In a remarkable career spanning over three decades, Sharon Bond, a social worker and family psychotherapist, dedicated her life to empowering practitioners who had been marginalized in the field of family therapy. Bond, who passed away at the age of 77, was a trailblazer, becoming the first black woman to qualify as a family therapy supervisor in the UK.
Born in Kitty, British Guiana (now Guyana), Bond arrived in the UK in 1957 at the age of nine with her parents and older sister. After completing her secondary education, she became involved with the British Black Panthers and established a Saturday supplementary school in East London to support black children who were being failed by the existing education system.
Determined to make a difference, Bond pursued a social work qualification from Goldsmiths College in South-East London, and in 1985, she began working as an education social worker in the London borough of Tower Hamlets. Her career took a pivotal turn in 1989 when she joined the Hackney Child and Family Consultation Service, where she worked with families and children in mental health clinics and with teachers in schools.
It was during this time that Bond recognized the need to address the lack of diversity and inclusivity in the field of family therapy. In 1993, she qualified as a family psychotherapist, and in 1997, she established her own therapy, consultation, and training service, Chiron, with the aim of helping people who felt excluded by existing training institutions.
“Her mission was to build up the self-belief of practitioners who had been made to feel they could never make the grade – and in doing so, she brought many people into the family therapy profession who otherwise would not have completed the journey,” said Glenda Fredman, a colleague.
Over the years, Bond held various positions, including clinical director at the Kensington Consultation Centre in London, where she had completed her family therapy training, and visiting lecturer in family therapy at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. In 2006, she earned a doctorate in systemic psychotherapy from the Tavistock Clinic in London.
Throughout her career, Bond remained a strong, assertive, and gentle soul, committed to empowering and supporting people facing racism and discrimination. Her passion, generosity, dedication, and spirit have left an indelible mark on the lives of those she touched.
Bond is survived by her son, Darren, a granddaughter, Nia, her siblings Yvonne, Mikloth, Sheril, and Eglah, and her partner, Alex Smith.
