About your counsellor

tl:dr

I had lots of questions as a teenager about life and "normality", struggled with my mental health as a young adult, tried lots of medical ways to help myself, reached out for therapy which was super helpful for me. Decided to become a counsellor to help others particularly queer people who lack adequate support and true understanding. I am not perfect nor cured, but a work in progress. A professional collector of hobbies that are very inconsistent and mood driven.

Long story....

When I was a teenager, I became really interested in psychology, hoping to find who I am. For a long time I struggled with my mental health and spent a long time looking for the "perfect cure". I visited psychiatrists looking for answers. Every test said I was "normal". I was "normal" yet did not feel okay. As last resort, I decided to try therapy. It was nice to finally feel understood and heard, to be accepted as I am.

Going to therapy resulted in me completely changing my life and slowly moving towards living more authentically. I quit my job and in moved to the UK. Leaving Lithuania with all my family and friends was challenging. I felt really lonely, struggling to make friends and fitting into a new culture. I had to learn a lot and adapt to my new environment in order to connect to people around me as well as communicate in a second language. The pandemic offered a lot of time and space to think about how I want to proceed with my life. Thus, I decided to pursue my passion for psychology and started counselling training with an Adlerian counselling course in Wales.

I always felt naturally drawn to the LGBTQ+ and neurodiverse communities. As a teenager I attended numerous LGBTQ+ events in order to connect to the community, express my allyship and perhaps even explore my own gender and sexuality. During my counselling work I have worked with queer clients and further learned about the often complex issues that they are facing. Despite growing interest in queer inclusivity in therapy and accessibility in training, I have noticed a lack of support that is beyond surface level and a shortage of queer/ally therapists. This resulted in my passion for supporting specifically LGTBQ+ community. Soon after qualifying I also decided to volunteer for Progress Cymru Counselling and offer support for those that cannot afford private therapy.

I wish I could say it was easy and that after many years of personal therapy and counselling training I am "cured". I still have moments of not feeling good enough, confusion, grief, sadness. Sadly, therapy isn't the perfect cure... That said, I have learned that it is okay to be imperfect, it's okay to not feel normal sometimes (what is normal anyways?). I also learned that truly connecting to those around me makes those difficult feelings just a little bit easier to bare.

Nowadays to keep myself sane (enough), I occasionally enjoy doing some yoga or other form of exercise (though never manage to stick to it for a prolonged period of time), collecting arts and crafts supplies (for that one day when I feel extra creative and want to make something new), read and do a little bit (amateur) creative writing. If you're interested in reading more of my musings, check out my blog.