About Me

My Background

I have worked as a secondary school foreign language teacher of French, German and Italian since 1994. In 2013

due to changes in my circumstances I decided to give up my role as a teacher and instead be employed part time in

a support role as a pastoral counsellor caring for the emotional well-being of the students.

In addition to this I have been operating as a fully qualified practitioner of Reflexology, working from my practice room at home.

I also offer a mobile service.

I have been employed as a Complementary Therapist at Ashgate Hospicecare since 2016.

I graduated as a Reflexologist in August 2013 after training with Jubilee College which is one of the few colleges to

be running the Centralia Reflexology Mastership (incorporating Agored Cymru units at level 5), which is accepted by

Professional Reflexology(PR), and all the other leading membership associations. This course is the highest level you

can train at to become a Reflexologist and is recognised across the UK.

The course included the following elements:

Practical Foot Reflexology

Practical Hand Reflexology.

Reflexology for Cancer and Palliative care

Reflexology for Pregnancy and Maternity

I have always been interested in how the mind, body and spirit work in harmony with each to achieve an ideal

balance in life but I experienced the power of Reflexology during a very sad period in my life. I was happily

married for 34 years exactly as on my wedding anniversary I lost my husband to prostate cancer.

While he was receiving chemotherapy treatment he was offered choice of holistic therapy to help him cope

with his illness. He opted for a course of Reflexology, which he had never had before but he had

nothing to lose and was willing to try anything. It turned out he really enjoyed his weekly sessions and believed

that he gained a great deal of benefit from the treatment. This was a man who was generally very sceptical of

anything which was slightly alternative and not well known. It was at this point that I became inspired to discover

more about how this therapy, which had succeeded to make a difference where conventional medicine had made little impact.

So in my attempt to make something good out of something bad, after the death of my husband

I decided to train to be reflexologist and spread the word and educate the public into trying alternative ways

of healing the body and promoting general well-being and health.

I can think of nothing more satisfying than knowing that you have made someone feel better.

My decision to call myself ‘Benessere’ was based on the desire to keep a connection

to my Italian roots - the word means 'well-being'.

I have recently attended a CPD training course with Sally Kay for Lymphatic Drainage

to aid the relief of conditions such as Lymphoedema

suffered my both women and men after breast cancer surgery.

At the beginning of February 2014 I completed a course in Indian Head Massage

and I am very pleased to be able to offer this as a stand-alone holistic therapy

or it can be added on as an extra treatment combined with Reflexology.