I left the Welsh Valleys at 17 years young, suitcase in hand, escaping childhood sexual abuse, unfortunately stepping into several years of domestic violence.  8 years of trauma left me with complex PTSD, flashbacks and intrusive memories, severely anxious and a self-esteem that was on the floor, which then saw me entering a string of destructive relationships.  After being bullied by a narcissistic female boss and suffering post natal depression, I realised I was repeating unhealthy patterns, being triggered too often and I needed to change, monumentally.  And I was ready…

My therapeutic recovery journey began aged 23, beginning with person-centred work, then integrative, somatic and trauma-focused approaches.  I put myself on wellbeing courses, attended workshops, read self-help books, watched ted talks and soaked up as much knowledge as I could.  I learned how to self-care, using exercise, diet, yoga, meditation, creativity and lots of practical tools.  I surrounded myself with a supportive network of friends, family, therapists and professional services, which I am eternally grateful for. The Clifford family were particularly instrumental and inspirational in my life changing course and me being here now.

Finally understanding my neurodiversity, combined presentation of introvert AuDHD, sensory processing and executive dysfunction difficulties, as well as understanding empath qualities, helped to create more self-compassion.  Finally feeling comfortable in my own shoes, I realised that I wanted to pass the knowledge and tools that had put me back together when I felt broken, on to others.  I wanted to make what I had been through mean something, to help others recover, so I trained as an integrative counsellor.  I don’t believe that one way fixes all, so I continued to add strings to my bow.

I followed it up with the Award in Education and Training and began writing and teaching wellbeing courses for mental health charities.  I saw a lot of complex trauma cases entering the therapy room and so I specialised, completing a Level 7 PgDip in Traumatology and PTSD, in which I learned 6 different trauma-focused approaches, somatic experiencing training, inner child work, a foundation in traumatic dissociation and SCID-D training, under the support of the Clinic for Dissociative studies, EMDR and body and breathwork facilitator training. As you can tell I love learning.  I’m currently writing my first book.

Working on yourself and facing everything in therapy is terrifying and daunting but not as hard as continuing to live with trauma and the energy it takes to survive our responses – you have a choice.  Be brave and love yourself enough.  You can heal and feel empowered again.  .