Having finally overcome my own eating disorder in my 20s, I realised that I no longer really knew who I was or what I wanted to do with my life. Speaking to a career coach, they asked me what I felt I was good at. I immediately answered ‘Helping people’. And so my journey began!

I obtained my NCFE Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Skills in 2021, and plan to work towards my diploma in the next 2 years to become a fully qualified counsellor. Please note that I am not medically qualified or a qualified counsellor yet, and as such, do not provide counselling services. My services are meant to act as a complementary support in addition to formal medical/counselling support from appropriately qualified individuals.

In September 2022, I began employment as a helpline adviser for the UK’s largest eating disorder charity (Beat). This involved providing listening support and signposting to sufferers of all types of EDs and their loved ones as they navigated the complex world of eating disorders and co-morbidities, most often anxiety, depression and personality disorders. I’ve received in-house training from Beat on safeguarding, coaching, equality and diversity, neurodivergence in relation to eating disorders, and group moderation.

My role progressed to becoming a recovery coach (referred to as a Programme Officer at Beat), and I now work on programmes supporting people who have Binge Eating Disorder and parents of children with ARFID. My work often involves looking at how the eating disorder can affect all aspects of one’s life, directly and indirectly. This has given me a wide range of experience, giving me insight into the full spectrum of EDs, not just the one that I myself went through.

What I can offer you is an understanding and empathetic approach as someone who has lived experience of an ED and anxiety. I can help you explore the concept of recovery and what life may look like during this phase of your journey. Calls with me give you the chance to bounce ideas off someone who has been through this often overwhelming journey and has come out the other side.

This type of coaching can be difficult to access elsewhere and I am a big believer that there is only so much you can learn about something by reading a textbook or hearing others talk about it. Each person’s journey with ill mental health is different, but a lot of the emotions we experience are the same, and that’s something you can only relate to if you’ve gone through it yourself.

I have been providing this type of coaching support in my full time role at Beat working on their support programmes, but want to expand to reach people in areas that cannot access Beat’s services. My coaching services are not meant to replace professional medical care or counselling, but can be a valuable add-on to them.

Please note: Due to insurance purposes, I can only support those aged 18 and over. If you are struggling with a suspected eating disorder, please reach out to your GP in the first instance for medical support. I do not accept medical responsibility for any of my service users and the service remains confidential unless I believe that the service user or someone else is at risk of significant harm.