Caz Binstead Therapy Consultant
An experienced therapist, speaker and writer, hoping to inspire others.
Hi I’m Caz, and I’m an experienced therapist and supervisor, working full-time in private practice (in the UK). I’ve been practising for 14 years, and with over 10,000 client hours and counting, I’m someone who truly loves their work!
In my private practice based in London, I specialise in working with people suffering from high levels of anxiety; issues around self-esteem; and loss, change and bereavement. As a writer, I enjoy exploring the fundamentals of some of these things, including, how we as human beings deal with living in an ever-moving world; how we make sense of our lives, and how we fundamentally relate to life’s natural transitions, and any ensuing loss. I’m a qualified integrative counsellor and mindfulness-based psychotherapist. I draw on past academic study in the areas of philosophy and religion, and the creative arts, to inform my work.
I’m co-lead of #TherapistsConnect - the large networking platform, and I’m founder of its popular student project #TraineeTalk, and more recently, #TherapistsCreate
I specialise in the field of private practice, with an interest in the growth and maintenance of both ethical, and, thriving practice. I have a plethora of published work in this area, and my most recent publication Relational Ethics in Psychotherapy and Counselling Private Practice: Solidarity, Compassion, Justice, Caz Binstead and Nicholas Sarantakis, is being published in November 2024 by Routledge, as part of their 'Ethics In Action' series (pre-order is available). Prior to this, I was instrumental in the creation of the Private practice toolkit, at the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). I acted as the Private Practice executive divisional lead on the project, and also contributed to a large number of written and recorded resources. I sat as as a Private practice divisional executive committee member at BACP, for 4 years in total. For #TherapistsConnect (and hosted in partnership with Onlinevents), I was creative lead on their two day conference, ’Private practice 2021: surviving and thriving in uncertain times’, where I also chaired several discussions/debates, and have worked extensively in this area - providing consultation, copywriting services and workshops/training, to hundreds of therapists setting up, and working in private practice.
My Approach
I believe in working for, and representing, the ‘therapist on the ground’, and I am a relational activist and writer. I have also hosted and facilitated, several high profile events for therapists, including (but not exclusively), the 3 #TherapistsConnect SCoPEd debates, National Counsellors’ Day 2020, PCCS Books (Publisher) Conference 2021, and two BACP Student Conferences, where I also presented on workshops on private practice (2019 and 2021). With the #TherapistsConnect platform I presented at two academic conferences in 2021 on the formation of the community, as well as our TraineeTalk initiative. In my own capacity, a selection other significant contributions include: also presenting two workshops on private practice at The International Supervision week 2022 conference (Onlinevents); being part of a symposium at The Pluralistic Conference entitled Pluralism and the Politics of Therapy (2022); presenting a seminar entitled Embodying Activism: Actively Living What We Stand For (2023 - Therapy and Social Change Network), and sitting on a panel debate (2024) entitled The Future of the Counselling and Psychotherapy Profession in Scotland (2024) organised by Strathclyde University and the Psychotherapy and Counselling Union (PCU).
I particularly enjoy training, and working with students, and via the BACP, have done a lot of work with trainees on preparing for working in private practice upon qualification. Amongst other workshops, I also co-facilitated a workshop I created, called New to Private Practice within a London training institute, for a number of years, and am a visiting lecturer on the subject (most recently at Liverpool John Moores University). In addition, I have supervised trainees on a BACP accredited training course, currently facilitate weekly #traineetalk discussions on social media (as well as occasional live meetings), and have taught Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (8 week course) at Oxford Mindfulness Centre, based at Oxford University.
I vehemently stand against all forms of bullying and abuse, and feel passionately about endeavouring to provide safe spaces for all human beings to be seen, included, and respected.
Finally, I love photography and poetry, and regularly share my musings on life via my social media channels.