Our People

Tell us a bit about your experience

I have been thoroughly enjoying working at Be Centre as an Art Psychotherapist for the last few years. But before this, I graduated from my Art Psychotherapy Masters Program in the UK in 2017 and began working in child and adolescent mental health in community and inpatient settings. Alongside side this, I volunteered on a project through the Refugee Council UK with unaccompanied minors which led me to wanting to work the non-for-profit sector. I later relocated to New Zealand, working with families/whanau who have experienced multifaceted trauma, often in small regional communities before moving to NSW, Australia. This year I completed Supervision training to support other art therapists, and I am currently part of developing a Be Centre arts therapy pilot program within Central Coast and the Hunter region. All exciting stuff!

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​Where are you from?

I am from a bustling market town in the UK called Bedford, which sits beside a river not so far from London or Cambridge.

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What inspired you to work in Art Therapy?

Part of my childhood involved living internationally and engaging into the arts was a huge part of my connection to other children and using creativity as expression has always made sense for me. I knew I wanted to work with communities in a way beyond verbal interactions and where self-expression through the arts was valued. I luckily stumbled upon an art therapy introduction course being advertised and curiously signed up.  After meeting such inspiring people and learning theories behind how arts has helped society in so many ways, I knew this was the career for me.

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What do you like most about your job?

I am constantly amazed in the playroom as I watch children process their struggles and guide their own growth. I feel enormously privileged that they allow me into their lives to be part of that process. I love helping provide a safe space and art making alongside others! It always amazes me what people can create and there is something magic about having others witness and acknowledge it. I enjoy seeing how self-expression can offer a sense of hope and inner resilience that can help move people through hardship. 

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What kind of play do you enjoy the most?

Ceramics! I have a pottery wheel which has travelled with me for years and the whole process of working with clay is so enjoyable.