The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.

Prior to life as a counsellor, I chose to work with local communities in the public and third sectors. I believe that my love for helping others came from having to be a young carer. I lost my mother to Hodgkin’s Lymphoma when I was young and so I learned the skills of compassion, empathy and nurture early on.  

I spent a lot of time working as an advocate. I found it easier to give a voice to people who might have been struggling due to a mental health condition or those that had perhaps been disregarded, marginalised, or discriminated against. I got an insight into how anxiety and depression can develop, manifest and impact a person's life.  Poor mental health can adversely impact our performance at work, our personal and professional relationships and overall feelings of self-worth and I wanted to help people to feel better. 

I have worked for charities such as Westmeria Counselling Service, Counselling Matters Bexley, Mind, Shelter UK and the Citizen's Advice Bureau.  I have always felt passionate about supporting people and it was this type of work that led me to want to train as a counsellor. I learned to see that anxiety is a symptom rather than a root cause. It signals underlying issues such as unresolved emotions, trauma, stress, or unmet needs and I wanted to help people to be able to understand this so that they could start to manage their mental health, enabling them to feel more confident about living a true and authentic life. 

Throughout my training, I experienced personal therapy, and I found this process to be life changing. I have never looked back. I finally found my own voice and could begin to confidently advocate for myself too. I would encourage anyone that is thinking about embarking on the therapy journey, to have a go. 

I am an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) and I work within their Ethical Framework for Good Practice. I also have indemnity insurance and a DBS. 

I have on-going clinical supervision and regularly attend courses, and keep up to date with research to enhance my knowledge and professionalism.