our wounds?” so we don’t have to be embarrassed, but “How can we put our woundedness in the service of others?” When our wounds cease to be a source of shame, and become a source of healing, we have become wounded healers.
From Henri Nouwen’s ‘Bread for the Journey’