Charmaine Pollard

In my own life I have had to face many challenges, find my own strength and rely on my inner resources. This is why I became a counsellor, I qualified in 1998 and later achieved my registered/accredited status with British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). Personal counselling helped me accept myself and gain a better understanding. It has also made me much more resilient in dealing with whatever issues life threw at me. Now, I help others to find their own strength and sense of self through counselling and more recently, poetry therapy. We are all unique and follow our own paths towards change. I know you can change, if that’s what you desire. Having a confidential space, where someone listens to you attentively, and in a non -judgemental manner is the first step. Together, we can explore the sensitive issues which you would prefer to put to the back of your mind, but which keeping nagging at you. I have been on this journey myself, and for over twenty years I have worked in various capacities with people from all walks of life and have seen great results. Contact me for an initial conversation. Additional experience In addition to managing a counselling service working with trauma and abuse. I have extensive experience as a supervisor of other therapists. I also teach personal development courses at City Lit, adult education college in Central London. I have also facilitated personal development groups for counselling diploma students. Poetry therapy Over the past decade, I have come to experience the transformative power of words. I have facilitated poetry therapy groups and therapeutic writing workshops in a wide variety of settings, including clinical settings, schools, churches, libraries, museums, prisons and The National Archives. I am one of a handful of Certified Poetry Therapists in the U.K, who have completed their training with the International Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy in U.S.A.I trained under the mentor ship and supervision of Victoria Field. Currently I only offer poetry therapy in groups. Do visit my workshop page to find out about current workshops / groups or sign up to my email list below. My Book: Writing for Resilience After implementing therapeutic writing programmes in a wide range of settings. I have used this expertise to produce a workbook. The book began its life during a poetry therapy group that I facilitated for women survivors of trauma in Central London. Together the group decided that they wanted to offer hope to those who had been through similar circumstances and introduce other people to the fantastic resource that is, writing as therapy.