Urban Therapies - About Us

Kerry Whincup (Project Manager)

Kerry is a qualified counsellor with extensive experience of working with families affected by Domestic Abuse, having been employed directly to work with these issues over the past 10 years.

She has worked at Plymouth Women's Refuge, where she gained an insight into the devastating social, emotional as well as physical effects of Domestic Abuse on women and children.

Ahimsa (Plymouth based Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programme & Risk Assessors) for 3 years . Whilst there she counselled and advised many women both on a one-to-one basis and in group settings., and has both written and facilitated many enabling workshops for women.

Women's Rape & Sexual Abuse Centre (Bodmin) as their Domestic Violence Volunteer Co-ordinator. The role included the recruitment, training and supervision of Support Workers, establishing self-support groups for women in rural areas and linking with voluntary and statutory agencies to assist and enable them to raise awareness about Domestic Abuse and extend their services and provisions for victims.

Kerry has presented Domestic Abuse Training to a diverse audience including Magistrates, Family Law Solicitors and 6th Form Pupils and was a key figure in interagency liaison to counter Domestic Violence.

Kerry more recently ended a 3 year contract with Devon & Cornwall Constabulary, working on a pilot scheme in Cornwall that has since been extend to other BCU's. A key role was to raise the consciousness of police Officers to Domestic Abuse by providing specialist training and ensuring that Force Policy was complied with.

Kerry is trained to deliver the Freedom Programme and is the Plymouth Co-ordinator of SEEDS (Survivors Educating and Empowering Domestic Abuse Services).

Throughout her career, Kerry has also worked freelance, contracted by Family Law Solicitors, CAFCASS and Social Services to complete specific pieces of work with families experiencing Domestic Abuse.

Urban Therapies Profile

Urban Therapies has been recently founded to offer a spectrum of specialist counselling and consultancy services, aimed predominately but not exclusively at mothers experiencing Domestic Abuse or issues which are a result of Domestic Abuse, i.e. ability to protect, low self-esteem, lack of assertiveness, depression, poor parenting skills, poor money management to name a few.

Urban Therapies benefits from the following;

Advanced Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling, BACP Registered, Enhanced CRB Check, Public Liability and Professional Indemnity Insurance, Data Protection Registered, Respect Membership and CAMAT Trained (Child Abuse Multi Agency Training).

In addition, the elements of best practice that are fundamental to our work include;

Flexibility that is not in any compromised by unprofessional practice - the ability to offer a bespoke service to each mother/father that recognises and responds to specific needs, circumstances and risk.
The provision of structured support that fully incorporates anti-discriminatory practice.
The use of a qualified, experienced and BACP Registered worker to provide advice, support and counselling in a professional manner informed by theory, practice and current literature.
Established links and rapport with other agencies to create a support network that aims to ensure client's access to a range of options, a referral system and appropriate after care.
View the enhancement of a client's emotional and mental well-being as going hand-in- hand with increasing their physical safety.
Increase client's safety on all levels, so that they can move on to live a fully-functioning, regarding, empowered and independent life, able to fulfil their potential.
Work with agencies and clients to increase the safety of their children.