Jennifer Coles

Having worked as a psychotherapist for the last ten years, I have experience of attuning to the often wounded internal child within my adult patients. I see how neglect, abuse and complex trauma affect people throughout their lives. In recent years I have branched out into working with younger people, in school counselling placements and at the Priory Hospital.

This I feel is my calling and I want to devote the second half of my life to this work in an effort to make earlier interventions and help young people to thrive.

I started my career in a film company, as I was always drawn to the creative arts. I took my passion for storytelling into the psychological field by volunteering at a respite centre for people suffering from suicidal ideation and I got my first paid job in the helping professions working for Galop, a domestic violence helpline for the LGBTQ community. From there, I trained at Roehampton University and acquired a postgraduate diploma in psychodynamic psychotherapy.

This included two voluntary placements as a school counsellor as well as 300 hours volunteering with adults. I have been working as a professional psychotherapist since 2014, mostly self-employed or contracted by the Priory Hospital and now Spring Health, a mental health organistation for employees. I’ve been thinking deeply about my purpose in life and my true calling and feel strongly that I want to use my skills to help children as early interventions can make an enormous difference to people’s lives.

I hope you will give me the opportunity to realise my dream.

NFCE CACHE Level 2 in understanding mental health in children and young people (BSY Group, online course, 2022)

PGDip Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Theory & Practice (Roehampton University, 2014)

MA Fine Art Media (The Slade School of Fine Art, 2007)

BA English Language & Literature (Oxford Universit, 2001)

A-Levels: English, French, German

GCSEs: Maths, Science, Geography, English, Drama, Music, French, German