Listening In

Meera Vohora is a pluralistic counsellor, grief and loss specialist  and refugee support volunteer with Care4Calais. She holds a Master’s in Refugee Care from the University of Essex, where her training was rooted in a psychosocial approach — one that views psychological wellbeing as inseparable from social, cultural, political, and relational contexts. Born in Kenya of Indian heritage and later moving to the UK, Meera’s own experiences of identity, belonging, and cultural dislocation inform her professional work. Her practice today centres on trauma-informed, relational approaches that recognise grief, resilience, and the full humanity of her clients.

 

To register for Meera’s NCPS Lunchtime Learning webinar: Events | NCPS

 

Further Reading / Influences:

Boss, P (2010) Bereavement Care: Ambiguous Loss: Learning how to live with Unresolved Grief. https://www.bereavementjournal.org/index.php/berc/article/view/778

 

Doka, K. J. (1999). Disenfranchised grief. Bereavement care, 18(3), 37-39.

 

Papadopoulos, R. K. (2002). Refugees, home and trauma. In R. K. Papadopoulos (Ed.), Therapeutic Care for Refugees: No Place Like Home. London: Karnac. Tavistock Clinic Series.

 

Zephaniah, B (2011) Refugee boy. Bloomsbury Publishing

 

UNHCR: Mental Health and Psychosocial Support. Unhcr.org

 

Care4Calais: care4calais.org

 

Refugee Action: refugee-action.org.uk

Please be aware, the topic of suicide is briefly mentioned in this conversation.

Meg Moss is Head of Public Affairs and Advocacy with the NCPS. 
An increasingly important part of Megs work involves researching and exploring the use of AI in mental health provision - to better understand its potential impact on the work of the counselling profession, the future provision of services, and how it might shape the human emotional experience more broadly.

In a wide-ranging conversation, we cover everything from the commodification of data to the risks of turning AI to combat loneliness and isolation. We discuss the importance of relational connection and empathy, as well as disagreements and friction, all as vital ingredients to personal growth and understanding.

But perhaps most importantly are the UK’s first relational safeguards for AI mental health tools that Meg has developed, warning us that, without clear boundaries, chatbots and apps risk causing serious harm, particularly to children and young people.
Without such safeguards and careful considerations in place, Meg worries that AI devalues relationship, connection and humanity.

 

For more information about the Six Principles for Relational Safeguards in AI Mental Health Tools NCPS | Press release: First blueprint to make AI mental health tools…

 

Here is the NCPS response to the recent Ipsos study exploring how people in Great Britain are using, and feeling about, AI in their daily lives

 NCPS | NCPS Responds: New Ipsos research shows why so many Britons…

 

For a longer read, here is Meg’s update about AI in therapy NCPS | AI in Therapy - September 2025 Update

 

Please remember to like and subscribe, so you can always be part of the conversation.

 

This episode was recorded on Teams

 

Produced by Leto Blackwell

 

Created by the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society

 

Website: www.ncps.com

 

Subtitles are auto generated

Pamela Kirkpatrick is a practitioner, trainer and co-founder of NCPS Recognised Counselling Service, uHub.

But Pam, along with her colleague Cara, also invest considerable time and energy into their community; a community that continues to bear the bruises from its history.

 

Communities in Transition, was designed by the NI Executive in 2015 to support projects that would empower individuals and groups to affect positive change for themselves and their communities

To this end, Pam and Cara have given up their own time to connect with an understandably cautious community. So, they developed creative ways to become accepted and from small, tentative steps, meaningful trust was built.

Only then were they were able to support people that previously might never have contemplated change, never mind counselling.

 

This story is testament not only to our capacity and potential for change, but also to the gentle patience of the practitioner.

It’s a reminder that the work we do, is as much art and creativity, relational and empathy, as it is study and theory.

 

For more information about Pam and the uHub team uHub – Counselling Service and Therapy Centre. Bangor, North Down.

 

To learn about Communities in Transition Communities in Transition – Background | The Executive Office

 

Please remember to like and subscribe, so you can always be part of the conversation.

 

This episode was recorded on Teams

 

Produced by Leto Blackwell

 

Created by the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society

 

Website: www.ncps.com

 

Subtitles are auto generated

Lynda Graham is the NCPS Regional Representative for Northern Ireland and a prominent and experienced voice across the counselling profession, particularly on the subject of adoption. 

Originally a social worker, her work with children and families, took her along what felt like a natural path, to counselling.

 

Lynda is a passionate advocate for counsellors and the profession as a whole, especially keen to advocate for those living and working in Northern Ireland.

And while there is an important need to recognise the specific challenges encountered there, Lynda is clear, that just as we see the individual in our daily practice, we also need to see Northern Ireland as any other place, with its own regional diversity and differences.

We need to be mindful, it is a tapestry woven together with many different threads and should not be defined by one story alone.

 

For more information about the NCPS Regional Representatives NCPS | Regional Representatives

 

Please remember to like and subscribe, so you can always be part of the conversation.

 

This episode was recorded on Teams

 

Produced by Leto Blackwell

 

Created by the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society

 

Website: www.ncps.com

 

Subtitles are auto generated

Cherelle Mead, is many things, both professionally and personally. 
A counsellor, supervisor, charity trustee, and now the NCPS Regional Representative for Wales, Cherelle is also a proud and devoted Mum, neurodivergent, gender fluid, and biracial.
Coming from social disadvantage and a chaotic upbringing, she searched for safety and security which she found in community, rather than family.  It’s no surprise then, in her heart she holds a passion for equality and advocacy for marginalised identities, as well as the counselling profession as a whole.

 

For more information about the NCPS Regional Representatives NCPS | Regional Representatives

 

Please remember to like and subscribe, so you can always be part of the conversation.

 

This episode was recorded on Teams

 

Produced by Leto Blackwell

 

Created by the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society

 

Website: www.ncps.com

 

Subtitles are auto generated