London & Home Counties
Why did you choose mental health as an area of work?
I have always been passionate about the field of mental health and more specifically, eating disorders as a result of both personal and professional experiences. Growing up, I was considered intuitive, empathic and seemed to gravitate towards understanding and enabling others. In addition, I hold an endless curiosity in the understanding of the human mind and how it influences behaviour, hence, working within the field of mental health was a natural progression for me.
How do you help your clients live their best lives?
Connection is key. On reflection, I strongly feel that the time that both myself and the client invest in building rapport and trust fortifies the foundations for all therapeutic work. Understanding an individual, their unique identity and what is meaningful to them in life allows me to enable them to discover life goals and aspirations; essential for establishing motivation for change.
As a therapist, we slowly navigate why an eating disorder came into existence, what it is giving the client and how we can then fundamentally replace it with more positive, adaptive coping strategies. This learning of how to replace negative coping strategies with positive ones, also enables a client to engage with their roles, routines and essentially function and eventually thrive in their everyday lives.
I also feel that Co-Founding TEDS, our online eating disorder therapy service, has enabled me to further support individuals to live their best lives, as the service enables clients to access specialist therapy at a time when they feel ready to change, regardless of BMI, Diagnostic criteria and where they live in the world. We are passionate about fitting in with people’s everyday routines, so that they can continue to engage in life, whilst taking steps in their recovery.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
It is an absolute privilege to walk alongside each client, share in their lives, and accompany them in this journey we call recovery. Nonetheless, when an individual achieves something they thought unattainable, I think that is what I value most about my role.
Any top tips you would like to share?
Let the individuals accessing your service shape the way you evolve.
If you have a specialist interest in mental health and eating disorders, please reach out and join our specialist sections for training, advice, networking and service improvement tips!