I believe the essence of a happy and fulfilling life is to live a value based life. Values help you understand how you want to be in the world and these values will help to sustain and guide you in the challenges that we will all face in life. If I had to name just one value that I live my life by it would be making a difference with people I interact with. This value has drawn me to the caring professions throughout my life. My journey began in my 20s when I volunteered for three years in the slums of Kolkata (Calcutta), India. During this time I truly learnt about the resilience of the human condition. I saw on a daily basis how a person's values can be a beacon of hope, helping them to endure some of life's most dire circumstances. In my career as a Registered Nurse I have been privileged to be exposed to the challenges of the human condition through all the stages of life, from birth to the end of life. Although we all have our own unique life journey, in my nursing career I have learnt that we are all fellow travellers in this thing called life. My life experiences have given me a rounded view of life and have equipment me with the genuine belief that we are all fellow travellers who need to feel safe, need to be listened to, need to be acknowledge and cared for. Counselling is the space where my life journey has taken me and it is a place that I can truly live by my values. My Approach I take a person-centred, values based approach in my counselling practice. My aim is to assist you to clarify what is truly important and meaningful to you, so you can use that knowledge to guide, inspire and motivate you to change your life for the better. I draw from a number of counselling approaches: Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) Narrative Therapy Existential Psychotherapies Motivational Interviewing Solution Focus Therapy Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) Family Systems Theory Although I believe that no one counselling methodology will meet everyone's unique life circumstances, I have found that Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) is the framework that I most regularly utilise as it borrows and expands on many other counselling methodologies. ACT suits my counselling style as it is a value based therapy and more importantly it works. LGBTI Safe Place I don't assume that people from the LGBTI community come to counselling for challenges related to their sexual orientation and gender identity and that the concerns that LGBTI clients bring to counselling are often universal to all people. Being from the community myself it is my aim that I provide a safe place where you can truly be yourself. Coming Out, Inviting In, Staying In & Disclosure Navigating Non Traditional Relationships in a Traditional World Feelings of otherness related to being part of a minority group Building on your Resilience Violence within your intimate partner relationships (survivors & Users Of Violence)I am a Specialist grief and bereavement counsellor and have undergo additional training and accreditation to support those who are bereaved.  A grief and bereavement counsellor can help you cope with specific challenges associated with grief, such as the emotional, social, physical, and spiritual responses to your loss. A grief counsellor understands that just as every individual and relationship are unique, so will be everyone's own unique experience of loss.