Profile on...Malcolm

 

Malcolm first came to Aurora as a counsellor in training when he was in his final year of his counselling diploma. He is now a qualified counsellor and agreed to be interviewed by a volunteer client to give his personal reflections on working at Aurora.

 

What was your first impression of Aurora?

 

I really liked the building asthetically and thought it was very warm, welcoming and comfortable, not overly clinical. I really warmed to the

therapeutic value of that definitely and it reminded me of a homely family environment when I was greeted by Nick and Susannah. I

remember seeing the little notice board with all the team pictures on and seeing a couple of people in the waiting area and it appeared to be

very inclusive.

 

What kind of family environment do you think Aurora portrays?

 

I really get the impression of a therapeutic community/ family environment that strives to be healthy and over time it has become clearer and

how diligently and carefully each person is considered and if there is someone who is unhappy there is a process we can all follow and

it does feel like we are all valued promoting a healthy family way with a therapeutic environment rather than a traditional family

environment with Mum, Dad and children.

 

Did you imagine yourself working in a place like Aurora or did you have other ideas about the different types of work that you could do?

 

I have to admit that I kind of pigeon-holed myself into working with addiction as it was part of my own family background that’s part of who I am and it felt natural for me to do. I wanted to avoid it because I wanted to do other things that I was not comfortable with so I could stretch myself and grow further. When the opportunity arose to work at Aurora and coming from a background of emotional abuse, although challenging this was the ideal place where I could connect with people and do some really rewarding work.

 

Did you have any visions or thoughts about Aurora before you came to visit?

 

If I did it was nothing like I expected it blew away any vision or expectations that I had. If I am honest at that time in my life I had just being

promoted at work and I was in my final year at counselling school - even when I arrived for the interview I was on a very tight deadline but as

soon as I sat on the sofa in room one I suddenly thought what a beautiful therapeutic space. The size and the lighting it all felt so natural and just felt right. I felt really nervous but began to become aware that I really wanted to work here.

 

Aurora offers an holistic approach using both complementary, bodywork and counselling therapies to all its clients within the service. I just wondered what your views on this are?

 

One of the things that attracted me towards Aurora especially after seeing the website was its holistic approach because I believe the body

stores memories as well as the mind so to work with both of these aspects it feels like Aurora offers a soul connection interweaving and uniting these three aspects under the umbrella of Aurora. In my view that is the optimum therapeutic environment. Personally I would like

to see more of this as I feel these are beneficial and contribute to the therapeutic environment.

 

As you are part of the Aurora Team if you were to choose a character how would you describe yourself within the team?

 

My character would be Hong Kong Fooey who was a cartoon favourite of mine when I was a kid. He was a bumbling detective who had a side kick who solved the mysteries and he got all the credit for it. He was a very colourful character full of energy and full of life and Aurora is my side kick that solves the problems and I take some credit for them in the process. My inner child is saying that.

 

How do you see Aurora evolving in the future?

 

I would like to see it get busier maybe bring some holistic therapies like art therapy, reflexology and acupuncture on a monthly basis with a minimum of four clients attending to reduce disappointment and maybe make the groups more concrete and consistent.

 

What sort of message would you like to convey to clients at Aurora who are walking the talk and doing the journey?

 

They have my utmost admiration. I see them as incredibly courageous people each individual and collect ivel y a courageous group of people that come here. The hope is that whatever happens to people th at th ey can heal. The variety and levels of healing will all be different so I would urge everyone to stay with their process, to be individual and not be affected by how others are doing, to value the work that you have done today and not get caught up in ideas of where you should be because it is a journey and its not for the faint hearted.

 

Thank you to Malcolm for his valuable contribution.