I am a British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) accredited counsellor/psychotherapist. I work in private practice, mostly in offering clinical supervision, although I do occasionally see private clients. Until I semi-retired in July 2017, I worked as a bereavement counsellor at Saint Catherine’s Hospice Scarborough. Scarborough is a costal holiday resort, with two sandy bays and a medieval castle overlooking the sea and the town.

Where I work now

I am Director of the Bereavement Service at York St John University Counselling and Mental Health Clinic (CMHC), and an honorary research fellow of the university.

York St John University is just outside of the city wall of York. The university was established as a college for the training of teachers in 1841

Background

I left grammar school in Cambridge at 17 without going into the sixth form. For a few years I was a laboratory technician, before a mentor  to whom I will be eternally grateful, encouraged me to go back into education. I went to college in Northern England and in 1973 gained an honours degree in education from the University of Sheffield. I was a primary school teacher for 15 years, during which time I gained an M.Sc in education from Sheffield Hallam University. From 1988 to 1997 I was a Senior Lecturer in Education at Leeds Metropolitan University. I completed counselling training between 1994 and 1997 and qualified with a Higher Education Diploma in therapeutic counselling from Leeds Metropolitan University.

In 2017 I completed my Doctorate in counselling.

I met my wife Sandra in 1998 and we married in 2000. We both have grown-up children from previous marriages. I have three grandsons.

My interests

I have pursued a parallel career as a musician for about 50 years, although now it has become a hobby and a way of unwinding. I also enjoy photography,  with passion but without very much talent. I enjoy writing, and the publication of my first book was the fulfilment of a longstanding dream. I have recently followed this with a small pocket self- help book for grieving people, which is evidence-based, and neither religious nor spiritual. Please see below.

Caseload

I work for one day each week in the Counselling Clinic, seeing up to 5 clients and an assessment session. The rest of the week can find me researching and writing. Currently I am counselling online.

Research

There is credible scientific evidence that bereavement counselling has limited efficacy, in particular with clients grieving normally but who have been routinely offered the support of a talking therapy. Even where clients have slightly more complex grief, and self-refer, improvements attributable to counselling may be temporary. The more severe and complex a person’s grief, the more likely it is that counselling will be demonstrably effective. Such arguably counterintuitive results come from quantitative studies. My qualitative research, York St John University, is looking closely at the process of change in clients receiving bereavement counselling. Each session is digitally audio recorded and analysed for moments of assimilative or accommodative change. This research is ongoing.

Teaching

Coming as I do from an education background, it has been almost inevitable that I would end up teaching again. For a few years I taught counselling and counselling skills in further education colleges, before coming to specialise in bereavement counselling. I teach students on placement at York St John CMHC. I also teach at Hull and York Medical School.

My book

My first book, Supporting People Through Loss and Grief: An Introduction for Counsellors and Other Caring Practitioners, was published by Jessica Kingsley  Publishers in December 2013. It draws on the many teaching notes I have written over the past few years, although the book was written between June 2012 and June 2013.

Contents: Introduction. 1. The Nature of Grief. 2. Theories of Grief: Historical Perspectives.  3. Attachment Theory: How it Relates to Loss. 4. Counselling Skills: Theory into Practice. 5. Working with People Experiencing a Loss. 6. Families and Grief. 7. Working with Difference. 8. Clinical Assessment in Bereavement Support. 9. Personal and Professional Development. References. Index.

ISBN: 9781849053761  £18.99   $29.95

My second book is written to help people who are actively grieving a loss.

Contact:

j.wilson2@yorksj.ac.uk