“As you start to walk on the way, the way appears”

By Sarah

I have always wanted to help. In fact, my school reports from the age of 4 consistently said, “Sarah is very helpful”. Over the years I have helped in many different capacities, as well as working, and having a family. I’ve planned several charity fundraising events; I’ve used my Marketing skills to run the social media accounts for the wonderful secondary breast cancer charity Secondary1st; I’ve volunteered for the mental health crisis service Shout; I’ve coordinated grocery collections from our street for local food bank Resurrected Bites; and, mid pandemic, I joined the York Women’s Counselling team as a volunteer, in September last year. As a trainee psychotherapist I am now, finally, helping others as part of my day-to-day life, rather than doing so in my spare time.

 How did I know this was my “way”? I trusted that it was. A quote from Rumi describes my experience better than I ever could “As you start to walk on the way, the way appears”. It reminds me that there is no pre-determined path, no path that we “should” take, stretching out in front of us, ready and waiting. On the contrary, our path only appears as we start to walk. We start walking, ideally with a companion by our side, and our “way” unfolds.

So, this National Volunteers Week I wanted to reflect on what my path of volunteering at York Women’s Counselling means to me. My role is to work as part of our female-only counselling team, supporting other women with one-to-one counselling, regardless of their financial circumstances. I have been lucky enough to be able to have my own weekly personal therapy, and I know just how life changing that has been, and continues to be, for me. Improving access to high quality relational counselling and therapy is an important part of why I decided to train as a psychotherapist and why I wanted to volunteer with York Women’s Counselling.

I offer my time and my skills – and I feel that I get back so much more than I give. It is a huge privilege to sit across from another woman, to listen deeply, not just with my ears but with my whole self. I feel very fortunate to be able to hear her story – sometimes hearing about things she has never told anyone else; to be with her for the time that we work together. I also get the opportunity to work with our committed team of counsellors and therapists with their range of backgrounds, specialisms, experience, and skillsets. I learn so much from these women and I am grateful to have found them. We support one another with regular check ins and, even though Covid-19 has meant that I have only met a couple of them in real life so far, I feel very connected to the whole team - which has been so important to me in this extended period of disconnection.

If you are a woman in York who is experiencing emotional distress and needs support, please consider getting in touch with our service. There’s a team of counsellors and therapists who will walk alongside you, and accompany you, as your “way” appears.