I went to university in Scotland, graduating with a Bachelors in Psychology with honours that included two years business and computing.
Afterwards, I went to Spain, where my family lived, and worked there for a year. At this point, the manager for our family business in Indonesia left.
I went to Indonesia, living in Jakarta and working there and in Bandung. I started by taking over the administration for 8 engineers who were writing technical manuals at $60 an hour.
A few months in, I saw an opportunity for expansion. I worked it and landed us some contracts for design and development. In three years, I was able to expand the business to 20 engineers at an average of $70 per hour.
I went back to Spain to help out with a family crisis. My family imploded, no need to go into that here, but one upshot was over the period of time, my father left to do his own thing. Me, my mum and brother stuck together.
I switched careers and took some temporary work while I sorted out my space. That’s also the time when I fell in love with Tom, my husband. He’s an academic, an Information Technology specialist.
When Tom got a job in Malaysia, we moved to Sarawak. I am not the kind of person who can sit about.
After discussions, we agreed that Tom would do the fixed deal, working for universities and I would create a portable career that would give me some flexibility.
As I love to write, I started creating content for newspapers and magazines.
Over the years, I syndicated and sold over 3000 features and columns to clients in 12 countries. I also worked locally for newspapers like The Star, the Malaysian national daily, and magazines like Malaysia Womens Weekly, Her World and Cleo.
Back in 2013, I saw the writing on the wall for content creation. So, I went back to psychology and took a Masters. It included three internships.
First, I was with Dresser-Rand, a Siemens company. Working with engineers again, the focus was on industrial psychology as well as helping clients with stress, work life balance, and problem solving techniques.
Then I went to APU, Asia Pacific University. Working with teachers and students from more than 105 countries, we focused on stress, relocation depression, and cross-cultural communication.
Finally, I spent time with AWAM, All Womens Action Malaysia, a feminist NGO with a crisis centre that supports victims of domestic violence, rape, incest, sexual harassment and divorce.
I graduated in 2015 with a Masters in Counselling, passing with distinction, and set up a business, working online through video link.
I've been very lucky, and now have an international practice spanning Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Europe, and North America.
I still write feel-good columns for The Star, and I write novels – because I like to be busy.
However, Malaysia is becoming increasingly hostile to foreigners, so in 2023 we're moving again. Back to the UK! It's exciting but it also means a rebrand. I've written about the need for that here.
So, that’s me. If you’re looking for mental health support, email me and we set up an appointment. The first 20 minutes are free.
Updated 22 Nov 2022
