About Hannah

I’m Hannah , a HCPC-registered dramatherapist and BADth member. I’m drawn to work that is thoughtful, creative and ethically held — and to creating a space where you don’t have to have everything neatly explained before support can begin. People often come to therapy unsure where to begin — that’s completely okay..

My practice is grounded in careful clinical thinking, clear professional boundaries, and a warm, relational approach, especially when people are carrying complex experiences or finding it hard to put things into words.

Background and experience

I trained in MA Dramatherapy at the University of Derby (2012) and have spent much of my career working in mental health and education settings alongside children, young people, and families.

My experience includes work across:

  • NHS CAMHS services, including urgent/crisis pathways and specialist contexts, with a strong focus on risk awareness, formulation, and multi-agency collaboration.
  • Schools and specialist provisions, including SEN contexts, where creative, play-based therapeutic approaches are often essential for engagement and communication.
  • Local authority / MHST work, with a particular focus on SEND inclusion and supporting networks around young people.

Across these roles I’ve learned how to hold complexity with steadiness — including when people are overwhelmed, guarded, or not sure what they need yet — while staying thoughtful about safeguarding, boundaries, and what support is realistically possible. These experiences shape the steady, thoughtful way I work today.

Training and professional standards

Professional standards

I’m a HCPC-registered Dramatherapist (which is a protected title in the UK). That means the title “Dramatherapist” can only be used by clinicians who meet HCPC standards for training and practice, and who are accountable to professional requirements around ethics, confidentiality, safeguarding, supervision and continuing professional development.

I’m committed to ongoing development through supervision, CPD and reflective practice, and I stay connected to the wider creative arts therapies field.

Specialist training: Children’s Accelerated Trauma Technique (CATT)

I trained in Children’s Accelerated Trauma Technique (CATT) directly with Dr Carlotta Raby, who developed the approach through her work with traumatised children in the UK and Rwanda.
CATT is a structured, child-centred approach for children and young people (from around age four), using play and creative methods to help children express and reprocess traumatic memories in a way that feels contained and manageable, alongside attention to caregivers and the wider system around the child.

Online therapy training (children & young people)

I completed the General Certificate in Online Therapy (Children & Young People) with the Academy for Online Counselling & Psychotherapy, which strengthened my understanding of safe, effective online practice with children and adolescents. Hannah Darby GCOC Certificate

Safeguarding

I trained as a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) in 2024, and I’m experienced in working in systems where safeguarding, professional boundaries and thoughtful information-sharing matter. I aim to hold safeguarding with clarity and care, without losing sight of the person in front of me.

Clinical supervision

Alongside therapy, I offer clinical supervision and I’m passionate about doing it well. I completed the postgraduate course ‘Creative Clinical Supervision Across Modalities’ in 2020 because I wanted a strong foundation for supervising practitioners from different professional backgrounds — not only those trained in the creative arts therapies.

My supervision style is reflective, relational and ethically grounded, with the option (where it helps) to think creatively using mapping, metaphor, or imagery. If you’d like details, you can visit my Clinical Supervision page.

If you’re considering working together

If you’re looking for a therapist or supervisor who can offer warmth and professional steadiness, you’re welcome to get in touch. You don’t need to write much — a few lines is enough.