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Supporting Lost Parenthood

I have a particular interest, and expertise, in working with individuals and couples who struggle to conceive, or have experienced a loss during pregnancy or after birth. This is profound and hidden grief that often struggles to be acknowledged, or supported well by others. I am on the advisory board of the fertility resource Parla and of the empowering community of Noon.

Before training as a therapist, I was a telephone support worker for the Miscarriage Association, later becoming a Trustee of the charity. I have run support groups for infertility and pregnancy loss and train other therapists, support volunteers and healthcare professionals about the emotional impact of miscarriage.

My first book, The Brink of Being explores the experience of miscarriage, (published by Virago Press, and Penguin USA). I blend memoir, clinical experience, research and history in a way I hope to be both supportive and educational. One theme I touch upon is the experience of women’s reproductive lives being ignored, or minimised by the medical paradigm – at least historically. For this reason, I am also a lay examiner of (obstetric and gynaecology) doctors’ communication skills.