Sometimes clients ask me what made me want to be a counsellor. The short answer is – I believe I can help people.
The longer answer? Keep reading! The help I can offer clients looks different for different people and their needs. Sometimes it’s most helpful for me to just listen. Sometimes the best help can look like practical skills or tools to manage difficult situations, or hearing the telling of a client’s stories and validation of – or sometimes challenging of – that story.
I know first-hand how helpful therapy can be – having been in ‘the other chair’ on many occasions throughout my life. With my own training, study and life experience, I believe I can help my clients make sense of their experiences and to find their own answers. This is where I think the journey of self-discovery can really begin.
My background is in both Academia and Administration. I studied English Literature and Psychology at Nottingham Trent University and then continued my studies by completing a MA in Philosophy and Contemporary English Literature at Goldsmiths College in London. My passion for both Literature and Philosophy has stayed with me throughout my life and influences both my work professionally and my personal life. I completed my Counselling training [Certificate and then Integrative Diploma at the Iron Mill College] in 2023 alongside a 15+ year career within Administrative roles. [I enjoy spreadsheets and make no apologies for that!]
I’m an avid reader and at heart, a Philosopher. I am heavily influenced by the works of Martin Heidegger, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Albert Camus, the concept of Existentialism and ideas to do with Phenomenology [simply – the way we experience things]. I’m curious to understand – what does it mean to be in the world? What is life like? Why? Curiosity drives my work. I always want to know more.
Counselling is often a telling of a story; the client telling their story - what life looks like; what life means for them. It’s an honour to hear and to share those narratives in the counselling room. I understand that unpicking and unravelling our own stories and truths can feel unfamiliar and uncomfortable at times. But I believe that self-discovery and the telling of our own life experiences – our phenomenology – can help us grow in the best ways.
We are, after all, all human and we have all experienced suffering, loss, grief, pain – but also great joy, happiness and contentment. To quote Rumi: ‘the wound is where the light enters’. We are all wounded. But we may all experience great light.
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