Pluralistic Conference 2024: A Pluralistic Approach to Trauma – Multiple Perspectives

Ailsa is a Chartered Psychologist, and creative Psychotherapeutic Counsellor (core accreditation – Dance Movement Psychotherapy). Ailsa teaches in counselling and psychotherapy, therapy ethics and human rights, Dance Movement Psychotherapy and music psychology. Her research interweaves pluralistic and creative therapy innovations, including Arts for the Blues, a multimodal and creative psychological therapy for depression. Her PhD research explores psychological flow and advances the novel concept of Creative Therapeutic Flow.

Professor Andrew Reeves, Associate Professor in the Counselling Professions and Mental Health, Senior Fellow, Higher Education Academy (Advance HE), Fellow, British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy Personal and Professional Reflections on Covid-19 Loss and Grief

Dr. Andrew Reeves is a Professor in the Counselling Professions and Mental Health, a BACP Senior Accredited Counsellor/Psychotherapist and a Registered Social Worker.

His practice experience spans over 35 years, when he first trained as a Samaritans volunteer at 18, before moving into social and work therapy. His research focus in working with risk in therapy, having experienced the suicide of a client during his training. Since then, he was published extensively in this area. He is previous Editor-in-Chief of Counselling and Psychotherapy Research journal, past-Chair of BACP and is Chair of the York St John Advisory Board Counselling and Mental Health Research Clinic. He supervises mostly doctoral research in counselling, psychotherapy and psychological trauma.

Ani is a psychotherapist, creative arts counsellor and supervisor who brings a person-centred and pluralistic philosophy to her work. She is passionate about creative approaches to therapy and training. She has over twenty years’ experience working with children, young people, adults and groups. Her experience includes working in schools, drug treatment programmes, probation services, offender programmes, EAP for Essex Police and Essex Fire Services, and she currently has a small private practice.

Ani is the founder of the Association for Person Centred Creative Arts where she is course director, and is also a senior lecturer at the University of East London. Ani has worked on several projects for the BACP and is an Executive Member of the Private Practice Division. Her research interests include creative arts in therapy, digital media in therapy and pluralistic practice.

The Pluralistic Therapy Primer (PCCS Books 2021)

What Works in Counselling and Psychotherapy Relationships (BACP 2020)

The Handbook of Counselling Children and Young People (Sage, 2018)

Anne Burghgraef, Solace Clinical Director, Psychotherapist & Trainer BA MA MSW PgDip, UKCP Reg EMDR Practitioner as the Clinical Director of Solace Surviving Exile and Persecution, Anne has developed Solace’s specialist therapeutic services for asylum seekers and refugees since it began in April 2006. She manages a team of more than 30 Therapists offering a range of therapies including individual psychotherapy, family and groups therapies throughout the Yorkshire and Humber region. Anne is a Family and Systemic Psychotherapist registered with the United Kingdom Council of Psychotherapy (UKCP 06158770), as well as a specialist trauma Therapist. Anne has 35+ years of experience of working as a mental health practitioner, psychotherapist and teacher/trainer in various contexts. Recently she developed two e-learning courses on understanding refugee mental health and providing effective therapeutic support. Anne has also worked for Leeds City Council as a specialist foster carer offering Supported Lodgings to unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Young people (UASCs) since 2016.

Briony Martin is an integrative psychotherapist and supervisor, and Deputy Chair of the Pluralistic Practice Network. After a long break from academia she is now studying for a Professional Doctorate in Psychotherapy and Counselling Studies at Chester University, focusing on anti-racism in therapy and therapy training. The experience has been a steep learning curve and has raised her awareness around the difficulties and barriers faced by therapists in becoming research-active.

Dr. Divine Charura is a full Professor of Counselling Psychology at York St John University (England). He is a Chartered Psychologist, and Counselling Psychologist with the British Psychological Society. He is registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council in England. Divine is also an Honorary Fellow of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy and an Adult Psychotherapist.

