Hello, I’m Joe, a BACP-registered person-centred counsellor, and I’m honoured to support doctors at Physicians Anonymous.
For two decades, I was a teacher, striving for perfection and recognition while working long hours. My identity became entirely tied to achievement, and I reached a point where the pressure felt unbearable. It was then that I realised how my conditions of worth (more about this later) could literally override all good sense of myself (depersonalization).
Reading others’ biographies on this site, I feel that nagging sense of not being good enough. My own conditions of worth—the things I thought I had to do to be accepted—still try to creep in. But I’ve learned that when I offer myself empathy and honesty, I become more open to vulnerability. That’s exactly what I aim to provide in our sessions.
I offer a confidential space free from criticism, judgement, and black-and-white thinking. Our conversations will move at your pace, and in doing so, we may explore topics you’ve never shared before.
I also have a familiarity with Twelve Step programs, and my particular interest lies in addiction—the cycle, the secrecy, the shame, and the anxiety that often surrounds it.
You don’t have to carry it all alone. I’m here to listen and offer support. As an initial offering to Physicians anonymous, I am taking on a limited number of clients pro bono. Please contact me for more details.
I have never been a medical practitioner but my guess is that my own personal search for perfectionism, control, the time pressures and a growing sense of depersonalization may resonate with you.
