Staff Profile
Lauren Hunt
Lecturer in Counselling, Course Lead for PGDip in Humanistic Counselling
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I am a Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and currently see clients as an Associate Practitioner at the Oakdale Centre in Harrogate. I also do short-term counselling for the wellbeing service at the Police Treatment Centres. My previous counselling experience was working within the voluntary sector providing counselling for adults with a range of difficulties including anxiety, depression, relational issues, life changes, loss, trauma, and low self-worth . I am a humanistic-integrative counsellor, and I work relationally. Before coming to counselling, I taught English as a Second Language in South Korea and Japan for six years.
Qualifications:
- MA in Counselling (York St John University).
- Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling (York St John University).
- Online and Telephone Counselling Certificate (Counselling Tutor).
- Certificate in Counselling (York College/York St John).
- BA (Hons) in Psychology (Saint Mary's University).
- School – School of Education, Language and Psychology
- Email – l.hunt@yorksj.ac.uk
- Phone – 01904 876 801
Further information
Teaching
I teach on both the BA in Counselling and Mental Health and the Post Graduate Diploma in Humanistic Counselling. I am experienced in building and delivering lectures, facilitating personal and professional group work, and supporting students as they develop their practice in skills sessions and supervision.
Previous to this, I taught English as a Second Language for 6 years in various settings including academies, high schools, colleges, kindergartens, and businesses in South Korea and Japan.
Research
My Master's research explored counsellors' lived experiences and perceptions of love within the humanistic therapeutic relationship and process. The results showed that an 'actualizing love' characterized by 'understanding embodied awareness' and 'unconditionality' with a 'towards growth' quality was equated to a specific-love embodiment; agape. Such love was found to be contained by professional boundaries and communicated through Rogers' core conditions with aligning features of UPR. Client 'willingness and readiness' to engage in the process, coupled with the 'therapist's attitude and evoked use of self' was suggested to be instrumental in the cultivating, conveying, and receiving of love which may offer safety within the relationship for client's to harness 'vulnerability and hope' whilst digging deeper into their experiencing; thus, potentially yielding better therapeutic outcomes.
Professional activities
I am currently in Private Practice as an Associate Practitioner at the Oakdale Centre in Harrogate. Alongside this, I also work counselling Police Officers on the Wellbeing Program at the Police Treatment Centres.
I am a Registered Member of the British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP) and a Certified Online and Telephone Counsellor.