Divine’s psychotherapeutic interests are in exploring the therapeutic relationship when working with, loss, diversity, psychological distress, Trauma, love, relationships and their impact of on being. Divine has co-authored and edited numerous books in counselling, psychology and psychotherapy. These include Love and Therapy: In Relationship [co-edited with Stephen Paul] and with Colin Lago has co-edited the following books The Person-Centred Counselling and Psychotherapy Handbook: Origins, Developments and Current Applications and Black Identities + White therapies: Race respect and diversity.

Divine is a lover of photography, art, music and outdoor pursuits.

Kate Smith PhD. is an academic at Abertay University in Scotland where she oversees the MSc in Pluralistic Therapy and the Tayside Centre for Counselling. She has led a number of initiatives within the pluralistic practice community, as well as being the co-author of The Pluralistic Therapy Primer, 50 Frequently Asked Questions in Pluralistic Therapy, and a co-Editor in Chief of the Pluralistic Practice Journal.

Dr Susan Dale MBACP Accre lives and works in the Scottish Highlands. Alongside her therapeutic practice, she has undertaken many collaborative research and writing projects and has published widely. She trained as a counsellor in the 1990’s and then went on to undertake a Masters and completed a Doctorate in 2009 focusing on narrative practices at Bristol University.

Eileen Finnegan is a psychotherapist and supervisor who is accredited with MIACP, MIAHIP, MEAP, MEAC, and FTAI. 

Eileen has studied extensively over the past thirty years, achieving an MSc in Systemic/Family Therapy. She is a qualified Supervisor, Forensic Psychotherapist, Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapist, Gestalt Psychotherapist, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, Trauma-Informed Sensory Motor Trauma Therapist, and specialist in Dynamics of Attachment in Adult Life. She is also a Restorative Justice Practitioner, Mediator, and Private Consultant/Supervisor.

Eileen is a lead therapist and program developer at the Faculty of IICP College Tallaght and is a guest lecturer at UCD. Eileen delivers lectures on all aspects of training for students, preparing them for the journey as professional Psychotherapists. 

Eileen has developed specialist programmes for children in Ireland and Croatia and trained teams in Croatia to deliver specialist intervention programs to children and families who have experienced complex trauma.

Eoin Heneghan recently completed the Level 9 Master of Science in Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy in the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IICP). This contemporary Master’s was developed in conjunction with Professor John McLeod and provides an extensive understanding of both pluralism and research. Eoin explored an integrative approach with a focus on pluralistic counselling and psychotherapy that embraced and considered multiple causes and responses to psychological distress in his training. Prior to this, he completed the Bachelor of Science Degree in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy in IICP. His work as a trainee therapist in the Blanchardstown Counselling Centre for the last two years has enabled him to integrate his pluralistic training to meet the needs of modern society with his clients.

Eoin currently works as a primary school teacher and has worked in St. Patrick’s NS, Dublin 15, for the last sixteen years and has passion in the area of children’s wellbeing and mental health. This led him to examine if early intervention (EI) can alter a child’s life direction when they are in primary school and the importance of having a pluralistic approach to EI in his dissertation. As Eoin has finished his research, he understands that there are still more questions to ask than to answer relating to whether EI can alter a child’s pathway in life. There are numerous avenues to pursue in his research, and the findings are plentiful. When he thinks about trying to answer more of the questions about EI’s in the years ahead, it excites and invigorates him.

Dr Flavio Cannistrà, PsyD, is co-founder of the Italian Center for Single Session Therapy and of the School of Specialization in Brief Systemic-Strategic Psychotherapies “ICNOS Institute”, as well as Director of the IV International Symposium of SST, the first to be held in Europe. An expert in Brief Therapies, he has been a speaker at conferences in Europe, U.S.A., Australia and Japan. Alongside his clinical activity, he studies and researches the
processes and methods that make brief therapies effective and accessible, publishing in international journals. Among his books: “Single Session Therapy. Principles and Practices (with F. Piccirilli, translated into English and Japanese), “Brief Therapy Conversations” and “Single Session Therapies: Why and How One-At-A-Time Mindsets Are Effective” (with M. F. Hoyt).

