One of the aspects of counselling work that I enjoy most is the variety. It’s a privilege to hear about people’s lives and experiences, and I have done that listening work in a variety of settings.
Once I finished my counselling training, I worked in the drug and alcohol field. I worked in community settings as a volunteer, and eventually I moved from there into the criminal justice setting.
From drug and alcohol work I moved into housing work. I worked in the statutory sector assessing the needs of homeless residents, I was an advisor for a national housing charity, and I was a housing officer for a local authority.
For much of my career I’ve focused on supporting people in different ways. I believe in the power of community, and I see my work in all my roles as part of a journey towards the aim of trying to make the world an ever-so-marginally better place.
As a talking therapist, I’ve been able to support people through insurance companies, healthcare providers, and through work with higher education institutions.
In 2021 I completed supervision, and I’ve since been able to work with teams who provide mental health support to students in the higher education setting.
The next step for my training in couples counselling. I’ve been interested in supported couples for some time, but I’ve lacked the foundational knowledge to do so. As of summer 2026 I’ve been working towards completed the Level 1 Training from the Gottman Institute. The training promises to offer a ‘research-based roadmap for helping couples compassionately manage their conflicts, deepen their friendship and intimacy, and share their life purpose and dreams’.
The training has given me ideas on how to support individual clients with their relationships, and helped me to develop fresh understanding of the relationships in my own life. I hope to be able to offer couples counselling support in the near future - stay tuned!