At the Adlerian Society’s Annual General Meeting, held on Friday September 16th 2011, the following people were voted onto the 2011-2012 Committee. Our thanks go to the outgoing members for their valuable services to the Society.
Chairman
Martyn Williams, BA Hons PGCE FCollP Cert IIP, spent over 30 years in education as a teacher, manager and schools inspector before accepting the chair of the Adlerian Society of Wales. A consequent growing interest in psychology led him to train as a psychotherapist himself. He is a tutor on the Society’s Introduction to Communication and Counselling courses and a volunteer counsellor with the Churches Counselling Service in Wales and Cruse Bereavement Care. He undertakes occasional education consultancy work in England, Wales and the Channel Islands but is more commonly occupied with land-based activities on his own farm and elsewhere. He is a Life Governor of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society, a trustee of Coppicewood College, the school of woodland management in West Wales, and a working horseman, a full member of British Horse Loggers. He finds the woodland environment and interaction with horses both make a beneficial contribution to wellbeing, so combines his interests in membership of EAGALA, the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association, the worldwide governing body for the expanding field of equine-assisted psychotherapy. An active Christian, he is secretary of Narberth Baptist Fellowship.
Secretary
Elinor McBurney, BA, MA, PGCE, Diploma Adlerian Counselling (IIP), Cert Adlerian Training, Cruse Accredited Trainer. Elinor has over 25 years’ teaching and leadership experience in Secondary Schools, Further Education and Higher Education. She has gained extensive experience in Education and Training with experience in Secondary School Senior Management and Leadership, in Post Graduate Teacher Training and in Training. She is an accredited trainer for Cruse Ceredigion and has been involved in training the latest groups of Cruse volunteers as well as leading training courses for the Adlerian Society. She works in private practice as a counsellor and psychotherapist in St Dogmaels and Narberth, sees clients as part of an Employee Assistance Programme and also works as a Cruse Bereavement Counsellor. She is able to deliver courses in Welsh or English and counsels clients in both languages. Elinor enjoys a wide range of interests and activities including walking, badminton, swimming, singing and in Latin and Social dancing and takes an active role in Church life as warden of St Thomas’s Church, St Dogmaels.
Training
Linda Edwards, Cert Ed, MA(Oxon), M.Ed, Dip Adlerian Counselling, Certificate CBT, MBACP accred. Linda has over 35 years’ teaching experience in secondary schools and in Higher Education. She was Lecturer in Religious Education from 1986–1998 at King’s College, London where she directed a PGCE and MA study. During this time she authored several books, including her most enduring publication, “A Beginner’s Guide to Ideas” (1991) which has been translated into 18 different languages. Linda was first attracted to the work of Alfred Adler in 1989 by the late Helen Anderson. At present Linda is on the Adlerian Society UK Council, she counsels in private practice, supervises and trains in Adlerian Psychology and is part of the busy admin team at the Adlerian Counselling Centre in Narberth. She is also an ordained Minister and has a life-long interest in world religions and philosophy. Her interests include creative writing, avid reading, Manchester United football club, the music of Bob Dylan, Mark Knopfler and traditional folk music, and a small but select cellar of vintage wine which is shared with good friends throughout the year.
Ann Watling RGN, RM, Dip A/N Education,Dip IIP, Dip Clinical Hypnotherapy, Cert. Adlerian Training. Ann has nearly 30 years’ experience of working within the NHS in Secondary and Primary Care. Whilst working as a midwife in London, Ann realised that a large amount of her work involved counselling which led her to gain a qualification in Integrative approaches, but it was not until moving to Wales that she discovered the work of Alfred Adler through the Adlerian Centre. Ann has gained experience in facilitating and teaching groups whilst working as an antenatal educator for the National Childbirth Trust. In addition to working as a Diabetes lead nurse she also works as a Cruse bereavement counsellor (adults and children) and counsels in private practice.
Ann has 4 children so when she is not in demand as a ‘taxi service’ she enjoys walking, singing, playing the piano and writing puppet sketches for the church she attends in Narberth where she plays an active role in the youth work.
