Hi, I’m Sarah Flynn RPC. My experience has taught me that our greatest gifts come from our deepest wounds. When we learn to embrace our own suffering we allow ourselves the space to heal and our lives become truly limitless.
Being the right counsellor for you is about so much more than just qualifications, it is also about having a strong passion for helping people and a caring empathetic approach. I believe the best counsellors are those who have experienced challenging and difficult times themselves. How could I expect my clients to go somewhere I have not gone? For these reasons I feel it is essential to share with you some of my own journey.
I grew up in Dublin, Ireland and moved to Canada in 2009, where I now live with my two daughters and children of the hairy variety. I was like so many people today, working in a career I didn’t like and telling myself I should just be happy. I was a financial advisor and I did not believe I could do anything else. I was too old now and too depleted of my own passion for life. I did not choose this career but rather fell into it out of an inner need for stability in my life. Changing course was too risky, too uncertain. I rationalized everything and denied my true feelings. I doubted all my decisions and felt low about life most of the time. Perhaps this sounds familiar to you. I did not think to ask for help, I believed that how I felt was who I was. It was not until I felt completely desperate that I sought out the nearest counsellor I could find.
This was the most difficult and also most life changing period of my life. I remember believing since I was a child that talking to someone about my problems could not possibly help. Mere words can not explain how it felt to feel the weight lifted from my shoulders in just the first few sessions. My soul gasped in relief to have finally shared my story, my feelings out loud and to be truly heard in return. It was the beginning of an amazing journey. I began to change my life, to heal and begin on the path to knowing myself for the first time.
I had always been fascinated with understanding people, child development and psychology but I had never had the courage to pursue this passion. Having experienced my own struggles, my own severe depression and ultimately finding a way out, I wanted so much for people to not have to go through what I had. My own experience had now shaped me as a person and re-ignited my curiosity in the human mind, how we suffer and how it is possible to heal. The voice inside of me finally took centre stage and I was in charge of my life. I was going to be a Counsellor. It is what I was always destined to be but the path to getting here was necessary in order to be of real help to people. This is not the kind of job one can just do. It is a life purpose. I knew that with the right training, I could help people overcome their challenges and release the burden that is pain, loss and suffering. Nothing fulfills me more than connecting to others, seeing a person reveal their true selves and witnessing their transformation.
Looking back on my experiences, I know that had I sought out help earlier I may not have had to suffer as I did. I am grateful for my path, because it has taught me this lesson and now I get to share it with you. I believe with all my heart that everyone needs a Counsellor and I forever commit to sharing that message. A Counsellor is not the same as sharing with a friend, it is a relationship like no other and one that works to improve your relationship with yourself, others and the world.
Thank you for taking the time to visit and read my story.
Sarah works at our Nanaimo location at 758 St. Andrews Street.
