“When I think back to where I found my interest in counselling, my clearest memory is being fascinated by Diana Troi in Star Trek, listening and empathising with other crew members.  It helped that she was Betazoid and therefore telepathic, a skill I haven’t developed, but nevertheless, her role intrigued me. 

I didn’t come straight to counselling – my first degree was English, then I completed a creative writing MA and during this time I worked in the care industry.  I worked primarily with people with Multiple Sclerosis, but always found the relational part of the work was what I really enjoyed.  After volunteering for a six month project in Africa, I worked as a full time musician.  I ran music sessions for older and more vulnerable people in the community.  I noticed what a difference it made for them to have company, even once a week, and during the one-to-one conversations I had with them, I came to realise how there is nothing else like the feeling of being heard by another.  I then met my now husband, who had something akin to complex PTSD, which I did not understand until I had a transformative couple of years with a therapist who was brilliant and helped me work out how we could communicate effectively, how I could stop taking the role of rescuer in the relationship, and how he could learn to ground himself instead of dissociating every time he was triggered.  She inspired me to do my counselling training, and I have found a career I absolutely love, which fascinates me on a daily basis.”