Hi, I'm Paul Clark, a Counsellor for St Luke's.
I worked in industry for many years in quite physical jobs in the steel works and forging. Then I spent some time running a pub and quite a long time in telecoms, dealing with enquiries and solving problems, before moving on to work in training.
I am very much a people-focused person and perhaps that’s why somebody suggested counselling as a role that would be good for me.
It was a real light bulb moment for me, realising that I had something to offer people when they were at their most vulnerable.
I feel very blessed to be a part of the St Luke’s counselling team and I feel very lucky and fortunate to be in a position to support people at some of the most difficult times of their lives.
It’s so rewarding and it is much more than a job to be – I always say it is a real vocation.
For many people, bereavement is a time when there is a loss of identity and status, nothing makes sense, nothing tastes the same, and nothing is the way it was.
It is a unique and very personal experience and even though there are common themes, we all experience them in our own unique way.
The work we do is about how you get through this difficult period of loss, supporting people as they slowly start to pick up and build a new life.
I love my work with a passion, I get a buzz about coming in and I learn so much from the people I am working with every day.
It’s hugely special and very rewarding to be able to have a part in the book of somebody’s journey, even if I am just a couple of lines in that book.
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