Dr Cathy McQuaid
Counselling and psychotherapy supervisor, trainer, external examiner, researcher and author
With over 25 years’ experience as a therapist and 35 working within the helping professions, I know counselling and psychotherapy works.
During this time I have offered counselling and psychotherapy for individuals and couples, using a combination of the person-centred approach with Transactional Analysis and psychodynamic theoretical models. I believe the client themselves holds the answers to their questions. What I provided was warmth, compassion, respect and a safe space in which they can tell their story: a willingness to share the therapeutic journey and to help them to reach the goals they set. The approaches I used can help the client understand the history of their difficulties, and offer a way forward in terms of restructuring or realigning their perceptions of life, helping them rediscover their drive towards wholeness and health. Although I no longer offer counselling or psychotherapy to clients I bring all my knowledge, skills and experience into my work as a workshop presenter, supervisor and trainer. I continue to train and develop my own theoretical and practical understanding and knowledge. These days I also incorporate Family Constellations into my work, looking at the family system to see areas of conflict or unresolved issues.
My focus now is on offering online supervision, undertaking research, continuing to write on topics and run workshops on topics that interest me. I offer training to trainers, both face to face and online.
As a supervisor I offer supervision to qualified counsellors and psychotherapists, something I have done since 2002. Supervision can be undertaken individually or in small groups. In addition I am endorsed to teach and supervise Transactional Analysis by the European Association for Transactional Analysis (EATA), this means I can teach and supervise supervisors and trainers.
As a supervisor of trainers I come with experience of setting up and running a training and therapy centre, of gaining MSc recogition for my courses and running a low cost therapy centre. I know how challenging it can be to meet the many and varied national and international requirements; maintaining personal idiosyncratic preferences; whilst adhering to academic norms; set core competencies; and external organisational requirements that, at times, appear to conflict with one another.
As a researcher my most recent project concerned the impact of the death of a child, of any age, on parents and siblings. This has resulted in May 2021 to my second book Understanding Bereaved Parents and Siblings: A Handbook for Professionals, Family and Friends. I run workshops for professionals who want a greater understanding of how they can work with bereaved mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters.
In addition I have a specific interest in training courses and training standards. Having completed my DPsych in 2010 and written my first book What You Really Need to Know About Counselling and Psychotherapy Training: An Essential Guide published by Routledge in 2014, I have gone on to continue my research into counselling and psychotherapy training from both the trainees and trainers perspectives. I am passionate about training and training standards and want to work with others who wish to work to the best of their ability with integrity, passion and trustworthiness.
If you have any questions, or would like to make an appointment, please email me via this link or call me on 07428 551163 between 10am and 5pm. I do not interrupt sessions to answer the phone, but there is a confidential answering machine; please leave your name, number and any message, and I will call you back.
