Meet the Therapist - Clare

Tell us about your background as a therapist

I have always been interested in working with people and how our brains work. I studied Psychology at University and then worked as a Probation Officer for many years and retrained as a therapist in response to my own experience of stress and burnout. I needed a change and so in spring 2016 I started re-training part time around work. I qualified in 2019 and went on to complete additional training in Adult Trauma and Hypnotherapy. As well as working at James’ Place, I also have a small private practice called Hopetree Green.

Why did you want to work at James’ Place?

I first heard about James’ Place Liverpool when it opened in the summer of 2018. I said to myself at the time ‘I want to work there’. I have lived experience of suicidality and have always been an advocate for mental health, so I was very keen work in the area of therapy and suicide prevention. Roll on 10 months and James’ Place was recruiting so I put in my application and was very happy to be successful. That was 6 years ago, and the time has gone so fast. I love my job.

Why do you think men have such high rates of suicide? Is there anything common to the men you’ve seen?

There are a number of reasons that research tells us cause men to be more at risk of death by suicide. The means by which men attempt to end their lives tend to be more lethal than those women will use. There is a reluctance or inability to seek support for many men linked to old, but still very prevalent, negative ideas of masculinity. For many men, they consider values such as individualism, being tough and self-reliant as vital, and the consequence is that help-seeking is stigmatised as weak. Whilst we (as a society) have been championing the importance of speaking out about your mental health for some time, there is a still a large part of society who are not hearing the message and still see mental difficulties as a personal failing, or shameful, rather than understanding that our society and modern life is quite damaging to our emotional and physical bodies. One common area that men often bring to sessions is about being a parent and the difficulties around this – from being a new parent, parenting teens or young adults, or issues around child contact. There is a lack of parenting support and guidance for men and a lack of understanding about the feelings of fear, overwhelm and inadequacy that parents can feel. I would like to see more peer support for new parents, and dads being able to talk to other dads about their experiences.

What is your average day like at James’ Place?

We open at 9:30 and have our first appointments at 9:45am I usually get in a little earlier to have a cup of tea. As a therapist we see typically four men a day for therapy sessions. In between this I write my notes, and do other admin such as letters and phone calls. If it’s a nice day I can often be found sat in the James’ Place garden doing my notes in the sunshine surrounded by the aroma of the gorgeous jasmine plants we have there.

I’ve recently been promoted to a Senior Therapist role where I review new referrals and help to manage the other therapists caseloads. There are also times where I am involved in outreach work in the community, raising awareness of James’ Place which I love to do. Most days I go for a lunchtime walk around the nearby Anglican Cathedral with my colleague Ziva for a break.

What do you find most rewarding about the work at James’ Place?

Definitely working with the men. It’s such a privilege to be able to walk alongside our clients and see the positive changes they attain through our work together. We are a strong supportive team in Liverpool, and I really appreciate my colleagues. We’re a good bunch of humans and I’m glad I get to spend my days with them.

Why do you think a men only service like James’ Place is needed?

I think men only services are required to encourage other men to access them and to show that they matter, and are not alone in their struggles. I believe men still find it difficult to access services, and have often had negative experiences and poor responses from services which can influence their willingness to seek help.  At James’ Place we make the experience of seeking help as easy and positive as possible.

Is there anything you’d say to encourage a man in crisis, or his friend and family, to reach out to James’ Place?

What I hear a lot from men accessing our service is that they say they know there are other men who are in a worse situation than themselves and so they have a belief that they either don’t deserve our support, or that they are wasting our time.

I would say to any man in crisis if you are unsure about accessing support, do give us a ring. No call or contact is ever a waste of our time. Our amazing Clinical Administrators will be your first point of contact and treat every man with professionalism, kindness and huge empathy. We want to support individuals getting the right support, so even if James’ Place is not the right place for someone, the clinical administrators have a wealth of knowledge about other local and national services. No call is a waste of our time.

What do you like to do when you’re not working?

Currently I’m learning to rollerskate (on quads – the traditional roller boot) and I’m loving the fun of this. I’m also a climber and intend to get back into that soon, as well as doing something creative such as painting/crochet. I’ve just recently moved home which is daunting but exciting. I’m not very good at DIY so I guess that’s something I’ll be working on learning more of this year too!