Frances Basset MBACP (Senior Accred), DPsych Candidate, Metanoia Institute

Frances Basset has worked for over twenty years as a Psychosynthesis Psychotherapist and integrative supervisor and educator. She has worked in both the voluntary sector and in private practice. Frances is currently completing her doctorate at the Metanoia Institute. Her research explores whiteness and white identity in the context of antiracist psychotherapy education. She is a senior accredited member of the BACP and student member of the UKCP. Prior to her career as a psychotherapist, Frances was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Brighton where she designed and led degree and master’s level courses on anti-oppressive practice across a range of health care professions. Frances currently co-facilitates four times yearly, ‘examining whiteness’ groups in Brighton and Hove. These groups are open to all psychotherapists and counsellors who want to actively address the injustices and inequalities of racism within the profession through personal and collective work on white identity, power, privilege, and complicity.

I am a relationship and counselling therapist for couples and individuals, supervisor and trainer, in private practice in the Chilterns. As an active member of Climate Psychology Alliance, I facilitate workshops for academics and mental health practitioners around climate and ecological crisis and decolonising issues. During a thirty five year career I have trained counsellors in college settings, and as a therapist worked with people from all walks of life for charities and universities including Relate and Royal Holloway University of London.

Jennifer Ramsay is a professional storyteller. She has told stories in more than 2,000 events and trained hundreds of people in the ancestral art of storytelling. She works with story medicine in private practice and as a group facilitator in unique workshops, weaving stories into Nature Based Art Therapy, Gestalt therapy, Symbolic Psychodrama and Embodiment work.

She has a degree in Biological Sciences and is part of the global network of Earth Storytellers. The rhythms of nature are very present as she incorporates the Celtic wheel of the year and the lunar cycles into her work.

She is the founder of Story Arte, a centre for Art Therapy and Storytelling in the village where she lives, in the foothills near Madrid.

Dr Joanna Omylinska-Thurston is a Counselling Psychologist at the NHS Talking Therapies at the Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and a Lecturer in Counselling and Psychotherapy at the University of Salford. Her primary research interest is in psychological therapies that are effective and helpful to clients. She is a co-founder of Arts for the Blues a creative evidence-based group psychological therapy for depression which is currently tested in the NHS and charity settings. She has been awarded an NIHR Fellowship for a Feasibility RCT of Arts for the Blues in NHS Talking Therapies.

John McLeod is Visiting Professor of Counselling at the Institute for Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy, Dublin, and Emeritus Professor, Abertay University. He has been closely involved in the development of pluralistic therapy, as well as publishing widely on a wide range of aspects of counselling and psychotherapy research and practice. He lives in Dundee, Scotland.

Karen Eilidh Thomson is in her final stage of doctoral training in counselling psychology at Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland. She is currently working within NHS Scotland psychological services as a trainee. Karen’s doctoral research thus far has focused upon how creativity can be applied within psychotherapeutic practice to improve the accessibility of ‘talk therapies’, particularly with adult clients with a traumatic history. Her ongoing empirical research is investigating experiences of expressive arts activities within trauma-focused psychological interventions, from both client and clinician perspectives.

I am a qualified counsellor accredited by BACP, an EMDR therapist, and a clinical supervisor based in Inverclyde. In my approach to counselling, I value collaboration and recognize that each person’s journey is unique.

My initial training in pluralistic therapy has provided me with a broad understanding of different therapeutic models, and since qualifying in 2015 I have furthered my training and experience, focusing on recovery from trauma and highly stressful experiences. This has included training in Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR), the Comprehensive Resource Model (CRM) and Deep Brain Reorientating (DBR). I have worked across the private, charity and public sector, including Rape Crisis centres, Women’s aid and the NHS. I am currently working for Mankind in Brighton providing therapy for men who have had an unwanted sexual experiences, as well as working privately as a therapist and supervisor and teaching within the Open University.

