Trainers

Meet the Team

All our trainers are highly skilled and experienced Counsellors who will deliver the AETC programme with expertise.

Foundation and Academy Team

Fee Ritchie – Academy Admin

I have spent most of my working life in business administration and executive support. I became a AETC student of ETC in 2021 and am proud to be part of the AETC team, providing administrative services to the staff and students.

Chris Davies - Trustee FETC

I previously worked in IT and ran two successful companies which I sold in order to move into therapies full-time. I have been involved with various physical therapies since 1991 and I currently teach a wide range of these including acupuncture and medical massage; as well as a number of aesthetic techniques. My passion has always been the psyche and so I trained in various psychotherapy methods before completing the Foundation in Emotional Therapeutic Counselling course

Michelle Bebbington - External Assessor

I have been an assessor for a number of years for various groups including the Acupuncture Regulatory Authority as well as some training schools. I have a background in Psychology and Emotional Therapy, and also support the AETC by acting as an external member of the complaints board.

Emily Fisher

I’ve worked in Mental Health and Social Care for the past 17 years, and hold an Advanced Diploma through the AETC. I have a private practice alongside my work as Deputy Head of Student Wellbeing at a large University. I primarily use Emotional therapeutic techniques in my practice as I see the results as clients are able to connect their experiences to their emotions, but I also draw on other tools such as from my CBT and C-DBT training, and work with trauma. I am a mentor and supervisor for the AETC and enjoy seeing students grow and develop through their training.

Tracey Desjardins

I bring over 25 years of experience across policing, justice, and public‑sector environments, beginning my career as a practitioner embedded in prisons and community settings, specialising in domestic abuse, addiction, and offending behaviour. My work has always centred on helping individuals develop new ways of managing life stressors, choices, and patterns, and this foundation continues to shape how I design learning and support others today.

My training in Emotional Therapeutic Counselling has deepened this even further. Understanding how emotional responses, early experiences, and internal belief systems allows me to work with students and professionals in ways that are compassionate, relational, and genuinely transformative. Rather than focusing solely on what someone does, I understand the importance of why they respond as they do. This combination of therapeutic awareness and behavioural insight enables me to create safe environments where individuals feel understood, supported, and capable of change.

Alison Reynolds

I qualified as an Emotional Therapeutic Counsellor in 2015 and have been running my private practice since 2016. Before qualifying as a counsellor I worked for Gwent Police as a Digital Forensic Investigator. Whilst with Gwent Police I undertook part-time training to be a Holistic therapist and through my therapies with clients I was encouraged to train as a Counsellor. Whilst my investigative work involved extremely traumatic material, I am thankful for the vast range of experience and skills I have gained through my varied work environments. This has helped me enormously with my role as a counsellor and trainer.

I qualified as an AETC trainer in 2021 and now assist with the Supervision Course and the Student Counsellor Placement Scheme. I am passionate about training and development and enjoy the challenge delivering the AETC training offers me. I am also pleased to give something back to the Foundation without whom I would not be where I am today.

Caeredwen Gregson-Barnes

After spending 30 years in HR and management, I started training as a therapist because I’d spent a long time in that dark place myself and found counselling enormously helpful in getting me out of it. I realised why I felt as bad as I did, and was able to overcome those reasons so that after years of feeling I wasn’t good enough, I’m now comfortable in my own skin. I wanted to help other people make that transition, and now I’m privileged to be doing that every day.

Although counselling sometimes can be scary and painful at the time, in the long term it makes you better and you can tell me anything in complete confidence. No matter how bad you think you’ve been, you can talk openly to me about it and know I’ll believe in you.

Mentors

Tracey Desjardins

Alison Reynolds

Donna Williams - Lead Mentor

Donna is the Lead Mentor for AETC working closely with the mentors, supporting them, updating them on new procedures and collating information as required by the trainers. Donna also cross marks feedback given to students to ensure we meet the standards set out by the NCPS. Donna trains new mentors joining the team and attends trainer meetings when required, to update the trainers on how the students are progressing, highlighting any areas for further support if needed.

NCPS accredited and fully insured Emotional Therapeutic Counsellor working in private practice. I work with a wide variety of people offering an holistic approach, using Emotional Therapeutic Counselling and other techniques to gently understand the causes of their emotional turmoil, work through issues, and release negative feelings and blocks often developed in early childhood. I’ve helped people recognise and release feelings ranging from stress, anxiety, grief, anger, family conflict, infertility, infidelity, sexual, physical and emotional abuse. I work with people both in person and online using Zoom or Skype.

Emily Fisher

Caeredwen Gregson-Barnes

Supervisors

Linda John

Linda John – FETC Qualified Supervisor, Trainer, Mentor
Location: Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire
Tel: 07515 834931
Email: linda–john@hotmail.co.uk
Website: www.therapystratforduponavon.co.uk

I have been a qualified Emotional Therapeutic Counsellor since 2004 and have found this role to be challenging and rewarding.
I understand how important it is to support counsellors in their own practices and feel passionately about providing a high standard of supervision.
As well as having my own private counselling practice, I am a qualified Trainer for the
Academy for Emotional Therapeutic Counselling,
a Student Supervisor and Mentor. My previous experience has been in management roles within corporate and commercial companies.
Working alone can feel isolating at times and having someone you can rely on to listen, encourage, and support your practice is key to achieving a healthy work-life balance.
Supervision can be carried out face to face, online, or by telephone sessions, in line with the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Societies recommendations.
These methods of communication allow me to support Emotional Therapeutic Counsellors nationwide.

