A little about me — the person behind the counsellor
Hello, I’m glad you’ve found your way here.
I’m a counsellor, but I’m also many other things — a woman, a mother, an explorer, a curious soul, and someone who is still figuring out life herself.
I’ve always been fascinated by people. By our stories, our contradictions, what we show the world and what we keep hidden; what makes us who we are, and how we find the courage to become someone different.
My journey
I grew up in Bulgaria and moved to the UK over twenty years ago. Somewhere along the way, I’ve learned what it means to start again, to belong to more than one place, and sometimes to feel that you don’t quite belong anywhere.
Life has taken me through different cultures, relationships, roles and versions of myself. Some I’ve embraced, others I’ve stumbled into, and a few I’ve worked hard to make peace with.
I’m still learning, still questioning, still discovering things about myself and the world around me. I hope I never stop.
Perhaps that’s part of why I love being a counsellor. I’m genuinely interested in what makes us who we are, what we carry with us, and what becomes possible when we feel safe enough to be ourselves.
A dream that took its time
I wanted to be a counsellor long before I really understood what that meant.
As a young teenager growing up in Bulgaria, I was fascinated by books about psychotherapists and the work they did. The idea that you could sit with someone, explore their inner world and help them feel better was extraordinary to me. I wanted to do that. I wanted to understand people’s minds, their feelings, their struggles, as well as my own. And, more than anything, I wanted to help.
There was just one small problem. In post-communist Bulgaria, psychotherapy as a profession was practically unheard of. It wasn’t something you could simply decide to study and become. So, reluctantly, I put that dream aside.
Years later, after moving to the UK, I realised something rather wonderful: here, it was possible. That old dream, which I’d almost forgotten about, suddenly had somewhere to go. It wasn’t a straightforward journey. There were years of studying, working, and trying to fit everything around life and motherhood. My training took much longer than I’d imagined. There were interruptions, detours and plenty of demands on my time. But I kept coming back to it. And eventually, I got there.
Today, I feel incredibly fortunate to be doing something I wanted to do all those years ago. I love my work. I love the privilege of being invited into people’s lives, hearing their stories and getting to know the person behind what they show the world.
And underneath all the training, theory and experience, that original wish is still there. I want to help people feel better.
It really is as simple, and as complicated, as that.
What this work has taught me
Over the years, counselling has taught me as much about myself as it has about others. I’ve learned that we all see the world differently, through the lens of our own experiences, and that someone else’s view can be just as valid as mine.
I’ve also learned that I am capable of things I once firmly believed I could never do. That, given different circumstances, I might make choices I once thought unthinkable. It’s a humbling realisation, one that has made me less quick to judge and more curious to understand.
I’ve learned that no one can walk someone else’s road. We cannot make their choices or take away their pain. But walking beside someone can be profoundly helpful. That’s what I do. And what I want to keep doing.
Katerina Spasov
* woman * explorer * brave soul *