Our Tutors

RACHEL CURD

Academy Lead

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Rachel Curd is the beating heart of the Banbury Counselling Academy. She looks after students from their first contact all the way through to graduation, ensuring that all the administrative details are cared for. She is the point of contact for initial enquiries, applications, enrolment, finance, course assessment and moderation and organising events.

TINA POKE

Head of Academy Programmes

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Tina believes that every individual is unique and experiences life’s challenges in their own way. She is committed to providing a safe, supportive space where clients feel held with acceptance, empathy, and warmth. As an integrative counsellor, Tina works collaboratively to build a strong therapeutic relationship, enabling clients to explore and address the issues they bring to the sessions.

Drawing on a range of therapeutic approaches, she supports clients in understanding what is impacting their emotional wellbeing and helps them gain insight into how they relate to themselves and those around them.

With a professional background in the emergency services, Tina has extensive experience working with trauma, depression, grief and loss, anxiety, and relationship difficulties. She works with both individuals and couples and also offers EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) therapy for appropriate presenting issues.

ANOUSHKA CLARK-DUNN

Level 2

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Anoushka is a qualified integrative counsellor who completed her training with the Banbury Counselling Academy in 2023. She has worked across a range of settings, including The Hummingbird Centre supporting individuals affected by cancer, an Oxfordshire school, and Nai’s House in Bicester, where she supported young people experiencing mental health difficulties.

Alongside this, Anoushka runs a private practice, working with both young people and adults. She is deeply passionate about supporting individuals in a way that is right for them, helping them to grow, heal, and flourish.

Passionate about teaching, Anoushka is committed to motivating and encouraging students throughout their counselling journey, using her own training experience to support their development.

Anoushka teaches the Level 2 Counselling Studies course.

AMY McCORMACK

Level 2

Read Amy Mccormack’s profile

Amy McCormack is a Focusing-oriented integrative psychotherapeutic counsellor working in private practice. She initially trained in person-centred bereavement support with Cruse in 2014 and went on to complete her core counselling training in Petruska Clarkson’s five relationship model. She has a particular interest in Eugene Gendlin’s Focusing technique and is a British Focusing Association approved Focusing practitioner. She is also a trainee clay therapist and Sand Story practitioner.

Amy is the editor of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy’s spirituality division journal, Thresholds, and edits counselling and psychotherapy books. Prior to her career in counselling, she worked in journalism and communications. In addition, she has taught French and English to adults and children and worked as a translator.

JANE ROGERS

Level 2

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Jane is an integrative counsellor and member of the BACP working to their code of ethical and professional conduct. She has worked for Mind who are at the forefront of promoting good Mental Health and sees clients in private practice with a wide variety of different issues. Jane teaches the Level 2 Counselling Skills course.

JONATHAN BRITTAIN

Level 3

Read Jonathan Brittain ’s profile

After a career in the fire protection industry, Jonathan chose to re-train as a counsellor and became one of the first to graduate from BCA in 2017. He has worked as a Parent Counsellor and also with people struggling with gambling and other addiction issues. He has experience of counselling children and young people in schools in Banbury, winning a Place2Be Wellbeing in Schools Award. As a BACP Accredited Counsellor/Psychotherapist, he works in private practice with adults including some from leading EAPs. As a Supervisor, he works with both student and qualified counsellors. As a Tutor, he enjoys supporting students to become the types of counsellor they want to be.

Jonathan teaches the Level 3 Counselling Studies course.

KAREN McCONNELL

Level 3

Read Karen Mcconnell’s profile

Karen is a humanist therapist who offers both personal and couples therapy and an experienced CPCAB Level 3 tutor.

CATHERINE UPSTONE

Level 4

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Catherine Upstone is a qualified integrative counsellor. She is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and works within their ethical framework for Good Practice. She uses a range of theoretical models to meet the needs of each individual client and has a wealth of experience of working with children, young people, and adults. She teaches on the Level 3 and Level 4 Counselling Studies courses at Banbury Counselling Academy.

ANNE STEWART

Level 4

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Anne Stewart is a Humanistic Therapist, Supervisor, and Counselling Tutor at Diploma Level. She is passionate about Reflective Practice as a key to learning. She works with Person Centred, Transactional Analysis and the Transpersonal approaches and loves to work creatively, believing there is more to counselling than just talking.

John Bristow

Level 4

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I'm a BACP Accredited Integrative Counsellor, Clinical Supervisor and CPCAB tutor with over eight years of clinical experience. Alongside private practice, I teach CPCAB counselling courses, deliver CPD, and supervise both trainee and qualified counsellors.

I work with adults, young people, counselling students and couples, supporting issues including anxiety, trauma, relationship difficulties, domestic abuse and neurodivergence. I am also trained in the Gottman Method for couples counselling.

I hold CPCAB Level 4 Therapeutic Counselling and Level 6 Therapeutic Supervision qualifications and maintain BACP Accredited status through ongoing professional development.

As a tutor, I aim to create a supportive and appropriately challenging learning environment that develops self-awareness, ethical practice, reflective thinking and the confidence to work safely and effectively with others.

RACHEL YOUNG

Level 4 and Level 5

Read Rachel Young’s profile

Rachel is a counsellor, psychotherapist, supervisor, and counselling tutor with many years of experience. She is a director of the Banbury Therapy Group, which she co-founded with her husband in 2009.

Rachel began her training at Oxford and Cherwell College, graduating in 2006 with a Diploma in Integrative Counselling. She went on to complete further training in both Group and Individual Gestalt Psychotherapy at the Gestalt Centre in London. Since then, she has worked with a diverse range of clients in both community settings and private practice.

Her extensive training and clinical experience enable her to work in depth with a wide spectrum of issues, life situations, and mental health needs. Rachel has supported individuals struggling with depression, anxiety, relationship difficulties, low self-esteem, personality disorders, and intense or overwhelming fears. She also has particular expertise in addictive and compulsive behaviours, including alcoholism, drug dependency, eating disorders, gambling, sex, pornography, and internet addiction.