About me

I’m Tanya (she/her), an accredited counsellor and psychotherapist, chartered (research) psychologist and yoga teacher.

I have worked as a lecturer across various Psychology and Counselling courses, and currently I am a lecturer in Psychology and Counselling at the Open University. My research interests include intersectional feminist approaches to violence, domestic abuse, trauma, and the treatment, conceptualisation, and understanding of eating disorders. I am interested in how we come to know what we know and what shapes what we understand and value as ‘truth’. This is often referred to as epistemic justice, and my interest in epistemic injustice, epistemic trust, and voice threads through my work.

My approach to research and practice is informed by intersectional feminist psychology. I am interested in what makes us who we are, and I understand that our individual experiences are shaped by broader social and systemic factors such as race and racialisation, class, gender, culture, political, cultural and familial histories, and other aspects of privilege and marginalisation.

I regularly write and publish my work and am honoured to work alongside and collaborate with others. I am a member of the Intersectional Violences Research Group and the Lived Experiences of Eating Disorders Research Collective. Click here to learn more about my research and publications.

When I’m not working, I can usually be found on my yoga mat, spending time with loved ones and my cat, finding vegan cafes, walking outside, travelling, or with a good coffee and a book.

Below, you can find my training, qualifications, and ongoing professional development.

If you would like to discuss working together, consultation, collaboration, workshops, or training for your practice or organisation, please email me and/or use the tabs on this website to navigate to the page you need.

Qualifications and Training

I am accredited by the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) and I am a Chartered Psychologist registered with the BPS (British Psychological Society).

Qualifications

  • PhD (University of Stirling)

  • MSc by Research in Psychological and Social Sciences (York St John University)

  • Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy (York St John University)

  • BA (Hons) in Psychology and Counselling Studies (York St John University)

Selected trainings and areas of specialism

  • I am undertaking a two-year Yoga Therapy training course currently.

  • I attend a peer supervision group with a special interest in thinking through clinical work from an intersectional lens.

  • I attend a group supervision for using EMDR with neurodivergent clients.

  • I have a particular interest in working with trauma. Selected trainings I have taken include: Using Sensorimotor Psychotherapy to treat Complex trauma (Pat Ogden), Treating trauma using polyvagal theory, yoga and neuroscience (Joann Lutz), Trauma-Informed yoga teacher training 200 and 300 hr (Trauma-Informed Yoga Psychology School, Canmore Counselling), Supporting psychological trauma through domestic abuse (BPS), Working with relational and developmental trauma (Dr Karen Treisman).

  • I am fully trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing).

  • I am trained to use the Flash Technique (Philip Manfield) *the Flash Technique is a way of safely desensitising very intense trauma memories so that you can begin to process the memory/memories, or simply so that they no longer feel so intense or overwhelming.

  • I have completed several trainings in Compassion Focused Therapy with the Compassionate Mind Foundation. These include: An Introduction to Compassion Focused Therapy, Advanced Clinical Skills in Compassion Focused Therapy, and Compassion Focused Therapy for Physical Health Problems.

  • I have completed several trainings for working with neurodivergent clients, particularly autistic clients. These include: Supporting autistic adults (BPS), Psychological work and autism (BPS), Neurodiversity and EMDR (EMDR Association).

  • Working with Trans and Gender Diverse Clients (Chris Grant, BACP CPD)

  • Introduction to Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT)

  • Yoga Therapy Skills for Psychologists and Therapists (The Minded Institute)

  • Eat Breathe Thrive Module One: A yoga-based approach to mindful eating, emotional resilience and positive embodiment.

Professional memberships

  • British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)

  • British Psychological Society (BPS)

  • EMDR Association UK

  • I am on the Professional Standards Authority Accredited Register for Health and Social Care

The third & final Book Q&A post will be written once I am back at work. I’m currently away on a trip to Scotland. I felt inspired to write about what I’m noticing along the way. Musings on identity, reciprocity, and relationships
Copies of the book finally arrived yesterday! Very excited to see it in the flesh. Also sharing some of the endorsements that are super generous. Lots of gratitude and I would love to hear from you if you’ve got it or see pics of it in your re
Part 2 of the book launch Q&A series. This one is more personal as it brings together questions about the process and experience of writing the book. Conversations about holding hope and irreconcilability, knowing when to lean in and when to si
Just a note while I take some moments sat in the garden in the sun before the afternoon begins. Community matters. Meeting ourselves and each other with deep respect for who we are and how we experience this world matters. Especially in this work wh
The first in my book Q&A mini series. A conversation about epistemic practices, making sense of violence, how we articulate things that are messy, and how we embrace ‘both/and’. Super grateful for the questions that came my way. I r
I’ve had this Instagram for more years than I can remember, and maybe it’s time for another introduction. Taking the opportunity since I just had some new photos taken by the super talented and wonderful human @esmemaiphotography 

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📚A blog for the Open Psychology Research Centre at The Open University where ahead of the book’s release (1st April!!) I was interviewed about what inspired me to write my new book on domestic violence, epistemic justice and young women. I tal
📢 In 2022, as part of the UK Government’s ‘tackling obesity’ strategy, legislation was introduced in England and Wales that made it mandatory for large takeaways, cafes and restaurants to include calorie information on their menus.
✨New publication ✨ Violence against women and girls is at epidemic proportions and constitutes a global emergency. Our latest publication calls on UK government to take a survivor-centred approach in policy making about violence against women and gi
Less than a month to go until my book is released. The book unpacks how young women narrate experiences of growing up with domestic violence and critically examines how gendered and socially located power structures shape how these stories are told,
On being multi-faceted and open to all of who we are.

As a nature lover and a seeker of peaceful and quiet spaces, New York City is probably one of the places you’d least expect me to travel to. And even more to the point, one of the places yo
It seems that not a day goes by where we do not hear of, witness, or experience violence against women and girls - whether on the news, folks we know, friends and family, our own personal story... I wrote a book about how we listen to, respond to,