About Me
Hello, I’m Cheryl. I’m a youth counsellor working with young people aged between 12 - 25 years old. I offer a safe, supportive space where you can talk openly about whatever is going on for you, whether that’s anxiety, low mood, anger, stress, low self esteem, relationships, self harm, or feeling overwhelmed.
I believe counselling should feel collaborative, I won’t judge or tell you what to do. Instead, we’ll work together at a pace that feels comfortable, helping you explore your feelings and make sense of your experiences.
My Background
After graduating from the University of Aberdeen with an MA (Hons) in Psychology, I began my career in the voluntary sector supporting adults and young people experiencing a wide range of mental health and emotional difficulties.
For more than a decade, I worked across a variety of support and service development roles, helping people affected by challenges including anxiety, stress, depression, low self esteem, self harm, trauma and suicidal thoughts. A significant part of my career was focussed specifically on self harm. I developed, co-ordinated and managed a specialist self harm support service, as well as contributing to professional training and wider service development. This gave me extensive experience of understanding self harm, the different functions it can serve, and the emotional difficulties that can sit alongside it.
I later chose to expand my knowledge and skills by training as a youth counsellor, and I completed my Diploma in Relationally Focussed Therapeutic Youth Counselling. I feel that my counselling training and previous experience complement one another, allowing me to bring both counselling skills and a broad understanding of mental health support to my work with young people.
Throughout my career, I have felt privileged to support people through difficult times in their lives. I believe every young person deserves a safe, accepting space where they can talk openly about what is happening for them. I find it deeply rewarding to support young people as they explore their experiences and develop self-understanding. I am passionate about supporting young people because adolescence and early adulthood can be a time of enormous change, pressure and uncertainty. Having the right support during this stage of life can make a lasting difference.
Professional Experience
More than 10 years experience working in mental health and emotional wellbeing services
Extensive specialist experience supporting people affected by self harm
Experience developing, coordinating and managing specialist self harm support services
Experience developing and delivering professional training relating to self harm
In-depth understanding of self harm and the emotional difficulties which can contribute to it
Experienced in supporting young people affected by low mood, anxiety, stress, low self esteem and feelings of being overwhelmed and confused.
Experienced in working with the wider emotional, relational and social difficulties that can sit alongside self harm
Qualifications and Professional Memberships
MA (Hons) (2:1) Psychology, University of Aberdeen
Diploma in Relationally Focussed Therapeutic Youth Counselling, ACIS Youth
Certificate in Online and Telephone Counselling, Counselling Tutor
ASIST Suicide Prevention Training
Registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). Membership no: 416297
Member of Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme
