CATRIN
ADHD PARENTING SUPPORT
STUDYING & UNIVERSITY SUPPORT
DBT THERAPIST
GRIEF COUNSELLOR
BREATHWORKS FACILITATOR
WELSH SPEAKER
WALK & TALK THERAPY
Catrin sees clients face-to-face in Cardiff CF71. She also offers Walk & Talk Therapy around Cardiff and The Vale of Glamorgan Heritage Coastline.
DIAGNOSED ADHD, DYSLEXIA & DYSCALCULIA
SON COMBINED ADHD
Witnessing first-hand the chaos, misery and loneliness of being misunderstood and misdiagnosed, Catrin is passionate to help those diagnosed ADHD to embrace their uniqueness and to have the strength to navigate their way effectively through life.
Working integratively, Catrin draws on her coaching, counselling, cognitive and dialectical behaviour therapy skills, helping clients set goals and master self-regulation to maximise their desired potential.
It came as a complete shock to Catrin to be diagnosed as combined ADHD in March 2022. After all, she supported young people with additional learning needs in a secondary school environment; how come she didn’t recognise it in herself?!
Unfortunately, the strain of losing her sister at fourteen and her Dad at twenty, gave an NHS psychiatrist the perfect excuse to discredit her private diagnosis, attributing her symptoms to anxiety, caused by past trauma. A label she has resisted her entire life, but one she sees attributed frequently when young people are referred by schools to CAMHS.
The fact that Catrin reacted badly to all the ADHD stimulant medication, simply gave him more ammunition to discredit the diagnosis.
Had it not been for the book ‘Healing ADHD’ by Dr. Amen, she would never have obtained a SPECT brain scan, which validated her ‘over focussed’ ADHD, allowing her to make sense of the inner turmoil she had masked for fifty years.
It has been a fight, but Catrin now receives shared care between the UK and America. Should it be like this? No. A battle she is continuing to fight for herself and her son, who has recently been diagnosed combined ADHD after dropping out from university.
For any clients who are struggling obtaining a diagnosis, have reacted badly to stimulants or
have been refused medication, Catrin will support you, whilst also being a mentor of more natural/alternative remedies for treating ADHD.
Catrin also understands what it is like to be an anxious learner, always feeling she was underachieving. She grafted and fooled everyone by overachieving, often to the detriment of her health; she had a breakdown before her university finals where she achieved not only a class 2:1, but also, course prize.
She recalls her Tutor being astounded by her results. Receiving such backhanded compliments felt normal and simply compounded her fragile sense of self.
At University she struggled to fit in, plagued by thoughts she was being left out, her loneliness was excruciating. Interestingly, the perception of those close to her, was of someone who was surrounded by friends and always on the go; fascinating how perception and reality can be so different!
Knowing how aware she is to rejection and feelings of being an imposter has been liberating, enabling her to display deep empathy, understanding and compassion to those who suffer with rejection sensitivity dysphoria. This helps Catrin to share powerful coping strategies and interventions.
Upon reflection, she now understands why she has flitted from one job to another, just like a moth to a flame. Field sales saw her anxiety levels peak, as the feared networking and worked above and beyond at presentations, catastrophising that she would become tongue tied in front of clients – the fact is, it was true. Had she known she was ADHD at the time, she may have worked on her limiting beliefs, used positive affirmations and calmed her fears though mindfulness and positive psychology techniques.
Motherhood has not been easy for Catrin. The unpredictability of it, the constant demands and the insomnia in the early days, wreaked havoc on her marriage.
Her anxiety peaked during the perimenopause and the emotional dysregulation. She tried every natural remedy for the menopause and then HRT, but none gave the relief others reported.
A pivotal moment was receiving her dyslexia diagnosis in 2013, which identified her poor working auditory skills, dyscalculia and slow reading speed. The impulsivity as a result of this epiphany kicked in and the following day she handed in her resignation. This catalyst propelled her onto her newfound pathway of helping young people make sense of their own confusion.
The demand was there, and she immediately started a voluntary position within a secondary school to support children with additional learning needs. Qualifying as a Learning Coach, she delivered her own resilience and learning strategies training courses to young people in the community. At last, she had found meaningful work supporting others comforted by a sense of purpose and belonging.
A short stint working for NHS mental health services, simply confirmed her suspicions that the support in the community for neurodiverse young people were shambolic, with long waiting times and inadequate provision. Trained in cognitive behavioural and dialectical behaviour techniques she once again felt the draw to those she knew she could support the most and returned to schools.
Qualifications
- Life Coach Diploma 2024
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy NHS 2023
- Emotional Literacy Support Assistant S Wales Psychology Service 2023
- Social & Emotional Wellbeing Future Learn 2020
- Transitions for Looked After Children Positive Wellbeing 2020
- Psychotherapy & Parenting (DDP) Level 1 DDP Institute 2019
- Observing Adolescents with Attachment Difficulties Helen Worrall 2019
- Positive Psychology & Mindfulness Dr. Jo Soldan & Steve Killick 2019
- ACE’s Experiences Ambassadors Public Health Wales 2019
- Supporting Adults with ASD NHS Wales 2019
- Dot Be – Secondary Mindfulness Teacher Training MiSP 2018
- Paws Be – Primary Mindfulness Teacher Training MiSP 2017
- Learning Coach Agored Cymru 2017
- Irlen/Visual Stress Screener Irlen 2013
- Certificate Counselling Theory CSCT 1999
- Certificate Counselling Skills CSCT 1996
- BA (Hons) Communication Studies
CATRIN
ADHD COUNSELLOR & COACH
ADHD PARENTING SUPPORT
STUDYING & UNIVERSITY SUPPORT
DBT THERAPIST
GRIEF COUNSELLOR
BREATHWORKS FACILITATOR
WELSH SPEAKER
WALK & TALK THERAPY
Catrin sees clients face-to-face in Cardiff CF71. She also offers Walk & Talk Therapy around Cardiff and The Vale of Glamorgan Heritage Coastline.
