ABOUT THE JOY PROVIDERS
ABOUT THE JOY PROVIDERS
Find Out About the Ferguson
“See the shine, not the shit.” is how Emma Ferguson chooses to live her life today, but it hasn’t always been that way. Like us all, Em craved a joyful life yet always looked for it in the wrong places. Mistaking drama and chaos for passion, she avoided truly connecting with the world. Although she was a mother to two young children and worked as a secondary teacher for several years, Em eventually found herself lost in a nightmare of addiction and spiritual bankruptcy.
After training to become a psychologist and therapist, she gained vast experience working with addicts and their families. Although this work was fulfilling, she knew that she needed more.
Creative expression and a connection with the outdoors and animals are key to Em’s development, and she gained new skills, training and working with the Hoffman Institute.
For years she was adept at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, yet today she lives a mainly joyful life. Through Joy Provision, Em is sharing her experiences, inspiring others to undergo similar amazing change and she would love to offer you the opportunity to do the same.
“If It Wasn’t For My Son And Daughter,
I Wouldn’t Still Be Alive Today.”
As she began to seek recovery, Em finally started to find the sense of purpose and passion that she’d always craved and felt compelled to share that with others who were struggling.
Emma Ferguson
Founder & Facilitator
BA (Hons), PGCE , MEd, MBACP, FDAP (accred), MBPsS,
Cert.Counselling Supervision, Hoffman Process Facilitator.
Porl Thorley Ryder
Facilitator
BA (Hons),MBACP (accred)PGCE,PG Cert
Counselling Supervision
A Position on Porl
Paul is an accredited therapist and counselling supervisor from Manchester. He’s also a qualified teacher of adult learners, experienced in a range of group processes and learning experiences centred on creativity and spontaneity. He works with people by establishing real contact at depth whilst being fully open to what’s going on in the moment. For years, he chased contentment by seeking belonging and approval through art, writing, and music.
Early experiences in life left Porl searching for ways to feel part of the world.
This didn’t work. He slid into a trance of addiction. When he resurfaced from that trap, he sought support, undertaking a long process of change. Hungry for awareness and happiness, he supercharged it
with his creative force, plowing it into training as a therapist. He knows the change from the inside out. Paul pours his true self into each moment when working with others, to transform ‘stuckness’ into freedom. He chooses to strive and bloom in his own life, and his clients notice the sense of reality and safety in his warm and genuine slant on things.
Paul is driven to making the sense of it all and helping others find themselves and their way in what seems like an insane world. Before coming to this work, he tried everything, from engineering to existentialism.“But I always come back to the simple joy of engaging my creativity in contact with others, and seeing meaning and purpose start to glow”.Paul’s here to share it with anyone who dares or cares. He’s worked in social care, substance misuse and mental health since 2001, across a wide range of public, private, and charity settings. He knows he’s always learning, and that’s why he’s careful, collaborative and supportive with people at their growing edge.
Musings about Mary
Mary is a self-taught artist, digital illustrator, photographer and keen writer based in the North of the UK. She’s been in the design and publishing industry for over 15 years and is not only passionate about art but also about recovery.
“I Believe That a Spiritually Awakened Human Being
Is A Powerful Human Being.”
A mother of two boys, and a friend to many, Mary strives to help others realize their true potential and claim freedom over self-destruction. Having learned the hard way herself that the mind is a battlefield and the war is ultimately only with yourself. The search for truth is a long but beautiful journey.
Mary Kirkham
Facilitator & Designer
Sam Cotton
Facilitator
BA (Hons), DHypPsychUK, Hoffman Process Facilitator.
Something about Sam
Sam is a solution-focused therapeutic coach, hypnotherapist and super-experienced workshop facilitator - having clocked up thousands of hours’ teaching of intensive personal development work in residential and workshop settings.
Originally from a small Scottish town, teenage Sam found himself escaping to London in a haze of sex, drugs and dance parties… well it was the nineties, right? Trouble was, he didn’t really know when the party was over. Seeking validation from anywhere except inside himself, he pursued a career as a performer - sobering up just enough to turn up for the odd job or audition.
“It got to a point where I realised I wasn’t just working in theatre and television… my whole life was a performance. I felt like a visiting alien, trying to observe human behaviour and act accordingly”.
Unsurprisingly this life strategy came crashing down after numerous destructive relationships brought Sam to recovery in 2006. Sam has since been on a massive
journey of self-inquiry which has taken him through integrative psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, solution-focused therapy, art therapy, psychodynamic counseling, EMDR, NLP, twelve-step addiction recovery and life coaching as well as courses like Path of Love, The Artist’s Way and The Hoffman Process as part of his personal journey. In 2007, Sam graduated as a hypnotherapist and short-term therapist, and he began to work with clients on a one-to-one level, using a solution-focused approach. He taught improvisation skills and addictions work to trainee hypnotherapists and began to run his own groups. Sam later went on to successfully complete the in-depth Hoffman Training and became a Senior Hoffman Teacher, working intensively with clients from all over the world in a seven-day residential setting. He also helped to set up The Bridge, another successful personal development course.
As well as working with Joy Provision, Sam now creates and facilitates his own workshops and retreats. His no-bullshit, practical approach to recovery and spirituality, make him a safe bet to inspire awareness and growth in others.
A Summary on Steve
Steve is a Mancunian psychotherapist and a counsellor. He works in private practice, and also works with organizations who specialize in working with addictions. He’s skilled in 1:1 therapy and is also a dexterous group facilitator, workshop leader and clinical supervisor, currently on the way to earning a Masters Degree in Cognitive Therapy.
At his lowest point in life, when Steve reached out, he realised the importance of support. This inspired Steve to become involved in helping others shine and supporting them to get what they want from life.
Steve’s highest point is in the now- experience, challenge and growth. His inspiration and way of being draws energy from being a father. Steve was moved by the profound experience of supporting his partner through his son’s birth, and watching his son
grow fuels Steve’s sense of freedom. "Max teaches me so much about being at ease in life,playing, asking and watching with
Steve MacGraine
Facilitator
MSC Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Diploma in Counselling. Cert in Counselling Supervision. MBCAP, FDAP
curiosity with spontaneous expression" This is why steve is trekking to Mount Everest Base Camp in March 2019. Like the mountains, Steve is a solid monument to the path of self-development and joy. Rocksteady in judgement, persistent - yet open like a Valley- Steve is all about expansion, perspective, insight and constantly climbing higher.
Ramblings About Ray
Ray is a qualified Integrative therapist specialising in addiction and solution-focused therapy. He has vast experience of delivering group therapy in the addiction field and runs a private practice delivering one to one therapy.
An early life of abandonment issues and lack of secure childhood attachments led Ray to an eventual life of dysfunction, dissatisfaction, instability and ultimately addiction.
“It felt like being on a runaway train that slowed down, picked up speed but never stopped. Life just appeared to pass me by. “
Ray Olatunde Badejo
Facilitator
MBACP (Registered) Diploma in Counselling, Cerificate in Supervision
After working in marketing and living all over the world, seeking solutions to increasing problems outside of himself, Ray’s life finally ground to a shuddering halt 15 years ago incurring legal issues.
A change came in the form of therapy and recovery which led to a new narrative back to his true self his soul. This change was so profound, Ray made a decision this was to be his purpose in life. And so started a journey of sense, connection, freedom, and meaning.
This led Ray down his current path helping others find the courage to change. He asks often "How is your soul today?"