Directors
Aaron Davis - Operations/Finance/Training Lead
Aaron previously trained as a speech & language therapist working with children and adults with communication difficulties. He has experience of working with neurodiverse presentations and brain injury.
He has a Clinical Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling and an Advanced Certificate in Object Relations Theory. Following the psychoanalytic model of training, he completed a two year Infant Observation course with the Britsh Psychotherapy Foundation (BPF) in 2024.
Aaron is experienced in working with a wide range of people within open ended models of therapy and time limited therapy, this includes One Session at a Time Therapy (OSAAT) and Psychological De- briefing following critical incidents in the work place. He is also accredited by the British Psychoanalytic Council as a Dynamic Interpersonal Therapist (DIT) which is an IAPT approved 16 session model of psychodynamic therapy.
He gives a portion of his time to the Veteran's Charity, Walking With The Wounded, providing therapy to ex-service men and women.
Aaron is lead trainer on the Catalyst Certificate and also a seminar leader on the Clinical Diploma training with a special interest in Complex PTSD and attachment related issues.
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Tracey Darnell - Company Secretary/Social Value/Interim Clinical Lead
A nurse practitioner for over twenty five years and a psychodynamic counsellor at Catalyst since 2014, Tracey has a wide range of experience working in the areas of learning disabilities, mental health assessment and treatment services, neurology and end of life care with both children and adults. She has worked within the NHS, the voluntary sector and also in international NGOs based abroad. She holds a Clinical Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling, Certificates in Psychodynamic Assessment and Time-Limited Psychodynamic Counselling, and is trained in Critical Incident Stress De-Briefing and Single Session work.
Why the psychodynamic approach and why Catalyst? Tracey's belief is that the psychodynamic model allows individuals to work at deeper, more qualitiative and sustainable levels, and supports optimal understanding and awareness about themselves and how they relate to others. These internalised resources can then be positively and consciously carried forward to support better overall psychological health, wellbeing and relatedness long-term. As a not for profit organisation, the ethos at Catalyst has always been to provide low cost, equitable and accessible counselling for as many people as possible, responsive to their individual mental health needs and irrespective of diagnosis or label. This sits very seamlessly and neatly alongside Tracey's other professional role as a nurse.
