Meet the Team
Meet the Team at Meridian Therapeutic Services CIC
At Meridian Therapeutic Services CIC we offer affordable counselling and try to bridge the gap between often short term free services from charities and the NHS, and more expensive therapy from individuals in private practice. We believe that therapy should be accessible to all regardless of background and economic status. We have a team of staff, qualified and trainee volunteers that work together to deliver this service.
Annette Lilley – Director and Counselling Manager
Annette qualified as a counsellor in 2007 from The University of Birmingham. Following a year in private practice she set up a counselling service within a large secondary in Birmingham. In her ten years working at the school she worked individually and in groups with young people experiencing emotional distress due to bullying, bereavement, abuse, relationship violence, racism, discrimination and issues around identity and sexuality. She also delivered counselling, mindfulness and training to staff. On leaving the school in 2018 Annette set up a successful private practice and continued to deliver training on issues surrounding mental and emotional distress to schools and corporate organisations. She founded Meridian Therapeutic Services CIC in 2021 to offer placement opportunities to trainee therapists and deliver lower cost counselling to the community. Annette is passionate about the non profit and community based sector due to the needs of communities that are not able to be met by NHS services.
Hope Peckover – Children and Young Peoples Counselling Manager
Hope is the Children and Young Peoples Counselling Manager at Meridian Therapeutic Services CIC. She qualified as an Integrative Child and Adult Psychotherapist from Newman University and has worked within her private practice with people of all ages. She has also worked within youth centres and for charities.
Saana Kausar – Counselling Mentor and Administrator
Saana is an Integrative therapist and a registered member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists. She is qualified to work with adults and is now training to work as a child counsellor. Saana works part time for Meridian Therapeutic Services CIC as a mentor to voluntary and trainee counsellors and an administrator for our affordable counselling service.
Practitioners in Private Practice
We have a number of practitioners based at The Meridian Centre that offer therapies within their own Private Practice. They are independent practitioners and often offer specialisms, experience and expertise that you might be drawn to. You can find their details below, including their session fees and experience. Please contact them directly if you would like to work with them.
Saana Kausar – Integrative Therapist
Saana is a member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists and an integrative therapist. She has worked with people of all ages and backgrounds for a number of years in a professional capacity. Saana has worked with domestic abuse victims through Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid. She is currently training as a Children and Young People’s Counsellor while working part-time as a self-employed driving instructor and as a Counselling Mentor and Administrator at the Meridian centre.
Saana provides a friendly and relaxed space in which you can discuss anything that you believe is hindering you from living your life to the fullest. Saana has worked with clients experiencing depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, abuse, and trauma. Saana believes that with the right support, even in the most hopeless circumstances, change is possible; she is willing to join you in taking that first step by working with you at your own pace, without judgment or pressure. She offers sessions in person and online.
Eve Jones – Counsellor
Eve is a qualified counsellor and a member of BACP. She has experience of working with clients with anxiety, depression, bereavement, neurodivergence, family problems, work stress, early life trauma, attachment and relationship difficulties, anger management, abuse and sexual assault, and those who have experienced discrimination and oppression due to race or LGBTQIA+ identities. Eve’s integrative approach allows her to draw on a number of counselling styles and approaches and to work flexibly with each individual’s specific needs as they arise. She offers open-ended counselling, allowing you time to explore the deeper causes of your present challenges and make lasting change.
Rebecca Scott – Counsellor
Rebecca is a qualified Person-Centred Counsellor and fully accredited with the National Counselling Society.
Debbie Radford – Counsellor
Debbie is a fully qualified integrative counsellor, and registered member of the British Association of Counsellors & Psychotherapists (BACP). If you are currently experiencing anxiety or low mood, Debbie can offer a warm and compassionate therapeutic relationship where you can explore how you are feeling. Debbie will support you in a process of reflection and help you to understand the underlying processes. Therapy can help heal past wounds and connect to your inner wisdom and strength, so that you can move forward with clarity, calm and renewed confidence.
To find out more, email Debbie, or visit her website.
Jane Barber – Trainee Psychotherapist (Jungian analytical psychotherapy)
Jane is a fourth year trainee at West Midlands Institute of Psychotherapy [WMIP] and member of the UK Council for Psychotherapy [UKCP]. Jane has had a long career working as a doctor in the NHS, in General Practice, Pain Clinic, Drugs and Alcohol Misuse and in Palliative Care. Jane offers open ended in depth psychotherapy for those seeking to find out more about themselves and the things that may have caused depression, anxiety, relationship difficulties, addiction, or just a feeling of being not quite right or incomplete.
