Get to know our new Psychotherapist, Natalie ...
We’re delighted to welcome Natalie Holmes as our new Neuro-Inclusive Psychotherapist here at UKIM.
How did it all begin?
I was a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) for 11 years and after I had my 2 children, I just thought that I’ve always been interested in psychology and decided to go for it. I was going to do it at A-level, but I ended up not going to college and I went straight into the workplace. Everybody I encountered from my time with the police had a story, a reason why they were in trouble with the police, and I got to a point in my life where I wanted to do something more holistic and restorative rather than focusing on the enforcement side of things all the time. I wanted to do something that would support people in that kind of situation, so I ended up leaving the police and went to university to train as a counsellor.
How did neuro-inclusivity become an area of interest?
As soon as I started working as a counsellor, I found that the majority of people that were finding their way into my room were probably undiagnosed, either autistic or ADHD, or more often than not-both. So that led me to a point where it almost became my specialty, coming across all of these people that had been missed by the system, and I fell down the rabbit hole of starting to specialise in that.
Joining UKIM:
My role at UKIM is predominantly working with neurodiversity, so that’s autism, ADHD, etc. I’ll be offering counselling and support to help individuals to navigate neurodiversity and their personal challenges.
Fun Fact:
My son is part of the Air Cadets and I’ve been roped into that, so I now volunteer with them. My role there is Adventure Trainer, so I do things like climbing, hiking, and outward bound activities.
