With 20 years of veterinary experience and through navigating my own burnout and career transition, I have genuine insight into the complexities of life in veterinary practice. I'm a UKCP-registered Psychotherapeutic Counsellor who has been in therapeutic practice since 2020.

I work with clients facing many different challenges, from anxiety and burnout to relationship difficulties and grief. I have particular interest in complex trauma and how our relational patterns (learned from early experiences) show up in our work and personal lives. I adapt my approach to what each client needs - some benefit from exploring deeper patterns, others need practical strategies for current challenges, and most need both at different times.

I work particularly with senior staff and leaders, supporting them through workplace challenges like conflict resolution, team dynamics, and navigating change. Beyond individual work, I lead the Vetamorphosis therapist community network, facilitating monthly meetings for peer support and professional development.

For more information, visit the Work with Philippa page, email philippa@vetamorphosis.co.uk, or use the contact form on the homepage.

I am a counsellor and also work part-time as a veterinary surgeon in small animal practice in Kent. I understand the current difficulties of working in practice and the nuanced challenges faced by veterinary professionals. I have been a Vetlife volunteer for eight years and am passionate about supporting all members of the veterinary community. As a mother, I have experienced the pressures of juggling work and family life and have lived experience of compassion fatigue and burnout. 

I began my counselling training during the pandemic and now hold a Level 4 Diploma in Integrative Counselling, a Level 6 Diploma in Counselling Children and Young People and a Certificate in Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health. I run a private counselling practice working remotely with adults and young people, within which sits VetPsyche, with the specific aim of supporting members of the veterinary profession. I'm a registered member of the BACP and an accredited member of the Association of Pet Bereavement Counsellors. 

I am trauma informed and have experience of working with anxiety, depression, stress, compassion fatigue and burnout, vicarious trauma, low self-esteem, bereavement, loneliness and relationship difficulties. This list is by no means exhaustive. 

I provide a compassionate and non-judgemental space for you to feel heard and accepted, allowing self-exploration, discovery and perception. I hold a firm belief that a strong therapeutic alliance is key and that we each hold the solution to our problems. The counselling process can be a difficult journey and having undertaken my own personal therapy, I know both how hard it is to show vulnerability and how important it is to feel safe and held within the relationship.

Please visit my website www.mypsyche.co.uk for more information.

With 27 years of experience in the veterinary industry, my journey began as a Veterinary Nurse and evolved through roles as Head Nurse, Practice Manager, Business Support Manager, and ultimately Operations Manager for a corporate group. I've worked across small animal, mixed, and referral practices, gaining a deep understanding of both animal care and the people who provide it.

My passion for supporting people, alongside my love for animals, led me to join the Veterinary Management Group (VMG) and pursue a degree in Social Psychology. This academic journey ignited a profound interest in how we understand ourselves, others, and the world around us—ultimately inspiring me to train as a psychotherapist.

I'm currently in the fifth and final year of a Level 7 qualification in Integrative Psychotherapy with a focus on Transactional Analysis, and I'm undertaking advanced clinical training. In 2022, I made the courageous decision to transition fully into mental health, leaving the veterinary field to focus on people. Since then, I've worked as a Community and Mental Health Advocate in the third sector and now serve as an Assistant Psychologist within the NHS.

Through Vetamorphosis, I'm able to bring together my two worlds — veterinary and mental health — offering a unique perspective and a compassionate, collaborative approach to therapy. I feel deeply privileged to support clients in building meaningful therapeutic relationships that foster growth, healing, and greater self-understanding.

Qualifications & Professional Registration

• Integrative Psychotherapy (Transactional Analysis) – Level 7, Final Year of Study
• Person-Centred Counselling – Level 2 & 3 (Skills and Theory)
• Registered with UKCP – Adhering to their ethical framework

Additional Training

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) & Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Skills

Areas of Interest

• Anxiety
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Low Self-Worth / Self-Esteem

Location

Based in Ruthin, North Wales

Evening sessions available face to face where possible or online via Zoom

30-minute introduction Zoom session free of charge.

More information

For more information on the modality of Transactional Analysis please visit 

Transactional Analysis: An Introduction - Dr Mark Widdowson (youtube.com)

I qualified from Glasgow in 1976, and have worked as a vet for 42 years. I was a small animal practice owner for 38 of those years, giving up practice in 2019 due to health issues. I was extremely lucky to be able to hand the practice over to a worthy successor with the same values as me.

Being a single-handed small animal vet in a small village, I found that clients would sometimes confide in me about their issues. This instilled in me a desire to help others in emotional distress, and in 2000, I decided to further this role by training as a Samaritan which I did for 13 years. During that time, I trained as a counsellor and spent my last years in practice working part time in the surgery and part time as a counsellor, after I qualified in 2015 with a level 4 diploma in therapeutic counselling. Since my departure from vet practice, I have continued to work part time as a counsellor. 

I trained in person-centred and psychodynamic modalities, though I am more of an integrative practitioner now as I will offer techniques and suggestions which I hope might help my clients. However, my approach is non-directive and we work with whatever my client wants to bring to sessions. If they don’t want to do something then we don’t do it!

