I knew I probably needed therapy long before I actually went. But knowing and doing are very different things, and it took something significant to finally get me through the door. Looking back, it’s probably the best thing that ever happened to me.
On the outside, I was sociable and never turned down an invitation. On the inside, I was struggling to keep up with a version of myself I thought other people would approve of, and it drove far more of my life than I realised at the time. I was anxious, full of self-doubt and constantly measuring myself against everyone else. Therapy and coaching helped me understand and work through my stress and anxiety, trust myself more and say no without feeling guilty about it.
What I experienced in my own therapy and coaching sessions didn’t just change how I felt. It changed how I understood myself and perceived the world around me. That’s the reason I became a therapist and coach. I’d experienced first-hand what happens when someone finally has the right support to understand and change the patterns holding them back, and I wanted to help other people find their own version of that.
The growth from my therapy and coaching journey reshaped my career too. I went from someone who avoided anything that felt risky or exposed to retraining completely and building a therapy and coaching practice I love. I now speak regularly at storytelling events in front of strangers, host a monthly pub quiz and games night that draws up to a hundred people, and bring that same comfort with vulnerability and connection into every room I work in, whether that’s a one-to-one session or a room full of people at work.
These days, I split my time between the UK and Portugal with my labrador Chippy, cat Victor, my wonderful fiancée and our incredible one-year-old baby. It’s a life I get to enjoy fully, rather than perform my way through.
I know what it’s like to feel trapped in a version of yourself that doesn’t fit anymore, and I know what’s possible on the other side of that. That’s why I do this work. Not because I read about it in a textbook. Because I lived it.
And I know that the version of you that feels held back by anxiety right now is not the whole story. There is a calmer, more confident and more in-control version of your life ahead of you, and I’m here to help you get there.
