Associate Counsellors

Below is a selection of professionals who have completed the three-day training ‘Fundamentalist religious childhoods and adult health: Implications for practice in one-to-one therapeutic encounters’ that I run based on my doctoral research findings.

Lynn Hickman

I am an experienced counsellor who has had the privilege of supporting clients through a wide range of difficulties.

I understand how hard it is to begin counselling, and my aim is to create a non-judgemental and welcoming relationship to help my clients feel safe. I have been trained in a number of therapeutic approaches to help people process and resolve the difficulties they face; my ways of working include person-centred counselling, cognitive behavioural theory, psychodynamic therapy (how the past is affecting you in the present), and transactional analysis. I am also a qualified trauma counsellor. I work holistically, taking into account your physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing, and will seek to understand how your difficulties are impacting your wider life.

My areas of interest are in relationship difficulties (problematic relationships, separation, divorce, bereavement, bullying and other forms of abuse). I have also helped people to process serious health diagnoses. Following a long career in Human Resources, I also support those who are experiencing difficulties at work. I have experience of working with clients who are struggling with anxiety and depression.

From a faith-based perspective, I am trained to work with religious trauma and spiritual abuse, in which there may be complex power dynamics affecting the client at a soul level. I have also helped a number of clients through the process of training for ordination.

I welcome clients of all faiths and of no faith.

I decided to retrain as a counsellor after recovering from a serious illness. When away from work I enjoy being outdoors, especially when walking my dogs in the countryside.

Vicky Kalis

MA Couns.&Psych., BA (Hons) Couns. – MBACP, RegCOSRT, Reg. ACC Psychotherapist/Clinical Supervisor/Trainer

I am an Integrative Psychotherapist and been in private practice since 2009. I specialise in working with clients who have experienced trauma through coercive, cultic, religious/spiritual abuse in either mainstream Churches or their offshoots, high-control groups, families or one to one relationship’s. I also specialise in porn and sex compulsivity and sexual difficulties as a result of teachings within those contexts.

Much like the art of kintsugi, I believe beauty can come from areas of struggle and brokenness. I aim to provide a safe, supportive and non-judgemental space for clients to gain a greater sense of safety and stabilisation in their lives, enable understanding of their experiences and consider the changes they may wish to make. Recovery and reclaiming your life look different for everyone. I offer general individual psychotherapy, trauma therapy and Post-Cult counselling.

Available via Zoom

Specialities:
Cultic, Religious Trauma, Sexual difficulties.

Philip Orr

MA, MRIA, Dip.Couns, MBACP

I am a humanistic counsellor, having trained in gestalt and person-centred therapies. I live and work in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland and St Albans, Hertfordshire. I have worked in the fields of teaching, the arts, mediation and community education before I trained in counselling.

I have been deeply influenced by my own fundamentalist Protestant past, and that is a major reason why I feel I can offer you therapeutic support if you want to come to terms with your own experience of ‘high control’ religion. My training has involved close attention to fundamentalist upbringings, where I gained further insights into how this experience can impact on adult mental health and how a route towards personal well-being can be found.

You can find my website at www.ptorr.com and I can be located on the BACP directory and at www.counselling-directory.org.uk. I am able to provide virtual sessions on Zoom or by phone, but I can see you on a face-to-face basis if you live within travelling distance of either of the locations I mentioned above.

I am always open to receiving an initial, non-committal message from you, even if it is just to share your experience or find out more about my counselling practice. Good wishes on your journey.

Aisha Khan

BABCP Accredited

My name is Aisha, I have been a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist for 10 years and I am accredited by the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies. All my therapy is provided via video or telephone, so you can access my support wherever you are.

During my time working in NHS Services where I help people experiencing depression and anxiety, I was going through the process of leaving my religious faith (Islam) and sharing my lack of faith with family/community. Whilst healing from my own religious trauma and loss of faith, as well as loss of family and community, I found there were not many people trained in these types of issues.

This led to me gaining additional training in different types of therapy (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy and Compassion Focussed Therapy), so that I could help people who are experiencing religious trauma. I work with people who are no longer religious and people who are still religious but struggling with aspects of their faith.

I offer a free 15 minute consultation to give us an opportunity to see if we are a good fit to work together. Please check my website for more information: www.afterfaiththerapy.com.

Caroline Button

As a compassion-focused and relational counsellor, I work alongside individuals to help them discover a more peaceful and joyful way of being.

Together, we create a space where you can safely explore difficult or traumatic experiences — past or present — at your own pace. Through this process, you may begin to make sense of what has happened and gently shift the ways you think, feel, or respond. In time, this can open the way toward healing, a greater sense of peace, and the possibility of moving forward into a more hopeful future.
I specialise in working with chronic illness and disability. I believe we are holistic beings — to live a healthy and balanced life, our mind, body, and spirit need to be in harmony.

My work often supports individuals who have experienced disempowerment, stigma, and inequality — particularly those who have grown up in highly controlling or judgmental environments, especially during childhood and early adulthood.

This includes people raised in fundamentalist or rigid religious settings, where conformity was prioritised over personal expression, and fear or guilt shaped their sense of identity. Some may be wrestling with the pressure to maintain belief systems that no longer feel authentic. Others may be navigating the pain of exclusion, questioning long-held doctrines, or recovering from the psychological impact of religious shame or spiritual abuse. I offer a calm and respectful space to explore these complex experiences, wherever you find yourself on that journey.

My training spans both secular and Christian psychological traditions. I hold a quiet, personal faith that gently informs how I see the world — with compassion, grace, and deep respect for each person’s unique journey. I welcome individuals of all faiths, no faith, those who have stepped away from belief, and those who may be wrestling with questions of meaning, doubt, or spirituality.

I offer counselling both face-to-face in Shepperton, Surrey, and online. I provide a free 30-minute consultation to explore whether we feel comfortable working together. Concessions are available.