26/09/2025
✨ How I Became a Therapist ✨
Back at school I loved the Arts (and still do 🎭), but I also knew I wanted to be in a caring profession.
At Leeds Uni, I studied Drama & Arts Education. During a placement in a mental health hospital, I realised my path was to become a therapist. I trained as a Dramatherapist and later as a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist when the NHS IAPT programme was launched.
For the next 15 years, I worked in IAPT and the NHS, moving into management and eventually regional roles at NHS England, helping to shape and transform mental health services (something I feel incredibly proud to have been part of). I also worked in a commissioning and transformation role in a ICB.
But through it all, I always kept one foot in clinical work—it’s the reason I started this journey. 💙
Now, I’m back fully in practice, doing what I love most: working directly with people.
I’ve been lucky to meet and work with so many amazing people who have shaped this story. This is only a snapshot of my career, but I hope it gives you a little insight into my journey 🌿
