Catherine Joy Watson 
PGDipCouns, MBACP (Accredited), MScPsych
CertCoach, EMDR qualified

Advanced Cert Clinical Supervision (face to face and online)

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Hello, I'm Catherine Joy Watson and I'm in your corner. I'd love to meet you and see whether I could be the therapeutic life coach to help you recover your joy. Take a seat in a compassionate safe space where you can be yourself and I will be myself, where you can bring what is concerning you and we can decide on a personalised plan to help you move forward and find fulfilment and healing.

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Originally trained in Carl Rogers' Person-Centred Counselling (University of East Anglia PGDip) and with 11 years experience of working as a counsellor/psychotherapist in the UK, I hold the core conditions of empathy, acceptance and realness in the therapeutic relationship as key to unlocking your breakthroughs and personal growth. I have a broad background in Psychology, having completed the MSc in Experimental Psychology at the University of Sussex. I am an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. I am qualified in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) which is a specialised treatment for trauma. I have a Certificate in Coaching informed by the Cognitive Behavioural approach (Training organisation: Centre for Coaching).

 

This is the About page, so let me be real with you. ​I am someone who has found purpose and growth from the most difficult experiences of my own life. Although my middle name is Joy, my story has not always reflected this. I lost a parent to cancer after a 10 year illness during my adolescence. I then struggled with mental illness in my 20s and eventually became free from this after several years. I experienced painful relational situations as an adult and traced back in time to find healing for the childhood experiences that influenced my later responses. My experience of living with undiagnosed dyspraxia until my diagnosis during lockdown has been a key area where I have learned self-acceptance over the years through living with limitation and hidden disability. I share these things to give you hope that you too can recover your joy. I am now living in my values and purpose by helping others. You too can use even painful past experiences as a seed of growth for your life and destiny. Some of my keys to breakthrough were found in trauma therapy, coaching and counselling, restoration of my relationships with others and healing from past hurts. The greatest source of strength I find is in my Christian faith which has helped me persevere and given me hope through all my challenges.​ I now work with many issues but some of my special interests are in the areas closest to my heart; relationships, trauma, loss, neurodiversity and spirituality/faith.

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My psychotherapeutic life coaching sessions are a service where I blend together my coaching and counselling skills, using various tools and methodologies for a tailored approach which focuses not only on relieving distress in the present but also on proactively helping the process of creating the life you desire going forward. Whether you require trauma-focused work to heal from your past, an accompanying presence alongside your journey in the here and now or a way past limiting beliefs towards workable strategies, fulfilled dreams and realised goals, Catherine's Corner can assist.

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I look forward to accompanying you on your journey of joy recovery, though understanding, healing and becoming you.

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Life Coaching

 

Do you need to take a moment to figure things out and find your way past any obstacles so you can continue to fly and flourish?

 

​Life coaching is ideal for those who wish to work in a goal-oriented way and may be more focussed on the future as well as the present and past. I use methods from various coaching models, but I tailor coaching sessions to individual needs so no two coaching journeys will look the same. For those who commit to 4 or more sessions of coaching I will keep any work you do safe in a booklet you can take home with you at the end. Coaching can facilitate you finding your answers and seeing the steps you need to take towards specific goals such as improving your communication, finding a clearer sense of your identity, values and purpose, navigating transitional times in your life, business or career development, improvement to your relationships or working out your spiritual or faith journey. Challenge is offered alongside gentle encouragement to help you find confidence and be empowered. 

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My couples service involves elements of solution-focussed coaching in terms of identifying and working towards goals and improving relational responsiveness, as well as compassionate and trauma-informed counselling.

 

An online therapeutic group support community will soon be available for those who may not feel the need for regular individual sessions but would still benefit from being part of a facilitated therapeutic community. This will involve a monthly 1.5 hour group session and a 30 minute individual call in between the group sessions, as well as an optional facilitated WhatsApp group. If you would like to find a safe space to reflect, grow and continue to heal, this could be the right fit for you. Please contact me if you are interested to join as we will need to have sufficient numbers to begin the group each time it starts.

