Hello my name is Mark and I am a qualified BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) Counsellor. As a Counsellor I work within the BACP guidelines for counselling and psychotherapy when providing a service to clients. Further information relating to this can be found at www.bacp.co.uk.
I do not currently see private clients. If you are looking to speak to someone about a potential need I would suggest using the BACP website for more information or you can SEARCH for a counsellor in your local area by using this LINK
If you found yourself in a major crisis and were considering serious self-harm it would be vital to get immediate help. This may include contacting your GP, or your nearest accident and emergency service (A&E) on 999.
You could also call the Samaritans on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org (email emergency support). Alternatively you can contact http://www.befrienders.org/need-to-talk. All personal information disclosed will be kept confidential and not used for any purposes other than a counselling record.
About me:
I graduated in 2017 from The University of Brighton on the PG (Dip) in Humanistic Psychotherapeutic Counselling. I currently work with the YMCA at Dialogue and at BHASVIC seeing clients from 12 - 25 years old. I wanted to volunteer because when I was younger I had some good mentors and adults I could relate to for advice and emotional support. I wanted to offer this to another generation and the YMCA seemed to be really thoughtful in how that support is delivered.
https://www.ymcadlg.org/mark-story/
A full list of my qualifications and CPD can be found HERE
Artwork, Drawings, Paintings, etc
So to cut a long story short - I am allergic to Allium's/Alliaceae. Onions, leeks, garlic, shallots, scallions and chives. Fortunately I can still have garlic - although I tend to shy away from large amounts of it - and by large amounts I mean 2+ slices of garlic bread and using more than 2 cloves as a base for cooking. As a result, eating out has always proven a chore - as a child I was branded "fussy" because I didn't know what it was I was reacting to - and let's face it - onion powder is in EVERYTHING processed!
In my adult life I have realised this has several benefits:
1) I have learnt to cook and cook most things from scratch and therefore am eating much healthier than I might have done.
2) It REALLY sorts out the decent restaurants from the pre-made pre-processed ones. Whilst having the same conversation with the waiter/waitress/cheff is a pain every new place I go - I am slowly building up a picture of where I can eat
Which brings me onto the purpose of this page - I shall be using this page to document places I go to eat and how well they deal with this allergy in the hope that others can benefit from my experiences and also to highlight where's good to eat!
HAPPY EATING!