My name is Konstantina Katsana, and I am an anti-diet dietitian based in Greece. I hold a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree from Harokopio University of Athens. I advocate for Intuitive Eating, supporting individuals affected by chronic dieting and weight stigma, as well as families helping their children build healthy relationships with food and their bodies.
Together with my partner, I represented my country in an Erasmus+ project, co-developing Breaking Weight Bias, an educational tool for health professionals. This material is specifically designed to address weight bias, providing practical strategies to eliminate it in clinical settings. My vision is to promote a culture that respects body diversity and treats everyone with dignity.

Leigh Gardner has been a counsellor for 26 years working in schools and private practice. Leigh recently worked at Metanoia Institute as Director of Studies of the BSc (Hons) Person-Centred Pluralistic course and before that, as Senior Lecturer. She has also worked at University of Salford lecturing in counselling and psychotherapy at BSc and MSc levels. Leigh has worked with Arts for the Blues running workshops and providing supervision for a while now and has a background in creative education and drama. She is part of Playback Theatre Manchester, telling real life stories from the audience through improvisation.

Leo Muckley, Psychotherapist and Counsellor, IICP College, Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland

Leo Muckley is a Pluralistic Psychotherapist and Counsellor with in-person practices in Glengarriff and Skibbereen, West Cork, Ireland and he also works online. He has a particular expertise and interest in working with clients challenged by presenting issues around childhood abuse, suicide and trauma. Leo’s research into Pluralistic practitioner’s experiences of working with actively suicidal clients was published in the Counselling and Psychotherapy Research journal in May 2024. He frequently designs and facilitates bespoke talks, plenary sessions and tutorials for colleges and organisations on his areas of interest. Leo has a passion for mindfulness and meditation and runs a unique “Practical Mindfulness” 8 week course online which is affordable and can be used as CPD. Leo enjoys writing and currently writes a monthly mental health column for the West Cork People newspaper.

Lydia is a PhD student at Edge Hill University, with her key research interests in children’s mental health and wellbeing. With a focus on the psychological mechanisms of change, Lydia is dedicated to advancing research that promotes mental health in young populations, particularly within education. Lydia’s previous work has focused on motor stereotypy behaviour in children with intellectual disabilities. Her work aims to uncover the underlying factors that influence emotional and psychological development in children, contributing to better therapeutic practices and interventions. Outside of academia, Lydia is passionate about supporting families and young people with a range of disabilities to encourage their integration within the community, further enriching the holistic approach to mental health research.

Marc Boaz is an existential psychotherapist, a visiting Professor of Mental Health and Psychotherapy at the University of Northampton, UK, a former member of the UK Trauma Council how’s by Anna Freud, and teaches Critical Psychopathology at the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling (NSPC), UK. He is an author of works on interpersonal trauma, childhood adversity and neurodivergence.

Mark Smith is Professor of Social Work at the University of Dundee. He has a practice background in residential child care and through that developed an interest in ideas of care as an everyday humanistic activity. For the past seven years, he and his family have fostered an unaccompanied asylum-seeking young man (now a refugee) and through that have close contact with other young refugees. All of these have had experiences that would be considered traumatic. However, none of them show any signs of being traumatised. With colleagues, Mark has published critiques of current conceptual assumptions about trauma. He will outline some of these critiques and apply them to his experiences of helping young refugees.

Michelle Cranny is a highly qualified therapist who brings a unique blend of expertise to her practice. Her professional interests range from trauma and addiction issues to grief and loss. She is fully accredited by the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP). She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy from the Institute of Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy (IICP). Notably, she has recently completed a Master of Science in Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy, developed in collaboration with Professor John McLeod and the IICP. This degree equipped her with a comprehensive understanding of pluralism and research. Michelle’s training focused on an integrative approach to pluralistic counselling and psychotherapy, which considers multiple causes and responses to psychological distress. She has also obtained certificates in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Suicide Postvention, and Clinical Outcomes, again with the IICP.