DIAGNOSED ADHD, DYSLEXIA & DYSCALCULIA
SON COMBINED ADHD
Witnessing first-hand the chaos, misery and loneliness of being misunderstood and misdiagnosed, Catrin is passionate to help those diagnosed ADHD to embrace their uniqueness and to have the strength to navigate their way effectively through life.
Working integratively, Catrin draws on her coaching, counselling, cognitive and dialectical behaviour therapy skills, helping clients set goals and master self-regulation to maximise their desired potential.
It came as a complete shock to Catrin to be diagnosed as combined ADHD in March 2022. After all, she supported young people with additional learning needs in a secondary school environment; how come she didn’t recognise it in herself?!
Unfortunately, the strain of losing her sister at fourteen and her Dad at twenty, gave an NHS psychiatrist the perfect excuse to discredit her private diagnosis, attributing her symptoms to anxiety, caused by past trauma. A label she has resisted her entire life, but one she sees attributed frequently when young people are referred by schools to CAMHS.
The fact that Catrin reacted badly to all the ADHD stimulant medication, simply gave him more ammunition to discredit the diagnosis.
Had it not been for the book ‘Healing ADHD’ by Dr. Amen, she would never have obtained a SPECT brain scan, which validated her ‘over focussed’ ADHD, allowing her to make sense of the inner turmoil she had masked for fifty years.
It has been a fight, but Catrin now receives shared care between the UK and America. Should it be like this? No. A battle she is continuing to fight for herself and her son, who has recently been diagnosed combined ADHD after dropping out from university.
For any clients who are struggling obtaining a diagnosis, have reacted badly to stimulants or have been refused medication, Catrin will support you, whilst also being a mentor of more natural/alternative remedies for treating ADHD.
Catrin also understands what it is like to be an anxious learner, always feeling she was underachieving. She grafted and fooled everyone by overachieving, often to the detriment of her health; she had a breakdown before her university finals where she achieved not only a class 2:1, but also, course prize.
She recalls her Tutor being astounded by her results. Receiving such backhanded compliments felt normal and simply compounded her fragile sense of self.
At University she struggled to fit in, plagued by thoughts she was being left out, her loneliness was excruciating. Interestingly, the perception of those close to her, was of someone who was surrounded by friends and always on the go; fascinating how perception and reality can be so different!
Knowing how aware she is to rejection and feelings of being an imposter has been liberating, enabling her to display deep empathy, understanding and compassion to those who suffer with rejection sensitivity dysphoria. This helps Catrin to share powerful coping strategies and interventions.
Upon reflection, she now understands why she has flitted from one job to another, just like a moth to a flame. Field sales saw her anxiety levels peak, as the feared networking and worked above and beyond at presentations, catastrophising that she would become tongue tied in front of clients – the fact is, it was true. Had she known she was ADHD at the time, she may have worked on her limiting beliefs, used positive affirmations and calmed her fears though mindfulness and positive psychology techniques.
Motherhood has not been easy for Catrin. The unpredictability of it, the constant demands and the insomnia in the early days, wreaked havoc on her marriage.
Her anxiety peaked during the perimenopause and the emotional dysregulation. She tried every natural remedy for the menopause and then HRT, but none gave the relief others reported.
A pivotal moment was receiving her dyslexia diagnosis in 2013, which identified her poor working auditory skills, dyscalculia and slow reading speed. The impulsivity as a result of this epiphany kicked in and the following day she handed in her resignation. This catalyst propelled her onto her newfound pathway of helping young people make sense of their own confusion.
The demand was there, and she immediately started a voluntary position within a secondary school to support children with additional learning needs. Qualifying as a Learning Coach, she delivered her own resilience and learning strategies training courses to young people in the community. At last, she had found meaningful work supporting others comforted by a sense of purpose and belonging.
A short stint working for NHS mental health services, simply confirmed her suspicions that the support in the community for neurodiverse young people were shambolic, with long waiting times and inadequate provision. Trained in cognitive behavioural and dialectical behaviour techniques she once again felt the draw to those she knew she could support the most and returned to schools.
Qualifications
- Life Coach Diploma 2024
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy NHS 2023
- Emotional Literacy Support Assistant S Wales Psychology Service 2023
- Social & Emotional Wellbeing Future Learn 2020
- Transitions for Looked After Children Positive Wellbeing 2020
- Psychotherapy & Parenting (DDP) Level 1 DDP Institute 2019
- Observing Adolescents with Attachment Difficulties Helen Worrall 2019
- Positive Psychology & Mindfulness Dr. Jo Soldan & Steve Killick 2019
- ACE’s Experiences Ambassadors Public Health Wales 2019
- Supporting Adults with ASD NHS Wales 2019
- Dot Be – Secondary Mindfulness Teacher Training MiSP 2018
- Paws Be – Primary Mindfulness Teacher Training MiSP 2017
- Learning Coach Agored Cymru 2017
- Irlen/Visual Stress Screener Irlen 2013
- Certificate Counselling Theory CSCT 1999
- Certificate Counselling Skills CSCT 1996
- BA (Hons) Communication Studies