'The seeds of Summerhouse Services were sown in 'Summerhouse',  a small freelance, person-centred training consultancy and support service, based in the South West of England. I created 'Summerhouse' in 2010 as a sole trader micro business and I am passionate about and dedicated to the holistic promotion of positive mental health for children and young people.

Over the years Summerhouse built a reputation for providing high quality, affordable, outcome-led, safe and effective, person-centred training and supportive services, that promote the emotional and mental well-being of children and young people. I worked directly with children and young people themselves, together with equipping the children and young people's universal workforce, parents and carers with the skills, awareness and insight to be able to support their children and young people safely and effectively.

I am a fully qualified person-centred counsellor and further education trainer, with a diverse experience in the field of holistic mental health promotion, ranging from managing a Young People's Mental Health Project at Plymouth and District Mind, working as a therapist for Plymouth Eating Disorder Service, redesigning and delivering the Accredited Counselling Skills Courses for Achievement Training, to Co-Creating and Directing COASTS CIC a pioneering organisation devoted to the promotion of young people's mental health across the South West. 

I also live with and manage my own mental health condition of Bi-Polar Disorder Type 1 and while, on occasion, I have had to take a step back from Summerhouse because of it, it has also had significant and enduring positive impacts on my life and informs and brings an added dimension and positivity to my work. Click here to find out 'A Bit More About Me!'

'Summerhouse Services' came into being in May 2021 and we are already working across Devon and Cornwall and further afield when required. While we prefer to work face to face with people, in this age of Covid, we are equally happy delivering services over Zoom, Teams or other virtual platforms, with an approach that staves off the phenomenon of becoming 'Zoomed out' and offers an engaging, creative and enjoyable virtual training experience !

Our approach is friendly, warm, empathic, creative and highly professional, with safe and  effective working and the best interests of all who access the service at the centre of everything. Workshops and other groups are small, relaxed and friendly and are no larger than 16 people for practitioners and other adults and 20 for young people, depending on the nature of the work.

We support our work with regular therapeutic supervision and ongoing professional development and work within the ethical framework and value base of the British Association Of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).  With this approach we have built strong, positive and enduring working alliances, both with customers, as well as partner bodies such as Primary and Secondary Schools across the South West, Plymouth City Council, Youth Organisations, Achievement Training and City College Plymouth.

If you would like to know more, we would be delighted to hear from you, so please get in touch!