Mike Hackett, MIACP, IASD is a Pluralistic Psychotherapist and Supervisor based in Dublin, Ireland and is Accredited with the Irish Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy. Mike left counsellor training and education after 11 years to pursue his passion for private practice and the dream. During that time, Mike wrote and delivered short and long programmes aimed at equipping therapists to work with dreams in the therapeutic context. Mike’s work in the dream in clinical practice has been published in the Irish Journal of Counselling & Psychotherapy as well as the International Association for the Study of Dreams. He is currently the Regional Representative for the Republic of Ireland for the International Association for the Study of Dreams.

Lynne is Professor of Counselling and Mental Health at York St John University, York, UK. She is a British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Accredited and Registered Counsellor and Psychotherapist, and an honorary fellow of the association. She is a trained supervisor of practitioners working within the counselling, mental health and helping professions. Originally trained as a mental health nurse, Lynne has been a key player in the counselling and mental health fields for many years, contributing at local, regional, national, and international levels. Lynne has a leadership role in mental health transformation in York, working with the health and mental health system partners to bring about co-designed and coproduced change.

Lynne’s current research areas include public mental health, domestic and relationship abuse and trauma, pluralistic approaches to ethics for the counselling professions, group interventions for bereavement and loss, review and evaluation of standardised mental health measures, and evaluation of the provision of online counselling. Lynne has published books on ethics in practice and research papers on multiple aspects of work in the counselling professions. Lynne is working with coeditor Professor Andrew Reeves on an Ethics in Action series for Routledge and is lead author for the series header book, Navigating Relational Ethics in Day-to-Day Practice (co-author Professor Andrew Reeves; book is in production and due for publication in September 2024).

Rocio is a Licensed Psychologist specializing in Systemic Family Therapy. She brings a global perspective to her work, having earned her first qualification in Argentina and her Master’s (MSc) in Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy from the Institute of Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy (IICP) in Dublin, where she has lived since 2019.

Rocio is passionate about learning and has experience as an assistant professor and research collaborator. She has a strong foundation in family dynamics, having trained at the prestigious Sant Pau School in Barcelona and worked extensively with families. Rocio is skilled at supporting individuals and families facing a variety of challenges, including anxiety, depression, grief, eating disorders, and relationship issues. Her recent migration experience fuels her interest in the role of language and culture in therapy.

Rocio is a graduate member of the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) and a student member of the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP).

Roxanne Kerr is the founder and CEO of Trauma Healing Together, a charity based in Scotland offering counselling to survivors of psychological trauma. Roxanne is an experienced and qualified clinical certified trauma specialist with a master’s in counselling from Abertay University and a certificate in complex trauma and dissociation from the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. Roxanne has extensive experience in working with survivors of childhood sexual abuse and individuals with mental health conditions such as bipolar and schizophrenia. Roxanne founded Trauma Healing Together in 2020 as she felt there was more that could be done to support those struggling with their mental health as a result of trauma, and wanted to make a sustainable change. She is trained in Crisis Management and is member of the British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapy.

Sebastian Monteux, Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing, Abertay University

Sebastian is a registered mental health nurse and lecturer in mental health nursing at Abertay University. He has previously worked in Scotland and the Netherlands in the NHS, in the fields of local authority residential child care, adult social care and learning disability, and trained as a Steiner Waldorf School teacher. Most recently, prior to lecturing, he worked in the North of Scotland CAMHS inpatient unit, Dundee.

MBACP Accredited counsellor/psychotherapist, lecturer at the Institute for Counselling and Psychological Studies, Athens, Greece

Tom Meaney – accredited member of the BACP, member of EMDR Association UK and Lecturer in Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy at University of Central Lancashire.

Tom Meaney MBACP (accred). Based in Morecambe, Lancashire. Originally trained in the Person-Centred approach, I have further training in CBT, Solution-Focused therapy and EMDR. Having worked as a psychotherapist in a variety of settings (NHS, charitable, private organisations and higher education) I currently run a very small private practice. I am also a lecturer on the Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy undergraduate degree at the University of Central Lancashire.

Dr Trang Dang is Communications Coordinator at the Climate Psychology Alliance and Visiting Lecturer in Art and Media Technology at the University of Southampton. Trang’s research explores contemporary climate fiction, Indigenous knowledges, and eco-philosophy.