My personal journey into becoming a counsellor started in my early forties, after raising a family. Before this I had worked in various forward facing roles of which one was within the fast-paced financial sector in London, where I worked with a wide variety of personalities and always enjoyed meeting new people.

 

I left the City to raise my family and began to notice how situations from my past were effecting my own mental health, and the impact this had on my ability to cope as a new mother, and also in my new role as a mum. One of my biggest upsets was that counselling was not offered to me in my younger years when I needed it. The desire to use my own personal life experiences to help others was strong and reflecting back on my own childhood and late teens was hard. These years had been far from easy, marked by upheaval, loss, heartbreak and confusion. These personal challenges led me to seek therapy later in life, and through self-exploration, and acceptance, I came to appreciate the true value of therapy with a trusted therapist who offered me the experience of being truly heard and understood and validated my feelings. I felt like I wanted to provide this to others in their time of need.

 

Noticing the effects this journey had on myself, I later made the decision to embarked on becoming a mentor for teens, where I witnessed firsthand how having a trusted confidant greatly improved their mental health and confidence. This inspired me to pursue further personal growth through study and eventually work towards becoming a qualified counsellor, all whilst continuing to volunteer and support others along the way.