Meet the Therapists
Find an experienced Psychotherapist or Counsellor in York
All of the counsellors here at our Centre in York are fully trained and accredited Human Givens practitioners with a passion for helping their clients to get their lives working again as quickly as possible. Clients of all ages from 13 years upwards are able to be seen at the Centre.
Every counsellor is highly experienced in working with: stress, depression, anxiety, self-harm, panic attacks, phobias, trauma and PTSD, sleep problems, addictions, eating disorders and weight management, relationship issues, pain management and bereavement.
Additionally, some of the team have particular areas of interest or experience which are mentioned in their biographies below.
Each therapist is self-employed and works at the Centre as a therapist in their own right.
We all run our own diaries and are all happy to discuss in advance of any paid sessions how and whether we may be able to help, as well as to answer any further questions you may have about the therapy and sessions.
Claire Morris - York Wellbeing Centre co-owner
Accredited psychotherapist, york
Claire is the co-owner, having taken over the practice in 2022, with her business partner Janette Yates, who is training as a Human Givens Therapist and hopes to join the practice sometime in the future. Together they will take forward the successful centre, founded in 2010.
Having spent her early childhood in Scotland and The Middle East, Claire settled in York to study and raise her family. She has a medical background in optics, serving as a practice manager and dispensing optician for over twelve years. It was during her time as an optician that she realised that working with and meeting new people were the highlights of her day. This passion for getting to know people inspired her to study psychology at the Open University, achieving a first class honours degree, leading to a change in career and qualifying as a Human Givens Psychotherapist and Counsellor.
Claire has a calm, considered approach and offers you space to explore what has brought you to seek therapy. Collaborating together in finding effective, and practical, tailored solutions for you, using the integrative Human Givens approach. She is passionate about supporting clients to make the positive, and healthy changes that they want to make in their lives. Claire enjoys teaching practical ways to help manage certain situations more effectively, and by reconnecting you with your strengths, enabling you to live your life in a more present and relaxed way.
Claire is an experienced therapist who works with adults and teenagers with the wide range of issues listed above, and also for those who may need more specialised support with; social anxiety, childhood traumas, depression, eating disorders, OCD, phobias, and self harm.
She has an enhanced DBS certificate and is able to take all kinds of self referrals, and NHS/GP referrals for adults and teenagers.
Claire is available at the centre on Thursdays, Saturdays and alternate Fridays. She offers face to face and secure online sessions.
Claire accepts bookings from teenagers 14+ and adults.
Mobile: 07786 030363
Email: clairemorris.hg@gmail.com
Jenny Waddington
Accredited psychotherapist, york
Jenny grew up in Zimbabwe and moved to North Yorkshire in 2000. She was formerly a secondary school English teacher and then an editor, and finally pursued her long-standing interest in psychotherapy and counselling after encountering the Human Givens approach.
Jenny has worked with a wide variety of clients with many differing challenges, including acute and ongoing stress, anxiety and depression, trauma, addiction, eating disorders and relationship issues. She also enjoys working with clients who simply want to manage their lives better and are looking for new strategies to do this as quickly and effectively as possible. The creative and practical ideas in the Human Givens Approach provide the ideal framework for this. Jenny works with the belief that emotional wellbeing comes through discovering and using your own strengths, managing your responses through learning to keep calm and think clearly, and taking back control so that you can do the things that you need to and that you love.
Jenny has also worked at a local hospice providing bereavement support for several years.
She is an accredited supervisor with the Human Givens Institute.
Jenny is the co-founder of the York Human Givens Wellbeing Centre, which opened in 2010. Following 12 successful years at the helm, she handed over the running and ownership of the centre to Claire Morris and Janette Yates in September 2022.
Jenny is at the centre on Mondays. However, she is not currently accepting any new clients.
Ruth Longworth
Accredited psychotherapist, york
Ruth grew up in Switzerland where she began working life as a teacher. After settling in Britain, she qualified as an Occupational Therapist in York and worked in a range of mental health settings including adult, child, adolescent and family mental health. Whilst working in these areas she trained as a Human Givens therapist and finds that this positive approach is highly effective in helping people feel better and make significant beneficial changes in a very short space of time.