Please give me a call if you would like to discuss how we could work together.

Gerry Ritchie

Gerry Ritchie – FETC qualified Supervisor, Counsellor and Trainer
Location: Evesham, Worcestershire
Tel: 07425 137736
Email: info@pheonixtherapy.uk

I am an Emotional Therapeutic Counsellor, Trainer, and Supervisor. I have also trained in other counselling modalities such as CBT, NLP, and hypnotherapy. I have experience of teaching emotional therapy and general person-centred therapy, and in my private practice, I focus on helping clients heal their emotional pain by understanding its cause and accessing their inner child through an ETC-led integrative approach.

In addition to counselling, I have extensive commercial management experience and an earlier career in biological research and education. I have particular insight into addiction recovery, and I am kink aware. I offer supervision either face-to-face in Evesham or remotely via Zoom.

Please give me a call if you would like to discuss how we could work together.

Emily Fisher

Emily Fisher (Bristol)
Tel: 07824 602127
Email: efishertherapy@gmail.com

I am an Emotional Therapeutic Counsellor, Supervisor, and mentor. I have also trained in other modalities such as C-DBT and CBT. I run my private practice where I see clients primarily using the EFT model to help clients work through their emotional blockers using various tools and inner child work. Building effective relationships where the client feels safe to discuss anything with me knowing that it will be met without judgement is integral to this work.

I have managed a number of mental health services over the past 18 years in various settings, including in prisons, social care, education & Higher Education, and managing charity services. In my private practice, I work primarily with adults and adolescents offering both face-to-face and online support. I hold further qualifications in Bereavement Counselling, Trauma-informed practice, supporting survivors of gender-based violence, working with neurodiversity, and working with suicide.

I offer supervision either face-to-face in/around Chipping Sodbury (near Bristol and Bath) or remotely via Zoom or Teams. Please give me a call if you would like to discuss how we could work together.

Caeredwen Gregson-Barnes

Caeredwen Gregson-Barnes – Clinical Supervisor, ETC Mentor and Counsellor
Tel: 07974 203480
Email: therapist@magichandscalmminds.co.uk
Website: www.magichandscalmminds.co.uk

I qualified as an ETC counsellor in 2018 and have been running my own practice, Magic Hands: Calm Minds, ever since. I am based in Coleford in the Forest of Dean but also work online, so can provide support nationwide. I hold an Advanced Diploma in ETC and a certificate in CBT and am a registered trainer on the Academy’s training courses where I also mentor and counsel students. I qualified as a supervisor with AETC in 2024. I also offer physical therapy to clients, recognising the intrinsic connection between physical, spiritual, and emotional.

Being in private practice, I understand how isolating this work can be, but working for yourself doesn’t need to mean working by yourself. As well as supervision, I have also been a life coach, a procurement professional, and spent 15 years working in corporate HR, so I can support you in all aspects of your practice. I aim to create a strong, mutually respectful, and supportive relationship from the outset—it’s not my job to tell you how to manage your practice or work with your clients, but to help you find the best way for you to do so.

Alison Reynolds

Alison Reynolds (Pontypool, Monmouthshire)
Tel: 07791 680513
Email: freetobetherapies@yahoo.co.uk
Website: www.freetobetherapies.co.uk

I qualified with the Foundation in 2015, and since 2016 I have run my private practice in Little Mill, Monmouthshire, South Wales. I qualified with the Advanced Diploma in 2018 and as a supervisor in 2019. Since 2021, I have been a trainer and more recently, Placement Coordinator for the Academy of Emotional Therapeutic Counselling. I work with Employer Assist organisations offering short-focused interventions.

Presently, I am running my business part-time due to working as a part-time Counsellor with the Building Resilient Communities Project, Torfaen County Borough Council. Here I offer short, focused interventions to help clients remove their barriers to employment or volunteering. I have found this role challenging but very rewarding and gained experience working with clients with Borderline Personality Disorder, ADHD, Autism, and those who have experienced significant Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s).

I hold a degree in Education and Training and a Certificate in Education. I previously worked for Gwent Police, carrying out a variety of roles ranging from Training, Training Management, and Digital Forensic Investigation. I also have experience working with the child protection and domestic abuse teams. The range of experience and knowledge I gained through Gwent Police has been invaluable for my counselling and supervisor role.

I have additional training in ASSIST (suicide prevention), Pretrial therapy, and Motivational Interviewing. I offer supervision via telephone, Zoom, WhatsApp, or face-to-face at my home in Pontypool.

Discounted Rate Student Counsellors

Linda John

I qualified as an Emotional Therapeutic Counsellor in 2004 and have attained the Advanced Diploma, Supervisor qualifications. I have my own private practices in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire and Inkberrow, Worcestershire. I am currently a qualified Counsellor Trainer with the AETC which is affiliated with the FETC. Prior to counselling, I was in Senior Management positions in the retail business sector.

Gerry Ritchie

I have an Advanced Diploma in Emotional Therapeutic Counselling (ETC) as well as various other counselling qualifications in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP), hypnotherapy and grief counselling. In my private practice my main approach is ETC which I find is the most effective way to help clients gain the insight they need to make the changes they want to their lives. Occasionally, I incorporate techniques from some of the other counselling modalities I am trained in but the focus is always to follow the ETC model of helping clients understand and connect with their inner child. Prior to training to be a counsellor I had a varied career including working as a tradesman, scientific researcher, college lecturer and a commercial manager in the public and private sector. I am a fully qualified trainer with AETC.