Jane currently has space for those wondering about twice or three times weekly therapy, which allows a deep trusting relationship to develop and facilitates change of even longstanding unwanted patterns of thought and behaviour. Low fee therapy available.
Annette Lilley – Counsellor
Annette qualified as an Integrative Counsellor from The University of Birmingham in 2007 and spent 10 years working in a large secondary school in Birmingham delivering 1:1 counselling, therapy groups and Mindfulness to young people aged 11-18 as well as working with adults through her private practice. Annette delivers training about mental health awareness, attachment, working with suicide and autism to schools, organisations as well as counsellors and psychotherapists.
Annette is the director of Meridian Therapeutic Services CIC and manages and runs The Meridian Centre. She is passionate about delivering affordable and accessible therapy for people through the low-cost counselling and psychotherapy service at the centre as well as supporting trainee and newly qualified counsellors and psychotherapists as a mentor and supervisor. Annette has a small private practice and you can find out more about working with her in therapy here Annette Lilley – therapist in birmingham-b13 | BACP
Hope Peckover – Integrative Psychotherapist
Hope is a qualified Integrative Psychotherapist registered with both the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP).
Working with children, adolescents and adults Hope believes everyone has the ability and potential to live a balanced and contented life – regardless of how unbalanced and overwhelming it may be currently feeling. For Hope, therapy can be a space in which to process, offload and explore what is happening for us and why things don’t feel right.
To find out more about Hope and the therapeutic services she offers, please visit her website
Joseph Mbaeru – Integrative Counsellor
Jo is a BACP-registered, fully certified integrative counsellor who employs a variety of modalities based on your specific needs. Trained in person-centred, psychodynamic, CBT, and Gestalt approaches, Jo works with people from all walks of life on a multicultural basis. Colleagues and clients describe him as kind, empathetic, and non-judgmental. Jo will present a safe space for you to explore whatever issue has brought you to therapy and can work with a wide range of issues from depression, anxiety, and panic through to trauma, and suicidal thoughts.
Louisa Harvey – Psychodynamic Counsellor
Louisa Harvey (she/her) is a psychodynamic psychotherapeutic counsellor trained at Oxford University and registered with NCPS. She works both in a short-term, focused way as well as offering open-ended counselling. She values the neurodiversity paradigm and has an interest in working with people who may have experienced harm within psychiatric services, and anyone who feels they would benefit from the psychodynamic approach. She is LGBTQIA+ affirming. If you would like to know more about her work and meeting to explore working together, please visit her website.
Yvette Brook – Psychotherapist
Yvette is a Psychotherapist who works with adults. Through dialogue and exploration, she supports her clients to find new ways of thinking, feeling, and understanding themselves which will enable them to manage their lives and relationships.
Her qualifications include an MSc, and an Advanced Diploma, both in Psychotherapy. She is a registered member of the UKCP and the BACP, and has regular clinical supervision with a leading expert in her field.
Yvette’s main psychotherapeutic approach is gestalt, which considers the mind and body together, and how the past impacts current experiences. She also draws on psychodynamic theory. She has experience of working with people who have been oppressed because of difference and diversity. She also has experience of working with people who have suffered loss, trauma (including historic trauma and abuse) and people who are currently experiencing anxiety and depression.
Therapy with Yvette is weekly, and she usually works with clients over a period of months or years. She works in-person from the Meridian Counselling Centre in Birmingham, also from a therapy room in Sutton Coldfield. For people who prefer, she offers remote working. Yvette’s fees are £50 for 50 minutes.
Kate Wixon – Mindfulness Teacher
Kate is a Mindfulness and Meditation teacher, who trained with Breathworks, The British Mindfulness Institute and Mindfulness in Schools Project and has a .b qualification. Kate worked in secondary schools, introducing Mindfulness into the curriculum for students with barriers to learning and introducing Mindfulness and Meditation skills to staff and parents.
Kate also delivers English tutoring to children and young people, particularly those that are struggling with their mental health and attending school and has a particular interest in working with Autistic people.
Kate has recently left teaching after 30 years in the profession, to focus on delivering Mindfulness in the community and developing yoga practice in order to incorporate this into her sessions.
