Throughout my life, I have had the privilege of travelling to many amazing places around the globe and have moved within Australia many times. Although this often meant saying goodbye to close friends and frequently staring into the face of uncertainty; many of these experiences have helped me grow as an individual. I strongly believe learning to connect with so many different people and cultures on a regular basis has helped me approach others with an open mind, and from early on in my life, paved the way for my career path as a counsellor.
I recall throughout my high school days I was often approached by friends and fellow students to support them during some of their challenging times. I learned that although our life challenges and difficulties may be different, they are all important and valid – no concern is insignificant. This further fuelled an already strong passion to support others, and so through my schooling and university years I always felt I had a clear direction to pursue work in a helping profession. This led to me accepting the Bachelor of Behavioural Neuroscience course at university.
My university studies and friendships helped me further practice acceptance and open-mindedness towards others for their interests, identities, fields and experiences. Double majoring in Behavioural Neuroscience and Psychology opened my eyes to the intricacies and complexities of the human brain: How our physical brain can impact our psychological brain and vice versa. Key focuses on mainstream therapeutic approaches, such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, further demonstrated the fact that our cognition can impact our behaviour, and our behaviour can impact our cognition – it goes both ways! For me, this strengthened my desire to begin working in the mental health field as soon as possible. I jumped at the opportunity to study a Master of Counselling straight after I finished my undergraduate degree, and upon graduating, was so excited to begin working as a counsellor!
I have since had the privilege to work as a counsellor in secondary school settings, tertiary education settings, and the private sector through Australia’s leading Employee Assistance Program provider. Now, I am proud and excited to explore my own private practice!
Whatever we explore in life needs to have meaning for us. Although our personal journeys may be different, I firmly believe one of the most powerful ways of overcoming adversity is found in the importance of empowering and looking after ourselves, even through challenging times! For me, looking after myself often includes gaming; creating music; creative story-writing; watching Anime and TV series; home exercise and regularly appreciating my strengths as well as areas of growth. How would you reflect on how you promote self-care and self-empowerment?
If you would like to discuss your counselling needs further, I encourage you to contact me.
Lee Wong Counselling 