"The more the therapist is herself in the relationship, putting up no professional front or personal facade,the greater is the likelihood that the client will change and grow in a constructive manner."

Counselling can, if you choose, involve a lot of self-disclosure and you may feel you would like to know a little about your counsellor and their life experience too. So here I am ...

I am now in my 40's and life has had many highs, crashing lows and everything in-between. First and foremost, I am a single mum to two teenage boys, from whom everyday, I learn something new about this crazy thing called life. I love the great outdoors, especially woodlands, horses, my garden, quiet nights in and have always been fascinated with counselling, mental health and psychology.

When did life begin to make sense?

At the age of 42, life finally made sense. I was diagnosed as Autistic/combined ADHD (AuDHD). All the anxiety, depression, noise/light sensitivity, feelings of not fitting in, social exhaustion, racing mind, over-thinking, severe dislike of large groups, C-PTSD, panic attacks, post-natal depression and pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) now made sense, as "PMDD disproportionately affects people with ADHD and autism, with up to 92% of autistic women and 46% of women with ADHD experiencing PMDD (Dorani, Bijlenga, Beekman, Van Someren & Kooij (2021); Obaydi, & Puri (2008)).

What helped you?

For me, my journey towards diagnosis began with counselling. Following my divorce, I threw myself wholeheartedy into counselling, as I wanted to understand me; I slowly began to discover and understand who I really was. My counsellor, along with close friends and family, was my rock. She was consistently there - my fearless companion - with empathy, understanding and an infectious warmth (huge thanks!). The more I came to know and understand myself, the more I read, and the more I read, the more certain I was, I was Autistic/ADHD. 

How are you now?

I'm now in a great place, excited for life, with a real passion for helping others; to be their fearless companion too. I am human, have made mistakes and got things wrong over the years, learning a whole heap of stuff along the way, but most importantly for me now, I like and accept who I see. I am hugely passionate about counselling and its benefits; I have experienced them all first-hand.

Where did your life experiences take you next?

I'm incredibly proud to now be able to say I'm a fully qualified and insured Person-Centred Counsellor, achieving a First-Class (Hons) Degree in Person-Centred Counselling from the University of Derby. I am a Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP), attending monthly supervision and personal counselling, so I am the very best I can be, for myself and my clients. I'm also thoroughly committed to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and I feel very fortunate to be able to say I love my job and I love what I do! 

I also have a full, clean, enhanced DBS check and alongside my private practice, I work as the school counsellor for Sandbach Boys High School, offer counselling through Corporate Wellbeing Solutions Employee Assistance Program (corporatewellbeingsolutions.com) and have been a guest speaker at the University of Lincoln on Neurodiversity and Counselling.

I feel counselling sessions with you could help me too, what should I do?

If you feel having a confidential, safe, non-judgemental and accepting space to explore whatever you are carrying right now would help, please get in touch. You don't need to be at crisis point, or heading towards one. Counselling is for everyone and can be literally life changing.

Helen xx