A little more about me…
Hey! My name is Will Hardy (he/him) and I am a qualified Counsellor & Psychotherapist (BSc, Dip, MBACP). I am a queer man and I’m comfortable with he/him pronouns.
In my secondary and further education, I studied, trained and volunteered within social care and support roles. However, I decided to work within the media industry across various creative, management and relational roles for 10 years. Although this career was incredibly rewarding and a lot of fun, something was missing for me. So during the global pandemic, I started my journey into training as a counsellor, after I started to question what I valued within my life and wanted to find a different sense of purpose. Through my counselling training and my own long term experiences of personal therapy, I discovered that I wanted to support people through their healing and discovery processes within therapy.
My core training, accredited by the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), lasted three years. Within this time I completed my clinical placement, as a Volunteer Counsellor at elop, a LGBTQ+ counselling service, where I worked with individuals across various gender, sexuality and relationship diversities. In addition to this, I previously volunteered with Opening Doors London where I helped coordinate events for LGBTQ+ individuals over the age of 50. I also volunteered at Switchboard taking calls and responding to instant messages from individuals who reached out for support. I am a member of the Gendered Intelligence Therapists and Counsellors Network and an advanced accredited GSRD therapist. I have also undertaken additional continuing professional development (CPD), to ensure I am consistently developing my experience, practice and knowledge.
I am interested in working with anyone who wants to talk about their experiences to potentially understand them more. My practice is open and inclusive to all who identify within the LGBTQ+ community, those who are unsure or questioning and for those who don’t. If you want to discuss further, you can reach me on will@willhardytherapy.com
Training and qualifications
2023 - 2024: Diploma in Gender, Sexuality & Relationship Therapy (NCIP Accredited) - Pink Therapy
2020 - 2023: BSc (Hons) Counselling (BACP Accredited) - University of East London
2021: Certificate in Online and Telephone Counselling - Counselling Tutor
Professional experience
Prior to my counselling training and qualifications, I worked within creative, media and marketing roles for 10 years.
2022 - 2023: Volunteer Trainee Counsellor - elop (East London Out Project)
2022: Listening Volunteer - Switchboard
2021 - 2022: Group Volunteer - Opening Doors London (Age UK Camden)
CPD (professional development)
As part of my commitment to working ethically and agreement to the BACP, I regularly undertake additional training and professional development. At least 30 hours of training and development is expected each year by the BACP. The CPD I usually focus on are areas within neurodiversity, trauma, LGBTQ+ experiences and wider marginalised identities. Some listed below:
2024: Understanding Sex Workers’ Complex Counselling Needs (Jack Parker)
2023: Working Alongside Trans, Gender Diverse and Questioning People (Gendered Intelligence)
2023: Loss and Bereavement Awareness Training (Cruse)
2023: Understanding Autism, Asperger's & ADHD (University of Derby Online Learning)
2021: Introduction to Trans Awareness Training (Gendered Intelligence)
Recent research
As part of my ongoing training and development, I sometimes conduct research in the form of dissertations, essays or assessments. I’ve noted some recent research I’ve conducted below:
2024: ‘A queer male therapist's reflections on working with queer female clients’
2023: ‘Qualitative exploration of counsellors’ experiences of working with cis gay male clients who perform in drag’
