I am so pleased to bring to you On With My Life  counselling service.

And also surprised - in a pleasant sort of way – because On With My Life (or OWML) hasn’t been born of any grand ambitious entrepreneurial plan (though there’s certainly nothing wrong with those!)  but sparked and spluttered into life 7 years ago when my life was far from certain.

Over a cup of tea with a friend I don’t see at all often enough, I was lamenting my complete and utter lack of motivation to continue with my marketing career. I knew change had to happen if I wasn’t to become (more) burned out or depressed or bitter – or all three! And stirring within me was a strong desire to leave marketing behind and retrain as a counsellor.

In honesty I was quite dismissive of this desire, seeing it as an unrealistic pipe dream rather than a realistic possibility. How on earth could I leave a relatively well-paid secure-ish job to retrain when I was raising a young family? And, apart from the time and the cost, was I really cut out to be a counsellor? Shouldn’t a counsellor have their life completely under control, sorted out and all in perfect working order – and be the sort of person who glides effortlessly through life like some kind of smiling saint? That certainly wasn’t me! ‘How could I ever be a counsellor - me?’ I asked my friend. Her reply has stayed with me and will always stay with me:

‘Why not?’

Two magic words.

I instantly laughed it off and the conversation changed direction.

But those words stayed with me.

‘Why not?’

I slowly realised that the only thing holding me back was myself. My view of myself and my place in the world was, I came to recognise, not just quite inaccurate but also very unhelpful.  I began to see that my lack of confidence was unworkable and was really holding me back from everything I wanted to do and stand for in this short time on the planet.

I allowed myself to turn up the volume on the voice in my head that retraining as a counsellor was a realistic possibility – and to look at the reasons why I could make it as a counsellor:  it was something I had always hankered after; it was a role that reflected my belief in the power of relationships to transform a life’s direction; it would allow me to ‘fight on the side of the angels’.

So, here I am, bringing you OWML counselling and psychotherapy – a service born of one small conversation that resulted in a clearer and renewed belief in myself, that dared me to hope and be optimistic… a service that I hope may be able to similarly help you with your journey into a more hopeful and fulfilling present and future.