I was born in Nottingham but raised just south of Bristol. I went on to train as an occupational therapist (OT). Many years of interesting work in acute psychiatry and community mental health followed, before arriving as a psychological therapist in a primary care team. Alongside this, I lived in a few different parts of the UK until landing in North Devon. Here, I married and have two now-adult children. It is a beautiful place to live, with endless natural beauty and space.
Back in 2004, I heard about this new therapy called mindfulness. I expressed an interest to my manager. Little did I know that a short while later, the University of Exeter would be scouring the southwest for mindfulness teachers for a research trial. To my shock, I was asked to be a therapist on the trial. I was excited and immediately knew that although this was going to be a steep learning curve, not necessarily ideal with two young children, I was drawn to mindfulness in a way I couldn’t articulate but felt it. The learning curve began and has continued.
My mindfulness practice has been of great importance over the years – initially staying close to the practices within MBCT, and then branching out, mainly focusing on practices and teachings within the Western insight tradition. I have always loved movement – walking, yoga and Qigong, amongst others. In recent years, my practice has focused on different forms of compassion and friendliness practices from both contemporary and traditional frameworks. I cherish my time on retreat and have been able to sit longer retreats.
While at the University of Exeter, Willem Kuyken and I, quite naively, thought we would set up a community interest company to house supervision and a few training events. This was the birth of what is now The Mindfulness Network (MN) charity. It has grown and evolved over the years, with supervision being a consistent strand of its mission.
I left Exeter in 2017 to pursue my interest in mindfulness-based supervision (MBS), becoming more focused on my role as Supervision Lead for the MN. Supervision of mindfulness teachers has been a passion for a long time. It was the focus of my MSc in MBCT and my doctoral research. I worked closely with a dear colleague, Cindy Cooper (who died in 2017), who was just as passionate about supervision as I was. Since 2019, Pamela Duckerin and I have had a strong working partnership around MBS, including publishing the book, Mindfulness-Based Supervision and Mentoring. The MN has always been a home for this work, with its team of supervisors and the hosting of supervision training. I am honoured to collaborate in supporting the MN in continuing to be a pioneer in MBS.
I would say that I have been lucky so far in my life to be blessed with heaps of energy, waning a little as I get older! I love my work and practice, my family are hugely important to me, and the old OT in me still loves to live a full and active life – walking, tennis, kayaking, gardening, cooking, travelling in our van, various crafts, reading, film …
Read my Supervisor bio
Further information I can be contacted via email at alison@vividmindfulness.co.uk