About me - professional biography
Dr Caryl Sibbett (PhD)
HCPC Reg., Reg. Member MBACP (Snr Accred),
PhD, MD (h.c.), MEd (Guid. & Couns.), BA, DipCouns, CertACE, FHEA, FBACP.
My practice is trauma-informed & pluralistic, & also informed by ecotherapy principles.
Current roles include:
BACP Senior Accredited Supervisor, supervising for diverse organisations in statutory, third sector and private practice settings.
BACP Registered Senior Accredited Counsellor / Psychotherapist.
Art Psychotherapist (HCPC Registered).
Appointed as Regional Representative for Art Therapy on the Advisory Committee of the Allied Health Professions (ACAHP) to the Department of Health NI / Minister of Health. Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) (Mar. 2024 - ).
Core tutor - I am a core tutor, teaching on several trauma-informed post-qualifying courses:
A core tutor & curriculum designer on a Level 5 Post-Qualifying Diploma in Trauma-Informed Counselling / Psychotherapy with Children & Young People (CPCAB) (2013-ongoing). I co-designed the course and I mapped the course to BACP's CYP competences & curriculum & to BAAT & HCPC guidelines. This PQ course is for registered counsellors / psychotherapists, arts therapists and similar.
A core tutor & curriculum designer on a Level 6 Post-Qualifying Certificate in Creative Supervision of Practice Across the Age Range (CPCAB) (2016/17-ongoing). I co-designed the course and I mapped the course to BACP's supervision competences & curriculum & to BAAT & HCPC guidelines. This PQ course is for registered counsellors / psychotherapists, arts therapists and similar.
CPD courses on: eco-practice, fairy tales in psychotherapy, etc.
Trauma Education Facilitator.
Council member of the British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT), the UK professional body for Art Therapists / Art Psychotherapists.
Deputy Chair of BAAT NI, the NI country group of BAAT (Mar. 2023 - ), & committee member since Feb 2021. See: BAAT NI Instagram, BAAT NI Twitter/X, BAAT NI Facebook.
Member of the BACP's School and college counselling expert reference group, a BACP priority workstream.
External Quality Advisor, University of Chester, for the counselling, psychotherapy, psychological trauma courses.
Member of a NI coalition working to promote secure funding for counselling and creative therapeutic interventions in Northern Ireland’s schools. The coalition produced a report (2023): 'The case for investing in therapeutic interventions in Northern Ireland’s schools'.
Life member of the Northern Ireland Group for Art as Therapy (NIGAT) (Reg. Charity), having been a past Chair, Deputy Chair, Secretary etc.
Invited member of the Steering group for the Pluralistic Practice Network (Oct. 2019 - ).
Fellow of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy.
Fellow of Advance HE / Higher Education Academy.
Doctor of Medicine (Honoris Causa) Medicinae Doctorem: Riga Stradins University, Latvia.
Full Member: British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT)
Full Member: British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP)
Life Member: Northern Ireland Group for Art as Therapy (NIGAT)
Member: International Community for Ecopsychology (ICE)
Artist.
Owner & founder of Kairos Consultancy in NI.
I am security cleared through AccessNI.
I am registered with the Information Commissioner‘s Office (ICO) and comply with data protection requirements.
Past professional activities include:
Immediate past Vice-Chair of the British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT) (Jul. 2021 - Jun. 2024) (elected).
Senior Lecturer - lecturing in Art Psychotherapy; retired.
BAAT NI Committee representative on the AHP Non HSC Professions Forum (Mar. 2021 - 2023).
Elected Deputy Chair of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) (Nov. 2017-Dec. 2020).
Elected Interim Deputy Chair of BACP (May 2017-Nov. 2017).
Elected as Trustee on Board of Governors of BACP, Nov. 2011-2014, re-elected Nov. 2014-2017, re-elected Nov. 2017-2020).
Director, BACP Enterprises Ltd.
Elected as Council member of BAAT (2018-2019).
Director: Arts Therapies NI (C.I.C.).
Joint Co-ordinator of the BAAT Regional Group 20 (Northern Ireland) (2017-2018).
Editorial Review Board Committee Member: CATA-ACATJ (Canadian Art Therapy Association: Journal).
Member of the Allied Health Professions Federation NI (2014–2016).
Associate Fellow: Centre for Lifelong Learning, University of Warwick.
Appointed as Chair of the Counselling Children & Young People Training Consortium (NI), a group of key stakeholders / service providers of counselling services in NI (2010-2013).
Member of the Mental Health, Ageing & Learning Disability Translational Research Group.
Lecturer: Queen's University Belfast (2002-2012), lecturing in education, special needs, art therapy, counselling.
I founded Art Psychotherapy MSc level qualifying training in Northern Ireland in 2002. Designing the MSc programme from the mid/late 1990s as trauma-informed, I led its initial CPSM / HPC approval & University validation and subsequent HCPC approvals & re-validations. After establishing the training in 2002 I led it in Queen's University as programme leader. I later led it as programme leader in the Belfast Health & Social Care Trust until 2016. In 2015/2016, I re-designed the training as 'trauma-informed pluralistic art psychotherapy', i.e. grounded in pluralism, pluralistic practice, trauma-informed care principles and sound ethical governance. I retired as a Senior Lecturer & Programme Leader in Autumn 2019. I continued to give teaching inputs in Master's level Art Psychotherapy from 2019 to Autumn 2023. I continue to teach on Post-Qualifying Art Psychotherapy courses.
Chair of the NI Counselling Children & Young People Training Consortium.
Member of the Executive Committee of the BACP Counselling Children and Young People division (2010-Nov. 2011).
Invited onto the national Steering group of the BACP CYP PRN, Children & Young People Practice Research Network (2010-2012).
Member of an expert group guiding tender specification for Independent Counselling Service for Schools – Department of Education NI.
Invited member of the BACP Children and Young People Stakeholders Reference Group (2010–2013).
Appointed in 2008 as the first co-ordinator of BAAT NI, the BAAT Regional Group (20) for NI.
Contractual partnership as Registrant Assessor with the Health Professions Council (2005-2006).
Elected as Chair of the Allied Health Professions Research Forum for Northern Ireland (2007-2010).
Elected member of the central Advisory Committee of the Allied Health Professions (ACAHP) to the Department of Health NI (2003-2009). ACAHP was a statutory Advisory Body whose function was to provide advice to the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety NI (DHSSPSNI) on the planning and provision of Allied Health Professions’ services in NI.
Elected as Council member of BAAT (2005-2006).
Invited as a member of the Arts Therapies Benchmark Group of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, a small group contracted by the HPC, to author:
- QAA (2004) ‘Arts therapy. Benchmark statement: Health care programmes’. Phase 2, QAA.Invited as a member of the Arts Therapies Working Group of the Health Professions Council & the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, a small group contracted to author:
- HPC (2003) ‘Standards of Proficiency - Arts Therapists’.Elected Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Committee Member of the NI Group for Art as Therapy (NIGAT).
Education Officer, NI Council for Postgraduate Medical & Dental Education.
