Thank you Jo! Please plaster this all over your website, as I want people to know - PLEASE EVERYONE HAVE THERAPY! it's the best thing you could ever do!! I was someone who had avoided it for so long, I saw myself as weak if I needed help with my mental health. My 1st few sessions Jo must have thought, why is he coming, he's hardly even talking! but quickly she put me at ease, made me feel comfortable, allowed me to open up in my own time, and the more I realised she was there for me and not judging anything I said the easier it became, and the more and more I got out of it.
I have been to see Jo several times over the years, she has always welcomed me back, and I'm always amazed at her memory! It is so great and i am eternally grateful that she is interested in my journey and my life.
I really valued my one hour of peace and freedom with Jo every week, it felt sacred to the point I felt I might never want to give it up. Life felt chaotic when I first met with her, I couldn't see how coming to talk to someone I didn't know could ever help. She showed me ways I could find that sense of calm in my own life, I learnt so much about myself and began to feel that inner calm, even if everything else wasn't - I felt in control of myself for the first time ever! Thank you, you know I'll be back if I need that "head wobble" you spoke about.
I always have valued that I can walk in to Jo's counselling room, make myself at home and say anything I want to say, in a cosy, comfortable and safe room. The room itself almost makes me relax, but I know Jo is very much part of that.
I saw Jo for counselling several years ago, after a relationship breakup, it really helped at the time, and so much of what we spoke about stuck in my mind and this was able to guide me through the hurdles of life. So when I hit a life curve ball again that I just felt I couldn't get through alone, it felt only natural to get in touch with Jo again. Once again it's been a great experience - therapy is not easy, but Jo has always been there to help me and make it as comfortable as possible. It is common to want to pull away from counselling when it feels tough and painful, but I have learnt with Jo's support, it is worth sticking with it!
My head felt like it was in such a mess, nothing seemed to make sense - now I understand what was happening, I can think clearly and the world feels like such a better place.
I couldn't have got through the last year without this support. Everything just seemed to be going so wrong, everything I touched seemed to fall apart and now I'm feeling like such a success, new job, new house and a new me - brilliant!
I feel grateful for all I have in my life and can handle stress in a positive way, what doesn't quite go to plan is a challenge not a problem and I will meet that challenge head on rather than spending so much energy trying to hide from it, change it or be defeated by it.
I feel like I've learn't so much about myself, I have capabilities I never knew I had - I once hated myself now I can say honestly I LOVE MYSELF!!
I felt so nervous once I'd made the decision to contact Jo so much so I nearly didn't turn up to my first appointment, but once I met her I realised she wasn't going to judge me, she was really listening to me and trying to understand what was going on in my life - I felt heard for the first time in a long time and now I feel like I can hear myself and am so much more aware of those around me too. I have taken control of my life again.
I had spent years, decades even feeling so ashamed of my past, with Jo's help I have laid a lot of ghosts to rest and can look forward to everyday and my future without worrying about what I can't change.