About us

THE CENTRE FOR GENDER PSYCHOLOGY was founded in 1996 by Helena Løvendal-Duffell and Nick Duffell.

They now work with a group of associated trainers whose biographies appear below.

Helena Løvendal-Duffell was born in Denmark in 1958. Her background includes work with children, the elderly and disabled, and as a social worker with families and children in London. She has travelled widely and has lived in spiritual and political communities. Helena has been president of the Association of Sexual Grounding Therapists and Trainers.

Nick Duffell was born in 1949, has a degree in Sanskrit. He has been a teacher, care-staff, carpenter, divorce mediator, and a management consultant. He is the author of The Making of Them, Lone Arrow Press, 200,  and a contributor to the Dictionary of Humanistc Psychology.

When they first met, Helena and Nick were both previously married, and their work was inspired from their own dancing in the dark. Together they facilitate the couples' and sexuality workshops. They run the same-gender workshops separately, often accompanied by guest facilitators. Both are UK-trained supervisors and psychotherapists, as well as Sexual Grounding® Therapists, registered in the Netherlands , and freelance trainers.

They share the parenting of Nick's two grown-up sons and believe that bridging the gap between men and women may be the greatest contribution to human evolution and world peace. They visit London and Scandinavia regualrly but live close to nature in the wilds of south west France.

Helena and Nick have worked with many couples in crisis, and in the early Nineties taught at the Institute of Psychosynthesis, London. They have been passionately engaged in the reality of gender psychology for many years and have worked with many leading teachers in the field. Currently, they train and supervise psychotherapists and couple-counsellors in the UK , Europe, and Scandinavia. Their formative influences have been Psychosynthesis, Systems Theory, the Post-Jungians, Object Relations,  Sexual Grounding, Process Work,Yoga and Shamanism. They are the authors of the acclaimed Sex, Love, and the Dangers of Intimacy, Thorsens, 2002. They are currently working on several books on gender and sexuality.

Helena and Nick  have been training-therapists, staff-members, or visiting-trainers at: The Institute of Psychosynthesis, London; The Association of Group and Individual Psychotherapy, London; The University of Surrey, Guilford; The Scottish Pastoral Foundation, Edinburgh; The Centre for Psychosynthesis Scotland, Forres; The Findhorn Foundation, Forres; Communicare Counselling Services, Uxbridge; The Norwegian Centre for Psychosynthesis, Oslo; ReVision, Centre for Integrative Psychosynthesis, London; Sexual Grounding Therapy® International Trainings, Nijmegen; Psykosyntes Institutet, Gothenburg; Circadian Institut Cologne.

Sandra Knight

Sandra is an experienced counsellor, psychotherapist, supervisor and trainer working in private practice and graduated as a relationship psychotherapist at the Centre for Gender Psychology in June 2008. She trained at the Institute of Psychosynthesis, Revision and the Centre for Gender Psychology in London and works in Edinburgh, where she lives with her husband Richard. Sandra worked in recruitment, education and management training (as well as running a successful restaurant with Richard) before training as a therapist, and went on to work with counsellors and trainees as director of a large voluntary counselling service in Edinburgh. More recently she has developed an interest in working with Boarding School Survivors, is passionate about couples work, and facilitates Dancing in the Dark weekend intensives in Scotland with Richard. Sandra has shared in the parenting of Richard's two sons from his first marriage and understands many of the issues that step-parenting brings.

Richard Knight

Richard trained with his wife Sandra at the Centre for Gender Psychology where he graduated as a relationship coach in June 2008.

Together they work with couples in Edinburgh, where they live and facilitate Dancing in the Dark weekend intensives in Scotland.

Richard runs his own leadership and organisation development consultancy working with a range of public, private and Government organisations in the UK and Europe. That work involves one to one coaching, group meetings design and facilitation and change management approaches.

He enjoys travelling to see new parts of the world, getting seriously outdoors (preferably involving a tent), playing golf, watching the drama and beauty of sport (when the result rather than the team matters), cooking (although he can take or leave the washing up experience) and cinema (especially matinees on cold wet and windy winter afternoons). He has two grown up sons of whom he is very proud.

Darrel Hunneybell

Darrel accredited as a psychotherapist with the UKCP having trained with The Institute of Psychosynthesis. He is also a clinical supervisor working with both individuals and groups. He has over twenty years experience in the NHS and Local Government, in both Social Services and Education. He brings an understanding of the effects of abandonment, alienation and institutionalisation to his work with the psychological effects of the public school experience.

Alongside co-facilitating the Boarding School Survivors workshops, Darrel has worked with Nick on the Images of Masculinity week in France and Men: Sex, Power and Spirit. He co-leads the third series of the quarterly men's group, Searching for my Father I found my Self, with Hank, and leads the fourth series.

