Hello to all of my page followers and those of you coming across my page for the first time.
My name is Mary and I am a counsellor in private practice at Flourishing MK. Here is a recent picture of me taken whilst walking round one of the local lakes here in Milton Keynes.
I love being outside in nature and I especially love Daffodils. Daffodils are one of my favourite flowers and represent to me one of the first signs of spring. Moving away from the cold, dreary winter months into the spring. Daffodils for me represent a sense of coming alive, a re-emerging of the sun and the warmth and energy of the spring and summer months. A very appropriate image and a very appropriate theme for this blog.
Apologies for being a bit quiet on here over the past months. I have been a busy bee and have been training to be a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner in a local NHS Wellbeing Service (more about this to come in a separate blog). Now that I have reached the end of my training for this role I will have a lot more time and energy to devote to my counselling work at Flourishing MK and I look forward to welcoming new clients in the coming weeks and months...
I have been a qualified counsellor since 2018 and have worked in a range of charities supporting clients with many diverse issues, including bereavement, challenges associated with their caring roles and common mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. In my private practice I have also worked with a lot of clients who have long-term chronic health conditions, including chronic pain. My work in this area is informed by lived experience of a chronic pain condition that I have lived with for 13 years. I know first hand how devasting chronic pain and other physical symptoms can be to all areas of your life, including:
Your body image and body confidence
Family life and relationships
Work life
Social life
Study
Hobbies
Leading you potentially to becoming more and more isolated and restricted with the things that you can and cannot do in life. I want you to know that counselling alongside other medical and physical health interventions can help you to lead a happier, healthier life where you can gain a greater sense of control and indeed flourish alongside your condition. My aim as a person and as a professional is to try and embody that sense of hope and to help support you through difficult periods. I know first hand how difficult it is to be taken seriously by medical professionals especially when your symptoms are 'invisible', here at Flourishing MK you will always be taken seriously and listened to with respect. We might not be able to take away the condition and the negative changes that it brings, however we can learn to manage the symptoms and grow our life in other areas.
Another development for me that I am very keen to share with my followers and potential new clients is that I have recently been diagnosed with Autism at the end of 2021. I already knew that I had dyslexia, which was also diagnosed as an adult, however after investigating Autism for a family member I felt that I identified in myself some of the symptoms described in the resources that I came across and therefore decided to go through the testing process for Autism. After a life-time of feeling 'different' and not fitting in - having my diagnosis was a huge relief for me. My diagnosis gave me the missing puzzle pieces and finally my difficulties in certain areas of life made sense. I will share more about my journey through the diagnostic process and how I coped afterwards in a separate blog. I am sharing this here as I would like clients with any type of neurodiversity to know that here at Flourishing MK you will be offered a safe and affirming space - where you can be yourself and express yourself in ways that feel comfortable. I have recently changed supervisor to someone who has neurodiversity's as well. It was important for me to work with someone who truly 'gets it' - so please if this is what you are looking for too, please don't hesitate to get in contact with me. We can discuss ways that I can offer counselling support that will work for you, finding adaptations to make sessions accessible.
I will definitely be supporting Autism Awareness week that runs from March 27th - April 2nd this year and embracing all of the unique and colourful things in my life!
Image from: https://nationaltoday.com/world-autism-month/
As ever wishing you all a happy and healthy week. If you would like to enquire about counselling sessions with me please don't hesitate to get in touch. The easiest way to get hold of me is usually via email, which is: flourishingmk@outlook.com
