Sue Allen
Sue is a Counsellor/Psychotherapist using Transactional Analysis and is Accredited with BACP. She will help you to piece together the parts of your ‘life map’ which are feeding into your current problems, as it is often our earliest experiences which lead us to our conclusions about ourselves, others and what is possible for us in life. Sometimes buried feelings may emerge, and the therapy relationship is central to this work. Sue’s approach is warm, calm and compassionate and she believes in supporting people to grow through a journey of self-understanding and self-acceptance. Before counselling and psychotherapy training, Sue worked with Looked After Children in Local Authority children’s residential units and then practiced for several years as a Children and Families Social Worker supporting families. To deepen her understanding of families and relationships, she completed initial foundational training in Family and Systemic Therapy and then gained further skills in CBT and EMDR. Sue also works in private practice.
Simon Cooper
Simon is our Finance Manager, responsible for the finance function at WCTS and ensuring accurate timely delivery of financial reports to internal and external stakeholders. Simon has 10 years experience working in the private sector and not-for-profit organisations. In that time, Simon also founded and ran a small accountancy practice. Key skills Simon brings to WCTS is attention to processes, maximising value for money, and communication of data.
Clare McNeill
Clare is service manager for our projects team. She has been a manager within the third and private sector alongside roles in health, education and social care. She has work and lived experience of many services such as unpaid carers, children with complex needs and fostering and adoption, and has delivered workforce training on a variety of subjects. Clare is committed to supporting her team of therapists to provide a positive and supportive service for women in the city.
Shannon Sylvester
Shannon is our Services Administrator working on reception. In previous roles, she worked as a support worker supporting individuals, including but not limited to mental and physical disabilities, homelessness, and underrepresented or underprivileged groups live independently. Shannon is also currently studying to become a counsellor.
Gemma Ridge
Gemma is one of our Service Managers, managing our 8-16 session team of therapists and psychotherapists. She has experience of working in a variety of settings including the probation service and working for an adoption support service. She also has experience of working in the private sector and as a clinical supervisor.
As an accredited psychotherapist and EMDR practitioner, she also provides some client sessions within her team.
Sophia Ulhaq
Sophia is one of our Service Managers, responsible for the Perinatal Service. She manages the therapists and ensures the services run smoothly. She has experience as a manager in the third sector working with people who face barriers to support such as refugees, migrants and asylum seekers. Due to previous roles working with and advocating for marginalised groups including neurodiverse, LGBTQIA+, disabled and ethnically diverse communities, she is passionate about delivering inclusive services for women from all backgrounds.
Jill Davice Bird
I can help with emotional distress and psychological difficulties caused by loss, trauma, and intergenerational family problems. I offer long-term weekly therapy groups for adults who would like to work in this way. I’m a qualified Group Work Practitioner and am on a Qualifying Course in Group Analytic Psychotherapy.
I have found that therapy in a group provides a nurturing environment within which it becomes possible to recover from traumatic experiences and also to participate in the therapy of other group members. Therapy comes from being able to put difficult feelings and thoughts into words, and as group members learn to be themselves with others. This type of therapy is often a very effective way to approach a variety of problems and life situations. These include anxiety, depression, interpersonal difficulties, low self-esteem, and psychosomatic conditions. Group analysis is also concerned with uncovering the undeveloped aspirations and creativity of group members.
Tessa Denham
Tessa is our CEO at WCTS, and passionate about supporting women experiencing deprivation and trauma with specialised psychological therapies. As well as taking overall responsibility for service delivery and research here, she represents WCTS and the third sector on the Leeds Strategic Mental Health Partnership Board. She’s also the third sector advocate for sexual violence services to the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner. Tessa’s day-to-day role involves working with staff and service users, partners, funders and our Board of Trustees to promote the mental health recovery and wellbeing of the women and girls we work with.
Laura Pierrepont
Laura is a caseworker working as part of the perinatal team and has experience in working with women and families in the perinatal period. Her role involves working with women in pregnancy and the first year of baby’s birth who are currently in therapy or wanting to access therapy. Laura works in a holistic and compassionate way to support women practically and emotionally with a range of difficulties which could include challenges with housing provision, access to finance and benefits and liaising with other support services and signposting alongside brief interventions for anxiety.
Gemma Ridge
Gemma is an accredited psychotherapist and EMDR practitioner working in our 8-16 session team. As an integrative therapist, she uses a variety of approaches and modalities depending on what the client needs. She believes the most important part of her work is building a warm and compassionate relationship with her clients so they can talk in a safe and trusting space. She has experience of working in a variety of settings including the probation service and working for an adoption support service. She also has experience of working in the private sector and as a clinical supervisor.