Hank Earl

Born in 1955, Hank has a degree in Fine Art and has played bass in numerous bands. Since time immemorial he has been a mental health worker in London's notorious East End (Hackney, to be precise). Hank has a long term interest in Men's work and is a founder member of the original Searching for my Father I found my Self group. He assists Nick in facilitating the second group. He co-leads the third series of the quarterly men's group, Searching for my Father I find my Self, with Darrel and works alongside of Nick on the Images of Masculinity retreats .

Tania Hosburn

Tania Hosburn B.Ed., Advanced Diploma in Integrative Psychotherapy, P.G. Diploma Psychosynthesis Couns.; P.G.Cert. in Groupwork; UKCP registered Psychotherapist; Dip. Contextual Couple Counselling. Tania trained at the Institute of Psychosynthesis and at Re-Vision. Her background includes teaching, family work and providing training and workshops within Health, Education and Social Services. She works with individuals, couples, and families, in a variety of NHS settings, as well as running her own private practice and working as a freelance trainer. She and her partner John Shuttleworth are co- directors of time2relate, which offers a variety of CPD trainings, supervision, and on-going workshops for couples in West Sussex. Tania's own spiritual path was influenced by the Medicine Wheel Teachings and she has been interested in gender issues, sexuality, and relationship work over many years. Tania has three grown-up daughters and two grandchildren who continue to teach her much about the joys and challenges of what it means to be a woman! She has helped Helena facilitate workshops for women in England and France and offers supervision to individuals in training with the Centre for Gender Psychology.

Geoff Lamb (Academic consultant)

Geoff Lamb MSc., BSc. (Hons.), Dip Psych., Dip Contextual Couples Counselling, UKCP registered Psychotherapist has been working as a psychotherapist for twenty years and training counsellors for eighteen. He is currently Director of Inter-Psyche, the UK 's only counselling training organisation based within the NHS, and has a wide range of experience in developing, accrediting and validating training programmes. He acts as the centre's Academic Consultant. His leisure time is devoted to his musical interests, his Thames river cruiser and his family, although not necessarily in that order!

Willem Poppelliers

Willem Poppeliers is a developmental psychologist and born in the Netherlands in 1944.During 27 years he is working as a therapist, develops an extensive background in Bioenergetic Analyses, Neo-Reichian Therapy, transference and counter-transference.

During his professional education he notices that sexuality was a subject that was treated mostly very superficially so he developed Sexual Grounding Therapy® in which sexuality gets a place of normality. In 1999 Willem Poppeliers has formed the Foundation for Sexual Grounding Therapy® in the Netherlands . Over the years Willem Poppeliers leads seminars throughout Europe, the USA and Mexico . He is recognized internationally as an innovative theorist and body psychotherapist.

At this moment he contacts scientific institutes in Mexico , the U.S.A. and The Netherlands for getting research on the project of Sexual Grounding Therapy® in relation to the prevention of HIV and aids. He is married and has no children.

Stephen Rayment

Stephen is an executive coach. He works with high performing individuals, small groups and teams, up to board level, in both the private and public sectors. His clients range from commercial company directors and managers to senior government and local authority civil servants.

"I have participated in the work of the Centre for Gender Psychology for over ten years and know, from personal experience, the powerful benefits that accrue from such work. As a result of this experience, and given my background as a coach, I now support Nick and Helena in developing the practice and teachings of Gender Psychology to address key organizational concerns such as leadership, authority, influence and creativity. The feedback we have received confirms that there are exciting possibilities for affecting thinking, attitudes and behaviour in these areas."

Stephen has a Masters Degree in Organizational Behaviour from Birkbeck College, London University; and a Certificate in Coaching from Coaching Development Ltd. He is also qualified to use psychometric instruments FIRO-B and Myers Briggs Type Indicator Steps I and II.

Stephen's coaching website can be found at http://www.stephenrayment.com

Christine Arentz Schjetlein

Christine is passionate about practice. Her main focus being integrating our learnings, insights and intuitive knowledge into our daily lives. Trained as a Transpersonal Therapist, by Eirik Balavoine, leader of Integral Consciousness Training, she has worked worked in the field of selfdevelopment and spirituality since 1984. Her work includes ongoing trainings with groups, weekend workshops and seeing clients and couples for sessions on a daily basis. Her background includes 6 years at the University of Oslo, a training as a 5 Rhythms teacher and movement therapist, creative writing, breathwork, energywork, meditation and motherhood with four children. She has founded and run a Montessori inspired kindergarden, taught in a Waldorf high shool, worked as a journalist, produced a book on personal economics as part of a consconsious way of living, and written numerous articles on the interfacing fields of spirituality, psychology and science. Her motivation is consciousness and a heart-based approach to life.