Schools
Sara Maynard, BA Hons, Cert. Life Coach, Cert Adlerian training, Diploma Adlerian Counselling and Post-Grad Certificate in Emotional Education. Sara has over twenty years of training and leadership roles within the private sector. Sara ‘s career began in procurement in the Middle East, and has expanded from purchasing into sales with her last post as Regional Manager for the Body Shop Direct in the North of England. Taking advantage of ten years of sales training and recruitment, Sara purchased a twelve bedroom hotel in Pembrokeshire in 1995 to enable her to devote more time to her growing family. Following her own passion for staff development, the business gained an Investor in People Award and a Michelin star for fine dining. At the same time her devotion to personal development led her to train with Results to qualify as a Life Coach in 1998. After the sale of the hotel in 2002 Sara was able to pursue her own private practice and raise her family, turning then to counselling training to enhance her client work, before spending a year living and working in Australia and then settling back in Pembrokeshire. Having worked for over ten years for the Welsh Government as a Role Model taking her Life Coaching skills to schools throughout Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, Sara has been fulfilling her childhood ambition to teach setting up a Peer Mentoring programme that is running in three local secondary schools. Sara has a passion for life shared by her partner Mark and four children: Harriet 23, James 19, Thomas 15 and William 13 and a very mad Labrador called Charlie!
Website
Stephen Allsopp, BSc (Hons), MBACP, Cert. Adlerian Training Stephen retrained as a counsellor following a 25 year career in the IT industry, where he made a specialism of user training and support. Following the completion of his training, Stephen joined the Schools Counselling Service in Pembrokeshire, where he works particularly with young people excluded from mainstream school, and those in social care, as well as operating as schools counsellor for Ysgol Dewi Sant, in St. Davids. In addition to this work, Stephen counsels within a GP practice, and has a small private practice, as well as running Applied Zetetics, a business training consultancy teaching counselling-based skills in the workplace. For recreation, Stephen sings in a local vocal group, and plays blues violin in pubs, and viola in other, more respectable venues. He is also interested in fixing things, cooking, and existential philosophy.
Co-administrators
Vanessa James joined the Adlerian Society about 7 months ago. She was pleased to accept a position here and she has settled in to being an essential part of the team. She says: “There is lots to do in this busy but friendly office and I have enjoyed learning the rhythm that goes with the everyday tasks, and the not so everyday tasks!” Vanessa’s role is a very important one for the well being of all who come into contact with the Counselling Centre. She works with a team of three others who manage to staff the Centre from 9.30 -4pm every day, and co-ordinates counsellors to clients, and tutors to students, and takes course enquiries and booking enquiries and helps to contribute to the smooth running of administration and communication – the telephone being an integral part of her role. She regularly works with e-mails and contact with other Adlerians is often made via the internet. Vanessa having been raised in Pembrokeshire since she was 5 years old. Now her children are grown up and she I has two grandchildren to keep her young.
Lisa Punter – TBA
Newsletter
Selena Tait – TBA
Other Committee Members
Alex Marsden MA (Fine Art), HND (Design Crafts), Dip (ASIIP), MBACP Alex is a fully qualified Adlerian counsellor. He has completed over five years of training on courses which covered a wide variety of different approaches, although the work of Alfred Adler forms the basis for most of his work. He is based in Narberth and works for a variety of agencies whilst also maintaining his own private practice.
He is currently working as a trainer on a two year counselling Diploma course and also does work in local schools through the Peer Mentoring programme. This initiative aims to help young people to use communication and counselling skills in order to help fellow students who may be suffering as a result of bullying, family problems or other difficult circumstances. Before training as a counsellor he worked for several years as a care worker for people with learning difficulties, during which time he completed a level 3 NVQ in promoting independence. Alex also spent seven years lecturing in applied fine art (life drawing, body casting, illustration and mould making) at the University of the Arts, London. Further interests and occupations include signwriting, slate engraving, foundry work, automotive and marine design and engineering.
