Glenda Fredman, Ph.D.
Consultant Clinical Psychologist in Systemic Psychotherapy
Department of Psychology
Hunter Street Health Centre
8 Hunter Street
London WCN 1BN
England
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 2033176757
Email:glenda.fredman@thembisa.com
I am a clinical psychologist and systemic psychotherapist, trainer,
supervisor in systemic practice and consultant. I am committed to
enabling systemic and ethical practice within public services where I
work at all levels of organizations with service users in therapy, with
staff in training and with teams and organizations in consultation.
Since starting off as a young school teacher with black pupils in a
segregated school in South Africa in the 1970s apartheid system, I have
continued to draw on Paulo Freire and Vygotsky to inform my approach to
training, consultation and therapeutic practice. I currently work with
children, adults, older people and people with intellectual
disabilities, their families and staff teams in hospitals and community
settings within the National Health Service in London UK where my
practice is informed by systemic, narrative and appreciative approaches.
I have specialized in working with children and young people affected by
illnesses that affect their bodies (not all these conditions have a
medical diagnosis). I have also set up systemic teams with colleagues
working with older adults and people affected by intellectual
disabilities within public mental health services. I have introduced
social network based practices in medical, mental health and social care
contexts with children, adolescents, older people and people affected
by intellectual disability and their families and enjoyed witnessing and
sharing outstanding outcomes for both the service users and their
network of carers.
I joined Peter Lang with training in South Africa, Scandinavia and
Greece since the 1990s. I continue to contribute to a number of
organizations and associations both on the national and international
level through training and supervision. I have published papers and
presented national and international workshops and am the author of
‘Death Talk: Conversations with Children and Families’ (Karnac),
‘Transforming Emotion: Conversations in Counselling and Psychotherapy’
(Whurr)/Wiley), and co-editor of ‘Being with Older People: A Systemic
Approach’ (Karnac).
In the course of my professional journey I have been privileged to learn
from many people from different places who have inspired my work and
life. David Campbell sowed the seeds of a systemic worldview for me
during my (Milan Systemic) family therapy training in the early 1980s;
Peter Lang, KCC and the wider systemic community have offered rich and
fertile soil for me to continue to grow and develop as well as a safe
place to return to refuel with courage to go on. I continue to seek
connections with communities like Taos to sustain my commitment to the
sorts of ethical practice that systemic, constructionist, appreciative
and narrative approaches make possible
I have learned most from my inspiring colleagues and from the opportunity to witness and be deeply touched by the stories of both clients and practitioners.