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CICS Founding Director and Principal
After graduating from Manchester University with a BA in English and American Literature, Julie pursued a career in management and leadership with Courtaulds Textiles, working at senior level in manufacturing management for several years. She went on to qualify with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and moved into leadership level Human Resources roles with Allied Bakeries, Buckingham Foods, Uniq and Tibbett and Britten.
Julie started her training in psychotherapy with the BeeLeaf Institute of Contemporary Psychotherapy in 2008 and achieved UKCP Registration in 2012.
In 2012 Julie completed a two-year post graduate diploma in Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy, during which she won the Robert Henshaw Distinction award for achieving distinctions in all written course work. Julie was awarded the College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists (COSRT) Postgraduate of the Year Award 2012 based on a case study submission detailing her psychosexual work during training. She achieved Registration with COSRT in 2012, was awarded COSRT Accreditation in 2013 and Senior Accreditation in 2018.
Julie completed her Clinical Supervision Diploma with CPPD in 2016 and has been a COSRT Accredited Supervisor since 2018.
In 2012 Julie founded the Local Counselling Centre Ltd (LCC) with two colleagues, a private counselling service offering full and low-cost general and psychosexual therapy to the community of Letchworth, Hertfordshire. She became Sole Director of LCC in 2016 and transferred the ownership to a colleague in 2018. Julie continued her placement provision at Sex Therapy Herts, a specialist low cost sex and relationship therapy service.
Julie managed the provision of the NHS psychosexual and relationship therapy service contract for the county of Hertfordshire from 2012 until 2020, when all psychosexual services were decommissioned in Hertfordshire.
Julie held the post of COSRT Chair of Ethics from 2015 to 2017 and represented COSRT at the national level Coalition Against Conversion Therapy from 2015 to 2022. She is now an active member of the Coalition for Inclusion and Anti-Oppressive Practice and continues to be committed to social justice in the accessibility, delivery and application of psychotherapy and psychotherapy training.
In 2016 Julie founded the Contemporary Institute of Clinical Sexology (CICS) with the aim of improving sexual wellbeing through professional education in clinical sexology. CICS offers an accredited qualifying pathway to COSRT Registration, a range of accredited thematic sex and relationship therapy related trainings and a Diploma in Clinical Supervision. As our Founder, Julie established CICS on the principles of inclusivity, relational warmth and uncompromising quality. She holds these values dear and ensures that all CICS courses and tutors incorporate and embody them.
Julie has a busy private psychotherapy and supervision practice. She regularly write blogs and articles on the subject of psychotherapy and sexology and has been published in Therapy Today, The Huffington Post online and The Psychotherapist. She authored a chapter in Erotically Queer and has edited several publications on behalf of her colleagues.
