I have been working as a counsellor with the trust since 2019. My role is to provide specialist counselling for people living with HIV. I provide a space for people to talk through their difficulties, helping to empower people to find ways of coping with the impact of their health conditions. In addition to my work with people living with HIV, I also work across a range of health specialities including diabetes, renal, cardiac and bariatrics. Alongside my counselling qualification, I have a postgraduate certificate in Systemic Practice, which has given me further skills in working with families and teams.
Before starting at the Trust, I worked as a counsellor with people who had experienced rape or sexual abuse. This gave me an insight into how trauma – either in childhood or adulthood – can affect people throughout their lifespan, and how talking through this experience in a safe environment can help a person to heal. I have also worked as a drug and alcohol counsellor, and a counsellor in schools and universities.
I love getting to connect with a range of people from different walks of life, and I feel very lucky to be able to be alongside people while they learn to cope with what life throws at them.