During her extensive travels and voluntary work in various settings she noticed that regardless of background, religion or culture, people share a deep desire for happiness and meaning in their lives. Her primary aim is to offer effective, evidence-based and practical therapy to enable you to feel better as soon as possible so that you can work towards and achieve your own ambitions and goals. During sessions, she will help you to develop the skills necessary to do this.
Ruth works with a wide range of mental health issues such as depression, anxiety disorders, trauma, addictions and relationship difficulties, and she has a real passion for supporting parents who wish to build on and strengthen their relationships with their children. She offers specific parental consultations to help in this area.
Ruth is available at the centre on Wednesdays and alternate Fridays.
Ruth accepts bookings for children 4+, teenagers, adults and couples.
Mobile: 07960 879416
Email: ruthlongworthzurcher@gmail.com
Colin Mawhinney
Accredited psychotherapist, york
Colin grew up in Belfast, but has lived in Yorkshire for 30 years. He has a background in behaviour change at all levels in the public and private sector, communities and in the health sector. This has provided him with both the breadth and depth of experience for tackling stress and career development issues arising in the workplace and any resulting strain on family life. This includes a deep understanding of the stress and burn out experienced from starting and running a service or a business and how to reduce this.
Colin qualified as an Human Givens Therapist in 2012 and has successfully worked with a wide variety of clients facing many differing challenges, including anxiety and depression, trauma, addiction, phobias and in particular, stress issues related to the workplace such as support to assist clients to return to work.
He has a particular interest in the resolution of conflicts in relationships and is a trained and qualified mediator (with the UK College of Mediators). He has specialisms in family relationship mediation including intergenerational and adult-sibling dispute resolution, in addition to couples counselling and support. He also provides mediation and advice for dispute resolution in the workplace.
Colin is a qualified Mindfulness teacher, having cared for a terminally ill relative, and has run courses in mindfulness for stress at a number of charities in Yorkshire over the past twelve years. This includes a particular focus on working with stress that results from chronic pain and fatigue. Colin also has experience of working with military veterans, nurses and police.
Colin is a qualified Supervisor with the Human Givens Institute and provide clinical supervision to health professionals at a local hospice in Leeds.
His practice at the Centre runs on Wednesdays and alternate Mondays.
Colin accepts bookings from adults and couples.
Mobile: 07909 059459
Email: colinmawhinney@icloud.com
Patrick Ault
Accredited psychotherapist, york
Patrick grew up in the heart of the East Anglian countryside and has always loved being close to nature. He has enjoyed travelling and has worked and lived both on Scyros Island, Greece and in Northern Italy.
He was employed in the NHS for over 15 years to help young people and their families to manage hospital treatments. As a result, he has gained a good understanding of how to inspire young people to make good use of challenging situations. He therefore, has practical experience in how to help you quickly reduce fear, harness your own innate resources and move forward into greater well-being.
Patrick has been able to help many people achieve goals that they, and others, really did not believe could be possible at the outset. Furthermore, he believes that good therapy is a matter of maximising strengths and discovering better and better ways to create changes that naturally brighten the present and uplift the future.
Consequently, you may find the experience of therapy as one of great relief, discovering that there really is nothing wrong with you as a person; the depression, the OCD, the shame, the fear, are symptoms of something impersonal; survival mechanisms, common to man, that have gone awry. With the right information, the right help, given at the right time, life opens up, vision clears and the future is meaningful.
Patrick is available at the centre on Thursdays and Sundays.
Patrick accepts bookings from teenagers 14+, adults and couples.
Email: patrickrhb@gmail.com
Debbie Atkins- Retired
Accredited psychotherapist, york
After nearly 13 years at the centre, Debbie has now retired. With an extensive career, working with children and adults as a teacher and psychotherapist, she was one of the first therapists to join the centre. Having helped so many clients over the years and being an extremely valued member of the team, she will be missed very much. We wish Debbie the very best from everyone here at the centre.
Caroline Docherty
Accredited psychotherapist, york
Caroline is an experienced Human Givens Therapist, with a warm, compassionate and collaborative approach. From the first session she aims for her clients to feel a sense of hope and a way froward. Creating a supportive space, where each person’s experiences are recognised and valued. She is committed to creating a therapeutic relationship with her clients that fosters personal growth, healing and lasting change.