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EMDR

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EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) is a specialised psychotherapeutic treatment for trauma (Training organisation: EMDR Works). EMDR can be used for one-off incidents or longer term, chronic trauma and helps to reprocess memories so you no longer feel the extent of the negative emotions originally associated with them. Trauma does not have to be something dramatic like a car accident, it is your response to any experience where you felt unsafe, humiliated, shameful, abandoned, afraid etc., and the experience still affects you today. It can also be used for adverse life events which may not be typically defined as traumatic by the medical definitions of trauma - you do not need to have a diagnosis of PTSD to benefit from this treatment. If you choose to try EMDR therapy, I will tailor this to your individual needs and can incorporate other relevant trauma informed treatments where appropriate. If we meet online, we would use the 'butterfly hug' method or tapping rather than eye movements. If we meet face to face, eye movement work can be carried out with the use of a custom light bar, or alternatively we can use headphones with alternating sounds in each ear or buzzers in each hand. If you prefer not to use equipment, the butterfly hug or tapping are also effective in person.​​​ Your brain has a wonderful natural innate capacity to process events, but some events are experienced as too overwhelming and trauma responses are just your body's way of protecting you from overwhelmingly difficult situations. All we are really doing with EMDR is reassuring your nervous system that you are safe now and it can kickstart its natural adaptive processing again. After EMDR you will still remember the memory but are not likely feel the distress associated anymore and you will likely have more positive or neutral beliefs about yourself in place of the negative ones.

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Christian/Spiritual Coaching

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I can offer spiritual coaching if you wish to talk about this aspect of your life within your sessions, whatever your spiritual or faith background is. I am completing a certificate in Spiritual Accompaniment (at the Norwich Centre for Personal, Professional and Spiritual Development). Spiritual Accompaniment, also sometimes known as Spiritual Direction, is the practice of supporting exploration of your spiritual journey, whether you identify as having a faith or not. I am offering this service from 2026. Also new for 2026, I will also be offering to walk individuals, couples or groups through the 'Restoring Relationships' journey for relational healing rooted in Christian values by Bethesda Family Services Ministry, founded by US psychologist Dominic Herbst. Please email me if you are interested in embarking on this transformational journey, which I can vouch for from personal experience.

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Person-Centred Counselling

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When we explore our concerns with a person who can deeply listen and offer an environment of acceptance, realness and empathy, we can see a clearer picture of ourselves and what is going on in our lives as if we are looking in a mirror. We can also take time to think and reflect out loud, which can make our thought processes become clearer. Originally known as Clear Reflection Counselling, my person-centred counselling service is centred on these ideas, led by you and centred on your experience. For those who simply would like a space to explore, this can be ideal. Whatever your concerns, I aim to see you as a whole person in the context of your life and experiences, rather than simply treating a 'problem'. Let me know if you would like to work in this way.

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Dyspraxia Support Groups

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As I was late-diagnosed with dyspraxia myself, I run a community group Dyspraxia Dialogues offering free peer support groups (face to face and online) and awareness training courses for dyspraxia (Developmental Coordination Disorder).

If you are interested in free group support please do contact me via dyspraxia dialogues instead.

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Other Work 

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I am a qualified supervisor (Training organisation: Counselling Tutor) and can offer Clinical Supervision (face to face or online) for your own counselling/therapeutic work or work in another helping profession; feel free to contact me for more information. I have worked with other helping professionals in a supervisory capacity, e.g., chaplaincy workers.

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I am an Associate Lecturer with The Open University in the School of Psychology & Counselling and have been part of a neurodiversity research team.

I also occasionally teach on the Counselling Certificate and Introduction courses at The Norwich Centre for Personal, Professional and Spiritual Development. I have previously done voluntary counselling at the The Norwich Centre, YMCA Cambridgeshire & Peterborough and the 4Cs Norwich (Centres for Christian Care and Counselling).​

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Publications contributed to:

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Stenner, P., Pearson, A., Kapp, S., Watson, C., Pressler, R., Williams, G., Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, H., Hultman, L., Semmens-Wheeler, R., & Botha, M. (2025). Using Q Methodology, a Group of Neurodivergent Neurodiversity Researchers Ask: What is the Neurodiversity Movement and what should it do? Neurodiversity, 3. https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330251329625 (Original work published 2025)

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Pearson, A., Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, H., Kapp, S. K., Hultman, L., Watson, C., Williams, G. L., Wiklund, S. Ö., Stenner, P., Botha, M., & O’Dell, L. (2024). Strangers and friends: navigating neurodiverse research collaboration. In H. Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, & D. Jackson-Perry (Eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Research Methods and Ethics in Neurodiversity Studies (1st ed., pp. 103-122). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-66127-3_7​
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