Psychotherapy and fiction

Much of my counselling work after qualifying as a psychotherapist was with young people, which gave me an incredible insight into all these issues, and more. It also taught me a lot about personality development - what shapes us as people, and what we need to thrive - as well as how to unpick this with clients, using reflective practice to "hold up a mirror" to help them understand their own feelings and behaviours, and learn how to feel and live better. I draw on this experience continually in my writing. In fact, alongside become a parent myself, I would say that my psychotherapy training has been the best preparation for becoming a writer - even more so than my publishing career!