Founder of Empower Mental Health Training and Consultancy

MHFA England Instructor Member since 2019

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I began my working life as a Registered General Nurse. I quickly realised that the hustle and 

bustle of life on the ward was not for me. So I returned to college to train as a social worker, later

specialising in adult and older people's mental health. Eventually I progressed into management

and project/service development working on projects with health colleagues to improve

information sharing and to develop services for people with dementia.

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All of these very stressful career choices eventually took their toll on my mental health. After 20

years, I decided to move away from social care, but was soon drawn back! I had the fantastic

experience of volunteering and then doing paid work in a mental health recovery service whose focus was therapeutic horticulture. It was whilst doing this work that I attended my first MHFA course. 

 

I qualified as a MHFA instructor in 2019 and have spent the last 3 years delivering training both on-line and face to face in a wide range of organisations. This has been a rewarding and enjoyable experience. Finally I feel I have found my vocation. Highlights have been delivering training to groups of people from diverse communities, some of whom have English as a second language or working with an interpreter with groups who spoke very little English. 

 

I have learned that I need to look after my own mental health, so in my spare time I enjoy spending as much time as possible in nature. Visits to gardens with family or friends, walking my little terrier Bella, or pottering in the garden. I am currently in the process of trying to establish a wildflower meadow! I also enjoy relaxing by listening to music, reading, or watching films. 

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