Jo Brown is a Creative Counsellor based at Cherry Tree Therapy Centre in Buckhurst Hill.  Jo is currently working as a Secondary School Counsellor in East London, and she has worked as a Wellbeing Officer at the local Outstanding secondary school.

Jo is passionate about supporting the lives of young people, and her vocation is to educate them on resilience and provide the resources and knowledge to help them navigate life’s difficulties. For many teenagers, they struggle to feel comfortable in their own skin or to identify their own true voice and Jo will work with them to gain a better understanding of self.

As a counsellor, Jo Brown understands that discussing problems can be challenging for young people, as they may struggle to articulate their feelings or behaviours. To address this, Jo incorporates play therapy techniques,and creative approaches as an alternative method to enable them an opportunity to express themselves in a more comfortable way. For instance, during sessions dealing with loss and grief, we might create cards to loved ones on memorable days or explore the concept of continuing bonds.

Jo is very experimental in her work and her unique style sees her create different approaches that fit the young person in front of her. She specialises in working with neurodivergent young people and emotional school based avoiders. She is experienced in risk assessment and supporting young people who self harm or have suicide ideation.

Jo is able to create a warm and non judemental space where she hopes young people feel that they do not need to wear a mask and they can be authentically themselves and in this safe environment they start the journey of self awareness.

Jo’s favourite quote

“Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.”

― Dinah Maria Mulock Craik, A Life For A Life   1859

Qualifications

• Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling

Professional Memberships

• The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy,
• Creative Counsellors