|Not so long ago my life was really different. I was a senior leader with a global blue chip company. I did interesting work. I was financially secure and living internationally but I realised I was not content and my values and strengths were not aligned with the environment in which I was living.

I started to explore what I wanted for my life. In time, the things that really mattered to me became clearer and I developed the courage and confidence to explore new possibilities and a very different life.

I started the conversations that would enable me to leave the organisation I worked at, with greater financially security.  As I moved towards my future I was determined to put an end to living my life “up in the air”. Although the constant travel was in business or first class, staying in 5 star hotels and dining at some of the world’s best restaurants, I was determined to be more grounded and connected to the vital elements of life; my own unique sense of humanity and developing positive relationships.

Mine has been a long career transition. 6 years of academic study, 3 university degrees, thousands of counselling hours experience, hundreds of hours of professional development and counselling supervision. I have had the great privilege of working with some wonderful people; my clients and colleagues in private, government and not-for-profit sectors.

Along the way I met my lovely partner. We created a family with all the challenges associated with the unique dynamics of stepfamilies and creating another small person.  In 7 years we have endured much together; 3 redundancies, 1 major GFC financial loss, 4 family members with serious illness, a birth, a death, a miscarriage, 2 house moves and 2 new businesses.

As a counsellor, I recognise we have experienced extraordinary life transition, mostly unexpected. At times our capacity to cope and respond while maintaining our wellbeing and the wellbeing of our family has been challenging. We have had to learn to hold each other tight. The next chapter of our life has begun.

The next chapter in my life as a counsellor also recently began. Earlier this year I moved my counselling practice landscape of life to the Health and Wellbeing Studio in Camberwell (Melbourne). It has been a great pleasure to collaborate with a wonderful team of health and wellbeing practitioners. The Studio has provided a beautiful healing space for my counselling clients and me.

This month I took the plunge and made a longer-term commitment to basing my practice at the Health and Wellbeing Studio. Once again I have found myself digging deep to find the courage and confidence to create meaningful and lasting change in my own life, professionally. In the last couple of weeks I have transformed the landscape of life counselling consulting space.

Through my own life transitions I have come to realise that integrity, empathy and authenticity are important to me. Also, that I am passionate about living in a mindfully, connected way and my wellbeing is essential to living sustainably.

Today, I love that my role as a counsellor is to help others create new ways of seeing and being in the world. Being able to embrace the many elements of life and transform them into something personally meaningful and bright is part of that. Creating relationships in which individuals, couples and families thrive is another.

I believe happiness is an attitude towards life itself. Who we really are, in the deepest sense is waiting to shine through and be present in our life everyday.