Our Staff 

Rachel Young B.A. Hons, Dip in Counselling, Member of BACP, was trained by RAPt (The Rehabilitation of Addicted Prisoners Trust) in delivering addiction treatment at Bullingdon Prison. She then went on to co-develop the first ever 12 Step Alcohol Treatment Programme to be delivered in British prisons. This continues to be a great success with hundreds of prisoners successfully completing the 6 week programme. She left RAPt in 2008 and set up The Banbury Counselling Centre around which a thriving community of counsellors and therapists is growing, delivering much needed therapeutic services for people in Banbury and the surrounding areas. Rachel then formulated a plan to set up a local response to residential rehabilitation. She felt that establishing abstinence based 12 Step day treatment programme would provide a viable alternative to existing services in the area.  Rachel is a passionate advocate of involving family members in addiction treatment, having been trained in family therapy by ‘Action on Addiction’ at Clouds House. Rachel is currently studying for her MA in Gestalt Psychotherapy. 

Rachel Young and Gareth Chick

Directors of Special & Different Addiction Services.

Valerie Corbett, Counsellor

Valerie Corbett is BACP Accredited. UKRCP Reg, and has an Advanced Diploma in Counselling and Group Work.  She has worked in the field of addiction for many years, firstly with St Saviours in Chipping Campden and then with Turning Point in Worcestershire. Her emphasis on the Person Centred approach gives clients a welcome space to explore their feelings and she is also an enthusiastic proponent of using art based activities as a means of expressing deep emotions and resolving internal conflicts.

Juliet Hunt is currently in training to be a counsellor, and she has completed her Family Systems Theory training with Action on Addition. Her life to date has helped her to develop her natural gifts for empathy and understanding human nature and she provides a valuable resource to the team, leading the development of the Family Programme, co-facilitating groups and developing care plans with clients.

Juliet Hunt, Trainee Counsellor