My logo - a selkie.

As a child, growing up in Scotland, one of my favourite picture books contained the character of a selkie. I was reminded of them when I went on a solo cinema trip to watch The Outrun, a beautiful film shot in Orkney. I recall being captivated by the pictures in my book and returned to them often. The hues of blue and green and the tale of this mythical creature. Growing up on or next to the Irish Sea and the west coast of Scotland, I was aware of the wild, tempestuous force of the water. Alongside its calm and beauty; opportunity and threat. I would sit alone on the bow of my parents’ boat, legs dangling to feel the splash of the cold salt water. In tricky times as an adult, I am always drawn to the water, now staring out to the Thames Estuary when I need a moment.

A selkie lives as a seal in the water but comes ashore and sheds its skin, a shapeshifter who takes on the form of a human. Sometimes, the selkie would be trapped on land, forced to marry and bear children, before eventually finding the seal skin again and returning to the water. They have, within them, an untameable and wild self. They are graceful and kind-natured but can be steeped in melancholy, darkness and a longing for the sea. Their being resonates strongly with me now as I, at 47, navigate life’s tides. As a therapeutic counsellor they represent the need for people to be true to themselves. Many people seek therapy due to an incongruence in the person they live as and their authentic self. Person-centred theory is derived from that very circumstance, with therapy being a wonderful tool to strip away the values placed on us by others, the expectations, the constraints and judgements. To find who we truly are, our real self. To find our skin, to return to the sea.

(My beautiful selkie was drawn by the incredible Polly Green @pocket.tats )