Hi – I’m Miriam. I have a fulfilling and meaningful work-life blend and it’s a constant source of joy to me . People say I’m lucky because of that – and I do feel incredibly grateful. But the truth is, getting to this place has not been easy and it didn’t just land in my lap. It was a struggle.
For many years I thought I could intellectualise myself through the pain and strains of life. Beginning my training as a therapist at the tender age of 22 gave me an incredibly helpful theoretical blueprint for discovering my authentic self but it wasn’t a shortcut to processing my feelings and understanding how my sub-conscious beliefs were shaping my everyday and keeping me stuck in a loop of depression and anxiety. To do that and to start building a life I felt was truly worth living, I had to commit to my own counselling journey. And it was this process that gave me the opportunity to really start flipping the script. And so while a fascination with the human psyche and a desire to work with people got me in to the profession, it is because therapy has transformed my own life that I remain so passionate about the job.
Therapy allowed me to:
Overcome perfectionism and that never feeling good enough thing.
Stop trying hard at things I didn’t really care about and get my energy back.
Begin practising boundaries and gain more self-respect and confidence.
Work through attachment issues and begin to feel more secure in relationships.
Identify the inner critic for what it was and stop beating myself up for everything.
Process the fact that life so far felt disappointing.
Learn to accept and like who I was.
Start believing that I didn’t need to achieve anything. But also; that I could.
Forgive people in my own time, not through effort but through validating the hurt.
Build resilience by learning to feel my feelings and identify my needs.
Learn to care less about what other people thought of me and start living according to my own values.
And the list goes on…
It wasn’t always a comfortable process. And it took time. But I am so proud that I did it. And the reward has far outweighed the effort. What’s more is I have bags of energy and motivation to facilitate the counselling journey for others. (Not to mention the clinical training and extensive experience).
From the nervy first call, to the meaty post-introductory sessions. All the way to the ‘hell yeah – now we’re getting somewhere!’ – stage. I have been practising for over 10 years now and I’m in it for the long haul. Because therapy gave me ownership over my own life and it’s a privilege to witness others claim back theirs.
If you’d like to know more about working with me, click below to read more or book a free call.