
I am not what happened to me.
I am what I choose to become.
- Carl Gustav Jung -
My Story
Child & Family Counsellor
How my story influences my practice
Caring about others and listening to their stories has always been part of who I am, even as a child. Naturally curious, I grew up questioning why people close to me behaved the way they did. Not always understanding logical reasons or silly excuses, I kept on looking for answers until I became a therapist.
Getting training and education has provided me with deep insights and practical resources that I now share with my clients. And while personal and professional growth is a continuous process, here are key parts of my life that helped shape who I am as a therapist:
I have been there. As a child, my family experienced family therapy and divorce. Separation, legal battles, confrontations are very hard to deal with, specially for kids. Such events shaped the way I conduct my sessions: I believe the therapy room needs to be a warm and safe space where every family member has a voice, where children are heard and valued, and where ethical principles like confidentiality need to be highly honoured.
I am a mom of two little ones. Therefore, I can relate to the immense joy, great pride, and never-ending love parents feel for their children. That said, I am also familiar with the constant self-doubt, physical exhaustion, and intense worry and self-questioning that comes with parenting.
I have been in personal therapy before. I know how it feels to be on the other side of the couch! Getting in touch with our emotions and talking about our feelings can be difficult. Accepting there are things that are not working for you and addressing those challenges can be exhausting. However, therapy brought me rewards I could have not believed in before. Due to my personal and professional experience in counselling, I firmly believe that healing, transformation, and growth are all possible.
I have dealt with family issues and trauma as a child but all these events shaped who I am now as a mom and a therapist. Warmth, optimism, curiosity, courage and connection now guide me.
This is part of my story. What is yours?
Core Values
My personal life and professional practice are guided by five core values – warmth, optimism, curiosity, courage, and connection. Here is what they mean to me.
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Warmth: demonstrating care, compassion and respect is free to offer and enriching to receive.
“It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”
― Mother Teresa
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Optimism: life is neither fair nor easy. Nonetheless, we can choose to believe there are better things to come.
"Let your hopes, not your hurts, shape your future."
― Robert H. Schuller
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Curiosity: I believe there is always more to discover, more to learn, and more to explore. The world is all full of opportunities and possibilities.
“Some beautiful paths can't be discovered without getting lost.”
― Erol Ozan
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Courage: I believe it is important to recognize our effort in every step we take. It takes a lot of strength to change, to move forward, to take risks, and to step out of our comfort zone. Why not celebrate it then?
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."
― Nelson Mandela
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Connection: we are all wired by the need to love, be loved and belong. In order to feel safe and nurtured we deeply depend on our significant others.
"The best thing to hold onto in life is each other."
― Audrey Hepburn