Remembering Bay

Our friend and colleague Bay Whitaker, former director of Sheffield Central Counselling, sadly died on Weds 20^th August 2025 having been diagnosed with secondary breast cancer about a year ago.

I first met Bay in 2006 when we were both training to be counsellors at Sheffield Hallam University. She was wearing glasses with yellow frames at that time, which gave her a quirky appearance! I was drawn to her open and accepting stance and her genuine interest in me. We discovered we could work well together when we completed a presentation together as part of the course.  

We were both keen to work in private practice so after qualifying we set up Sheffield Central Counselling together in November 2008. From very small beginnings our city centre practice grew steadily to a team of associate counsellors offering counselling to couples as well as individuals. Bay put time into learning about SEO and marketing which really helped to raise our visibility online. In 2017 we felt ready to start offering placements to student counsellors and our low cost counselling service began, with Bay taking the lead on managing our students. Bay and I worked well together as a team for 16 years with rarely a disagreement until she had to step back from the business due to her cancer diagnosis in July 2024.

Over the years Bay became a very experienced counsellor and supervisor with particular interests in transactional analysis, trauma, dream work and gender, sexual and relationship diversity. She was a member of Pink Therapy’s Advanced Clinical Discussion Group and ran training courses for other counsellors on Understanding Kink and Working With Trauma. She was a committed member of the Psychotherapists and Counsellors Union, taking on the role of treasurer and encouraging other counsellors in Sheffield to join. Mat Pronger, Branch Secretary for the North and Midlands writes: 

"Bay was a really important person in the founding of the PCU's regional branches; quick to volunteer her help and assistance, patient with those of us (me!) who were new to this, and absolutely solid in her convictions. On a personal level, her support gave me a huge amount of confidence to carry on what we were doing, and has provided a solid base on which the rest of can only hope to build. I speak on behalf of everyone in the branch to say she'll be hugely missed. We'll pick up the struggle for a fairer world from her, as she picked it up from people before her, and carry on what she helped start. Thank you Bay."

Within our team Bay helped to create a culture of honesty and vulnerability by sharing her own struggles openly, with a welcome touch of humour.  She helped to foster a positive working environment in which team members are valued and trusted. One of our associate counsellors shares her reflections on working with Bay:

"I have very much appreciated working in this service run by Bay and Gill. Bay really contributed to my feeling secure and well held in my work as an associate counsellor. She was very kind as well as being very capable and skilled in how she ran the business and managed the service with Gill.

I am very grateful to Bay and Gill for their faith in me and for providing a professional, secure and balanced work environment that has supported me so well in being able to be there for and support my clients. This really makes all the difference and is very precious in these times.

I remember very fondly Bay's qualities of openness, humour, acceptance and humility and her special tact in tackling any difficult subjects. I will miss her. We are all thinking of her family at this difficult time."

Her legacy as a counsellor is most clearly portrayed in the words of the clients she helped and who gave permission for their feedback to be used on our website. Here is a small selection of those whose lives she impacted over 16 years as a counsellor:

"I just wanted to say an absolutely heartfelt thank you for everything you've done.  I'm in a hugely improved place now, and a large part of that has come from the insight and technique that I've learned in our sessions"

"Words cannot possibly convey truly how much of an impact you have had on my life. The snake around my throat has gone and I finally have my voice back."

‘I sought counselling because my interest in kink had led me into real danger. I found that part of me an alien threat. Together Bay and I didn’t just eliminate a threat- we turned that part of me into an asset I now embrace. Our work also supported me successfully through one of the major battles of my life in my employment. I am very pleased with the work we did and it has helped me to enrich my life and my relationships.’

“I needed someone I could talk to who would be there for me in my transition to womanhood. Having her as an ally was truly reassuring on what would otherwise have been a lonelier journey.”

“Words cannot really describe how much counselling has helped me. I have learned so much about myself and my relationships. Counselling has deeply affected my self-esteem, my relationship with myself which has positively impacted every other aspect of my life. Before I started counselling I really did not know how fundamentally transformative it would become. Bay is an amazing counsellor. I have been to see people professionally before but none of them has had the skill and the ability that Bay has.”

“Before my first counselling session, I was down in the dumps and feeling extremely low. My anxiety had taken over my life and I was struggling. I have just finished my counselling with Bay and she has helped me so much. Her sessions are incredibly effective whether that be her talking me through my struggles or even her being a listening ear. More importantly, Bay does not judge and she grounds you by considering different perspectives and logical reasoning to make you feel stronger. My personal highlight is that I once felt so sad, but Bay has equipped me with more confidence and strength by showing me that there is a lot to be proud of in my life. While anxiety is tough to deal with, she has shown me that there are ways to coexist with it while preventing it from getting the better of you. Thank you, Bay!”

Beyond her work as a counsellor Bay was also a creative person who enjoyed drawing and making quilts, a singer/songwriter and folk musician, she played guitar and ukelele. Bay was a good friend and a great listener. She supported me at difficult points in my own life and I will miss her greatly.

Thankyou Bay for being a loyal friend and a great business partner and colleague, for helping make Sheffield Central Counselling all that it is today.