She successfully helps those struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma, loss, addiction, phobias, fears and other issues, facilitating long-lasting change. Working with clients who seek personal growth or aim to enhance their overall quality of life, by offering support when navigating a specific challenge, making a difficult decision or finding clarity in their lives.
One of Caroline’s areas of expertise lies in working with relationship difficulties. She offers a straightforward approach for both individuals and couples facing relationship challenges, including communication issues, intimacy, trust and connection concerns, helping them to find solutions and build healthier, happier relationships.
As a neordiversity-affirming therapist, Caroline values, supports and recognises the unique strengths and perspectives of neurodivergent individuals. She is also trained in working with neurodiverse relationships.
With a previous career in business and management, this gives Caroline valuable insights into workplace dynamics. She gives empathetic support to those aiming to achieve a healthier work-life balance, manage stress and improve overall wellbeing in the workplace.
Caroline is also a counsellor at a charity supporting women in York and North Yorkshire.
Caroline is available at the centre on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Caroline accepts bookings from teenagers 16+, adults and couples.
Mobile: 07535 603073
Email: caroline.docherty@outlook.com
Sandra Harrison
Accredited psychotherapist, york
Sandra’s working life started with over twenty years’ experience of training and development, change management, and one-to-one management support in a variety of sectors. These include travel, import/export, owner-run businesses, education and other not-for-profit organisations. She has taken opportunities to travel and work abroad and has lived in France and Africa. She has always been interested in why people do the things they do, and was a teenager when she first thought we don’t listen to one another properly, although it wasn’t until 2005 that she started studying counselling and psychology. The final decision for a career change came about when she discovered the positive, effective approach of Human Givens therapy. She particularly liked its practical, research-based focus, building on a person’s strengths to help them find more beneficial ways to deal with issues and move on quickly with their lives.
Sandra enjoys the variety of working with people with the wide range of issues and difficulties that inevitably arise from stress, anxiety and trauma. Her voluntary roles include working for a woman’s charity, helping with different issues stemming from such as social anxiety, neurodiversity, relationship problems and historic or current domestic abuse (here she would like to see more help available for partners too). She also has experience of helping frontline healthcare workers, military veterans and those with painful or terminal illnesses.
Sandra works at the Centre on Fridays and alternate Mondays.
Sandra accepts bookings from adults.
Mobile: 07951 504604
Email: sandraharrison.yhg@gmail.com
“I’m still getting used to feeling good like this after so many years!”
“Thank you for everything you have done for my daughter. I have seen her today and she is beaming and back to her normal self.”
“I have spent time on my own in places I never thought I would go... I feel that the grieving is getting less and the second anniversary went by a lot easier than I thought. I feel I am only in this place because of all your help and support. Thank you.”
“I know for a fact I would have really struggled to cope with the demands of my job without the tools you have equipped me with.”
Effective Counselling and Psychotherapy Checklist
It is a good idea to use the following checklist (prepared by the ethical committee of the European Therapy Studies Institute) to protect yourself – or someone you know – from ineffective or even harmful types of counselling and psychotherapy:
An effective psychotherapist or counsellor:
- knows how to build rapport quickly with distressed people
- understands depression and how to lift it
- helps immediately with anxiety problems including trauma or fear related symptoms
- is prepared to give advice if needed or asked for
- will not use jargon or tell you that counselling or psychotherapy has to be 'painful'
- will not dwell unduly on the past
- will be supportive when difficult feelings emerge, but will not encourage people to get emotional beyond the normal need to 'let go' of any bottled up feelings
- may assist you to develop your social skills so that your needs for affection, friendship, pleasure, intimacy, connection to the wider community etc. can be better fulfilled
- will help you to draw and build on your own resources (which may prove greater than you thought)
- will be considerate of the effects of counselling on the people close to you
- may teach you to relax deeply
- may help you think about your problems in new and more empowering ways
- uses a wide range of techniques as appropriate
- may ask you to do things between sessions
- will take as few sessions as possible
- will increase your self confidence and independence and make sure you feel better after every consultation
