HI, I'M JEM...

I'm a psychosexual and relationship therapist.​

​

My first career was in languages – Russian, French, and Czech. In search of greater meaning, I left that behind in 2013 and hitchhiked some 25,000 miles across Europe, Africa and Asia on my own.

 

I came to a halt in 2016 in Bristol and trained in Mediation and then in Non-Violent Communication and began to practice as a volunteer mediator for Resolve West working on a range of cases within the community. In 2017 I trained in the Restorative Circles Approach with Belinda Hopkins and started to apply it within activist groups including XR. From 2019 onwards I held my own private practice offering conflict resolution within inter-personal and professional contexts.

 

I wanted a way to go deeper with people, and to engage with some of the root causes of the conflicts I was meeting as a mediator. To this end I trained in 2020 as a coach with MOE Foundation and studied a foundation at BCPC (Bath Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy). I then went on to study a diploma in Clinical Sexology (sex and relationship therapy) at the Contemporary Institute of Clinical Sexology.

 

I bring a strong empathic presence to all of the work that I do. This is supported by my own journey with meditation and personal therapy. I had chronic back pain for ten years which I eventually resolved through somatic meditation. The process of bringing my own inner workings to my conscious awareness has been hugely formative for me.

​

I identify as non-binary (I came out in 2016, although I can trace the experience back to my childhood before anyone gave me the words to explain it). I'm also queer, kinky and polyamorous. My lived experience in these areas helps me support clients with those identities in an understanding, affirming, and helpful way.

 

In my spare time, I produce community events with my mobile sauna and play music with friends. I love dancing and nature.