Working with children and young people as well as adults, I trained in Animal Assisted Play Therapy and deliver Canine Assisted Therapy to individuals and groups with my dog. I enjoy this work and it is a lovely way to combine both my career streams. I am also trained in and deliver ecotherapy, offering 'walk and talk' sessions for in-person clients.

I have been a helper for Vetlife since 2011, and during the Covid epidemic I trained in online and telephone counselling, and provide online support for members of the medical community with the charity Frontline 19. I have had ongoing training in mental health issues, and this is a large part of my work.  I have recently gained a certificate in child and adolescent mental health which is also applicable to adults.

I like working with the veterinary community as it is a world that I know very well and believe I can appreciate many of the issues that our community has to deal with. During my time in practice I mentored and supported many students and recent graduates, and found this very rewarding.

I offer both face to face and online work- zoom and email. I am based 4 miles from Newburgh in North East Fife. Within half an hour of Perth, Dundee, Kirkcaldy, so quite central though in person clients do need transport as I am out of town with no bus route.

After graduating as a veterinary surgeon, I worked in mixed practice for a number of years before relocating overseas. I spent considerable time living outside the UK, including in Africa, France and the USA, which offered many varied life experiences. On my return to Britain in 2013, I completed my counselling training and have been working in this field ever since.

My training is in an integrative model of therapy which combines the Person-Centred Approach (Carl Rogers) with the Psychodynamic Modality (Freud). This allows me to offer a balance of client-focused sessions which enable a person to understand how their history informs their present.

I have also trained in life coaching which adds to the tools available for someone looking to move forward in life. I am a member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) and a qualified supervisor of counsellors.

My interest in the psychology of trauma, combined with experience of life overseas, has led me to assist several global NGOs and charities, supporting their staff who live and work in often challenging countries and professional situations. In addition, as someone from a farming background, I also offer therapy to those in the farming community in Scotland through a charity that supports this sector. My links to the veterinary profession are maintained through volunteering with the Vetlife helpline.

I can offer reduced rates to a small number of clients for whom cost might be a barrier, please enquire. I am based in East Lothian, in commuting distance from Edinburgh. Although I am happy to offer face to face counselling, most of my work is done online. 

My interest in supporting others started whilst at vet school, through training in counselling skills via a peer support service. I found that I loved this mindset and approach, and witnessed the power of enabling people to feel heard and valued as themselves, without any conditions or expectations.

I started work in mixed practice, but recognised I was becoming burned out after three years, and this lead me to take the step to furthering my interest in counselling. I did this through an MSc, undertaken part time alongside small animal clinical work. I really enjoy the flexibility of an integrative approach, meaning that therapeutic work can be tailored to the individual person's needs and preferred style, and lead by whatever feels right for them at the time. My training includes attachment theory, enabling exploration of the influence of childhood relationship patterns, and cognitive behavioural therapy, which can provide a more structured approach for those who prefer this.

I have had experience working with a range of presentations and client groups, including with NHS staff following the covid pandemic, a charity working with survivors of domestic violence, young people in a sixth form centre, a bereavement support charity, and private practice clients presenting with a wide range of concerns. I have performed neurodiversity assessments for a private medical company, giving me insight into the societal challenges posed to individuals with ADHD and autism. I also volunteer for Vetlife. My work is trauma informed, and I value the individual person as a whole, with a safe, non-judgemental therapeutic relationship always being the priority. I aim to allow exploration of a person's true thoughts and feelings, and together to discover the path and tools which might lead to life to feel more fulfilling and in line with their values.

Adrian Longstaffe has pursued a number of different career paths in parallel. Graduating from the Royal Veterinary College in 1966 he spent a few years working in mixed practice either side of the Atlantic including an internship at the University of Philadelphia vet school. A PhD in the immunology of African trypanosomiasis led to about 15 years as a teaching and diagnostic pathologist at the RVC and later at the Bristol Veterinary School.

Changing direction in the mid-80s saw him developing the use of computers in the learning process including founding the Education Technology Service at the University of Bristol, the national Computers in Teaching Initiative Centre for Medicine and the development of learning systems for tropical medicine on behalf of the Wellcome Trust.

In parallel, early interest in theatre developed into an interest in performance psychology and then personal development psychology. He retrained as a psychotherapist in the late 90s and has been in private practice as a therapeutic counsellor since 2000. He has also run the internationally famous workshop The Mastery of Self-Expression as well as leading his own workshop Selves in Action on both sides of the Atlantic.

Having written a dissertation in 2000 on Meaning at Work – how we lose it and how we can regain it, he has become very aware of the special problems of the veterinary profession. Subsequently this awareness led to his producing the content of the majority of the first edition of the Vetlife website.



Adrian is a registered member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists, He holds a Diploma in Psychosynthesis (BACP recognised), a Diploma in Leadership from the Institute of Creativity (1 year course) and is a qualified Imagework Practitioner (Dina Glouberman). He has also undergone a professional training as a Pesso Boyden Psychomotor therapist as well as numerous other less formal trainings including Voice Dialogue and Focus Group facilitation.

Having believed himself to be the only person in the UK qualified both as a veterinary surgeon and a psychotherapist, he has been delighted to discover others with similar breadth of training and interest. The veterinary profession has its own constellation of particular issues and it is heartening to be in support of a group of therapists who know the profession from the inside.