Esk Consulting is the organisational support, research and development, training and consulting arm of Esk Group Ltd.
Along with a team of experienced associates Esk Consulting offers support to companies and organisations in a number of ways:
- Employee support services for businesses and organisations either within the workplace or individually through its associated therapy centre, Cumbria Therapies;
- Coaching services for individuals, teams and organisations;
- Workshops and training opportunities in stress awareness, personal and team development, HSE requirements and work-life balance issues;
- Mediation;
- Mentoring and supervision for managers;
- Facilitation of local and national workshops and conferences;
- Research and project management consultancy to businesses and public sector organisations with a particular focus on competency based qualifications and the vocational aspects of more traditional professional pathways.
By combining training and coaching alongside access to individualised employee support through our associated therapy centre, Cumbria Therapies, Esk Consulting is able to offer a cost-effective, local, integrated 'one stop shop' approach for organisations.
When we are commissioned to work on national projects we combine our services with a number of associate companies who meet our exacting standards.
Marion Dunlop - Director of Esk Consulting
Marion comes from a health and social care background initially training as a registered general nurse and midwife before moving into social care management in the voluntary sector and then education and training in further, adult and higher education. She has been involved with competency based qualifications and work-based learning since S/NVQs established in the care sector in the early 1990s.
Academically, she has a Diploma in Life Sciences, a B.A.(Hons) in Applied Social Sciences, a Certificate in Education (Post compulsory education) and in 1995 she undertook a full time Ph.D. in the School of Education at the Open University at
Walton Hall looking at work-based learning. The research explored the experiences of both managers and employees during the introduction of competency based qualifications in Small and Medium Enterprises employing small numbers of staff. Since then she has been involved with national educational projects relating to vocational qualifications as a consultant.
While the research was interesting from a training perspective, observing the interaction of staff in the workplace was even more fascinating and fired Marion's interest in organisational structures, communication styles between staff, team development and 
motivation, and the effects of stress on work performance and employees' self esteem.
She has worked independently as a consultant since 1994. Her interests in developing new approaches to education and training, supporting SMEs in training and valuing staff, as well as her coaching, supervision and brief outcome-focused therapy background have resulted in a successful array of services across occupational sectors and businesses. Marion combines a number of theoretical models within her coaching, supervision, training and therapy work to suit the client - cognitive behavioural; solution focused, NLP, TA etc - in order to help clients to achieve change as effectively and speedily as is comfortable. She is a member of the International Stress Management Association, is registered with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and is a member of the Association for Coaching.
Ellen White - Associate Consultant
Ellen has an extensive health service background, in general nursing and community nursing, general management and later, professional development at strategic level within primary care. She has worked collaboratively with partner agencies to design and deliver training and development programmes for both qualified and unqualified health and social care staff. Since
2001 she has been involved in B.Sc. Health Studies/Nursing programmes as an associate university lecturer.
Having gained qualifications in general nursing, district nursing and health visiting, Ellen went on to obtain a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) in 1997 and subsequently a Diploma in Counselling and Supervision. She has extensive experience of mentoring and coaching staff within organisations.
Ellen has worked as an independent consultant since 2001 and her interest and focus is in personal, professional and organisational development. She is passionate about working with individuals and groups to enable them to develop effective and satisfying relationships and is particularly skilled in working constructively with difficult situations.
Jeanette Carson - Associate Consultant
Jeanette comes from a business administration background and has developed a thriving counselling practice in both workplace and university environments. Jeanette is also a trained mediator which she integrated into her Esk Consulting work in order to guide employers and staff towards better working methods and relationships. Like the rest of the team she believes that individuals have within themselves vast resources for self-understanding. She is an accredited Member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists.
As part of her Continuing Professional Development Jeanette has pursued further study in psychology with the Open University, is a part-time tutor on counselling courses and offers supervision to trainees counsellors.
Helen Gregory - Associate Consultant
Helen has a social care background and part of her work is as a manager for an agency supporting young people with drug and alcohol problems. She is also an experienced psychotherapist who has trained in transactional analysis psychotherapy. For the rest of her working week she offers staff support and development to both individuals and teams with Esk through integrating her management and therapeutic models.
Marion Dunlop, Jeanette Carson, Ellen White, Helen Gregory
Our associates, therapists and consultants are well-trained, registered professionals and have substantial experience at all levels with people, companies and public sector organisations . They are actively involved with our current staff support contracts and coaching programmes for organisations. All undertake regular supervision and extended training to ensure their practice is up to date, solution focused and cost effective to the client as well as the employer.
With their help you will find that employees experiencing personal problems, conflict, stress or workplace issues can be supported to make appropriate decisions and return to effective employment as soon as possible.
Cumbria Therapies Practitioners
Freda Hodgson; Tricia Philippou; Vanessa McViety; Angela Caygill; Sonia McCubbin..
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