Why am I leaving the NHS?

I have just left our local Trust. I am a human who will definitely be using our beloved NHS if necessary. I am truly thankful that we still have the NHS.

I have left cancer services as an administrator. I was trying to balance two jobs. And after 8 years of training at various colleges (including the University of Cambridge - but that’s another story), student bills, planning, prepping and angst, it’s time to launch myself full-time as a private practice counsellor.

I am human. Fact. I have responsibilities and bills and am with you in the current economic fog. BUT if I don’t try now, I never will.

Sometimes fear of getting going, confidence in my abilities, and self doubt all creeps in. You will have experienced this in your life too. You may have experienced the not uncommon feeling of imposter syndrome. No matter how many people wish me luck and say “you’ll be fine” I don’t quite let myself get into the zone of complacency. I have hope.

I am confident that my experience and training will best facilitate a counselling relationship. I am passionate about bereavement care and psychological support in cancer care. I am secure in my knowledge about how we all, as humans, have to daily manage our own mental health. There will be occasions when this is really tough, we’re all subject to external forces and our internal processes. We get ill too, either our body, or our mind, or as they are both linked they both need care and support.

As an ex-employee, a newly self-employed person, I am scared. The transition as it is called, is nerve racking but I think I will cope with the summer season, when we can get outside, but I will be constantly using mental health tools to keep my own mental health in check. I can share these with you if you want to meet.