I came to the world of psychotherapy and counselling relatively late on. It was not my first career: I spent 25 plus years working in corporate life, doing a range of jobs, in a variety of roles, some of which I loved and some of which I hated. I worked with people from all walks of life and very quickly grasped the fundamentals of the role work plays in people's lives - from earning a living to survive to realising ambition and purpose. I also saw the strain and tension that work placed on our lives, including my own. Organisations and companies can be great places to be, creating the possibility of lifelong friendships and relationships: but they can also be toxic, conflict ridden and highly stressful which can take their toll on our psychological welfare. Working as a coach now, it remains extremely important to me to help people find a real sense of meaning in what they do and be able to navigate through the conflicts and challenges that working life presents us. We spend a great deal of time at work and we deserve to see it more than just as a painful way of existing between the hours when we are not at home.
