Kirsty Grant

Kirsty is a BACP accredited therapist working with clients referred to the core WCTS service. She works in an integrative, relational way, tailoring her approach to suit the needs of each client and has had experience working within the NHS as well as Further and Higher Education settings. She is passionate about supporting clients in developing further understanding of themselves and their needs, as well as working towards making positive changes in their lives.

Alison Herbert

Alison is a qualified Art Psychotherapist. She is registered with The Health Care Professionals Council (HCPC), The British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT) and a member of BACP (MBACP). She works with clients with a wide range of needs and adapts her approach to meet the individual’s needs. She has a trauma informed approach to her work and is experienced with working with vulnerable adults with complex needs, such as childhood trauma and abuse, attachment difficulties, neurodiversity, stress, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and relationship difficulties. Her approaches and training include working creatively, a sensorimotor body mapping approach and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT). Her everyday role includes supporting clients individually as well as delivering a long-term art psychotherapy group.

Services offered: Counselling and We llbeing through learning

Mbola Holisoa

Holisoa Andriambolanoro, also known as Mbola, is a qualified person-centred therapist, BACP registered. Her experience includes working with vulnerable adults with complex needs, such as attachment difficulties, domestic violence and histories of sexual abuse, and she also has experience of working with anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and relationship difficulties. As well as English, Mbola is fluent in French and Malagasy, her native language.

Mbola works closely with her clients, creating a supportive and non-judgmental environment to explore whatever is troubling them. To help her clients move forward on their journey, she combines her therapeutic knowledge with body awareness, mindfulness and creativity, all gained from experience of working in the NHS, the voluntary sector and being an ex-professional dancer.

Raquel Losa-Hicking

Raquel’s role involves supporting Women and Girls with complex and multiple needs. Working holistically, she offers one-to-one practical and emotional support for women who’ve been affected by sexual violence, sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse. The work is person-centred and aims to empower women and girls to help them make informed positive choices in moving forwards with their lives. Support can consist of building resilience, coping strategies and self-esteem right through to promoting independence, issues around isolation, and further understanding around personal safety, healthy relationships and understanding the impacts of abuse.

Jaz O’Reilly

Jaz works as a therapist based in the community, mainly within the 50+ Project, taking the service out to those who live community-wide. She offers one-to-one long-term therapy and also runs a yoga class to provide a more holistic approach. Before joining WCTS she worked with bereaved clients at Cruse, Leeds, and also with GIPSIL, Children and Young People’s service, offering long-term therapy to under 25s with multiple and complex mental health issues.

Services offered: Counselling and Access/outreach

Abi Rowan

Abi is a Psychotherapist/Counsellor working in the Perinatal team. She works with pregnant women and women with babies up to a year old, supporting them to explore what is meaningful to them, to search new ways of relating to themselves and others, and develop a greater sense of inner safety, as they go through the life changing experiences of pregnancy, birth and early motherhood. She has worked for various third sector organisations in Leeds and has spent much of her working life working with children, young people and families often with creative play based therapy. She is a member of the BACP.

Mags Shevlin

Mags is one of our Service Managers, responsible for the Perinatal and Outreach services. She manages the therapists and ensures the services run smoothly. She has extensive experience as a manager in the third sector, working in marginalised communities and with people who often find services difficult to access. Mags is also training as a psychotherapist and is passionate about creating wider access to counselling and therapy for women who cannot afford to pay for services.

Board of Trustees

As a charity registered with the Charity Commission, we are led by a voluntary Board of 10 Trustees chaired. The Board is currently looking for women with expertise in marketing, charity law or counselling to join. If you are interested in applying, please email us at info@womenstherapyleeds.org.uk