About
THE DIRECTOR
Dr Susan Mary Benbow
I am a family and systemic psychotherapist and a systemic supervisor; a member of the Association of Family Therapy and Systemic Practice (AFT); and registered with the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP registration 00960074). I trained at the Cardiff Family Institute and work with families, couples, and individuals. Since leaving the NHS in 2009 to work independently, I have completed a Ph.D., training in Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy, a Diploma in Systemic Supervision, and an Advanced Certificate in NVR (Non-Violent Resistance) Practice.
I’m passionate about people. I work with adults of all ages facing a range of relationship and other difficulties, individually, in couples, or in family groups, and have a special interest in:
- couple relationships;
- relationships between parents and adult children;
- people living with chronic illness (including dementia);
- mental health problems
- bereavement and loss
- the challenges of ageing
I work online and, before the pandemic, I also met people face to face at a Psychotherapy Centre in South Manchester.
Therapy often involves:
- supporting people to identify their resilience and build on their strengths;
- supporting people to share difficult thoughts and feelings;
- helping people to understand each other’s experiences, worries, and views;
- helping people to make decisions and changes in their relationships and aspects of their lives.
Sometimes only one or two meetings are needed to help people work out the way forward – other people may need a longer period of therapy.
I practise as a systemic therapist part-time, alongside other work in education, research, and consultancy. Outside work I like to be active, windsurfing, or narrow-boating.