About me

Hi, I'm Jenna, a qualified CBT therapist based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

I have had the privilege of working with people from all walks of life for the past 13 years. As a qualified Social Worker I have worked with young parents, asylum seekers, refugees, foster children and foster carers. Now in my role as a qualified CBT therapist, I help people with all aspects of their mental health.

Some of the clients I work with include those experiencing symptoms of depression, OCD, PTSD, health anxiety, social anxiety, panic disorder, phobias, generalised anxiety, eating disorders, self-esteem issues and negative self-beliefs.

I have also had further training in Compassion Focused Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and supporting clients with long term health conditions, disordered eating and insomnia.

Alongside my private practice I work for the NHS providing therapy for 14-25 year olds with complex trauma and mental health issues. I am also an affiliate therapist for a local fostering agency providing training and supervision for carers and staff.

Outside of work I am Mum to my awesome 7 yr old boy. After years of 'Mum guilt' I have embraced that time for myself is important and so I have started to explore hobbies and interests that I want to do because they make me happy and not things I feel I 'should do'. This is a mixture of attempting to build my strength at the gym, playing board games for hours on end with my fiance or staying up far too late watching Netflix!

My own mental health journey

I started my therapist journey after becoming a carer for a family member whose mental and physical health quickly deteriorated during lockdown. Grief, anxiety, depression and dementia changed my hero into someone I didn't recognise, and it was a stress and pain I can't even describe.

My experience set me on a 'mental health mission' to find tools to help others so that no-one had to go through what we had - little did I know at the time that it was me that needed the tools the most!

It was only whilst studying to become a therapist that I realised just how much anxiety factored into every element of my life, particularly in social situations and worrying about loved ones.

Not feeling good enough, putting ridiculous expectations on myself, imagining worse case scenarios and replaying conversations over and over were my normality. My mind never stopped. Grief intensified my anxiety, I was always planning or worrying about the future or ruminating and fixating on the past and I feared I had lost my spark for good.

Learning CBT, Compassion and ACT techniques totally transformed how I viewed myself and how I now react to difficult thoughts and feelings. It was a long journey but I am grateful to say I am in a place where I finally feel good enough and through this have found my passion for helping others feel the same.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story - I look forward to hopefully hearing yours soon.

Qualifications

I have a High Intensity CBT Graduate Dilpoma from Canterbury Christ Church University and am accredited with the BABCP (British Association of Behavioural Cognitive Psychotherapies)

I have a BA Hons degree in Social Work from UCS.

I have completed additional training in ACT, Compassion Focused Therapy, CBT for Insomnia, disordered eating and long term health conditions.

Have any questions?

If you have any questions about the therapies, feel free to contact me.