How did you develop an interest in these areas?

My path into this work began with my own therapy in my twenties to process grief and trauma. That experience was a turning point: I realised I wanted to offer the same kind of space to others. Naturally, my interest was rooted in grief and loss, inspired by my lived experience but also in my time volunteering with Cruse Bereavement Care too.

At college I remember being told 'your specialism will choose you'. When I first qualified, I found myself working with a lot of people who had experienced trauma and loss. Over time I’ve found I often work with the “strong ones” in families, people who’ve coped alone for a long time and are ready to heal rather than just hold it all together. I also spent time working at Cruse Bereavement Care which further honed my understanding of the different types of loss and grief. Some of my interests naturally is informed by my lived experience, but also by the clients who I have been privileged to work with. I have also spent 4 years working with kidney patients and their family in short-term counselling (6 sessions), where the work was very much about facing the reality of a scary diagnosis, finding the courage to face one's mortality, and therefore discovering what makes life meaningful.