A Pilgrimage for the Soul

My name is Donna and I am a writer, coach, therapist and group facilitator with over 35 years experience. I also describe myself as an ‘Elder in training’ because I am leaning towards that stage of my life as a 57 year old woman who has worked hard to transform her wounds into wisdom. (More on that later). I love reading, writing, watching films, listening to podcasts, exercise, drinking coffee, walking, talking to trees and non religious prayer. I view nature as my church because it’s where I go to worship Life. I would describe myself as an introvert (although for a long time I pretended not to be). I am a mother of 2 daughters and the grandmother of 3 young boys, and I absolutely love my role in helping to raise ‘gentle-men’. I have written and published 2 books – ‘The Bridge - a 9 step crossing into authentic and wholehearted living’ (Penguin Life, 2022) and ‘Wise Words for Women’ (Happy Place Books/Ebury 2023). I have also written extensively for various magazines along the way. I was one of the Co-founders and facilitators of The Bridge Retreat and have been working with individuals, couples and groups for over 30 years. I originally trained as a social worker, specialising in child protection and worked extensively within this and related fields. I am a highly experienced group facilitator and intuitive Coach and have worked internationally in a wide variety of environments including women’s refuges, schools and prisons. A documentary called Love(d) was made about the work of The Bridge Retreat in 2018, sharing the stories of 12 people as they took the leap to heal the grief and loss in their lives. You can now watch the documentary for free via Loved Documentary Way back in 2007 I qualified as a Hoffman Teacher with the Hoffman Institute UK and went on to become their Head of Teaching in 2011. I then completed the Imago Relationship Clinical Training Programme and ran a busy couples practice in London for many years, going on to train with the Centre for Systemic Constellations to support my work in honouring family and ancestral influences. My work has been featured in numerous publications including The Telegraph, Psychologies, Evening Standard, Huffington Post, Balance, Conde Nast, Poosh and Tatler and I have been a guest on many podcasts including Happy Place, Mad world with Bryony Gordon, Motherkind, Saturn Returns with Caggie Dunlop, Ctrl. Alt. Delete with Emma Gannon, Love Itself with Cressida Bonas and Not Perfect with Poppy Jamie. Source