Creating Safe Spaces for Change – Exclusive Interview with Jenny Hersey

Jenny Hersey runs her own business, working with people to create a life that brings them purpose and joy. A victim of childhood abuse, she has since dedicated her life to helping others. She works internationally and has clients in different parts of the world as well as in the UK, where she is based. Jenny's mission is to educate people about the ability to heal themselves. She believes that everybody should have access to counselling and life coaching, no matter what their circumstances are.

Jenny Hersey, Life Coach and Counsellor

Who is Jenny Hersey?

My name is Jenny Hersey and I live in the UK. I am a life coach, counsellor, supervisor, and critical incident debriefer. 

I am the founder of Pheonix Life Coaching and set this up as I want everybody to be able to have access to life coaching whatever their circumstances. I work with charities and community projects, providing coaching sessions to diverse groups of people. My vision is to empower as many people to become the best version of themselves. 

I have been in practice for 11 years, and I love my job! I get to meet some amazing people and listen to some inspiring stories. I have a varied work life and get to travel to some wonderful places. No two weeks are the same, and I feel very blessed.

Outside of work, I am an avid reader and massive rugby fan, and I love to cook. I am also a true crime nut and whenever I get the time will be watching a documentary, listening to a podcast, or reading about it! 

What inspired you to start your counselling and supervision practice?

I started working in the social care sector in 2003 after suffering from depression for two years. During that time, I was dismayed by the lack of help for people struggling with mental health difficulties. I decided to use my experience to help other people, so I started working for a mental health charity. In 2013, I started volunteering for the Victim Support service, supporting victims and their families who had been affected by crime. I felt that I needed something to help me to really listen and be present, so I decided to enrol in a counselling skills course. I immediately fell in love with it and went on to study an HND in therapeutic counselling. Since then, I have gone on to do further study in life coaching, supervision, and complex trauma. I am always studying something! 

What is the biggest misconception people have about counselling or therapy?

In my experience, the biggest misconception people have about therapy is that counsellors are experts and will tell them what to do. I am not an expert on anything apart from myself! Yes, I have lots of experience, but I will never tell you what to do. Why? Because we all see life through our own lens based on our own experiences. What may be the right thing for me may not be the right thing for my clients. We are all so diverse, and that is to be celebrated. My job is to provide a safe and non-judgmental space for my clients to explore their own inner world. Being able to provide that for someone can be incredibly powerful, and I have seen clients achieve some utterly amazing things. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to say, “I believe in you, you’ve got this,” to inspire change. 

What approach or philosophy do you use in your counselling, and why does it work?

My approach when working with clients is to just be myself. I am a working-class girl from a council estate, and I am proud of who I am. I do not pretend to be an expert or have all the answers. The feedback that I get from my clients is that I am so normal and real. I love this because it means that I am providing a safe environment for them, which is what I have always wanted to create. The relationship between the client and therapist is so important! For change to happen, there must be trust. We want our clients to be vulnerable, as this is where the work can really start. They are not going to feel safe enough to do that if they do not trust their therapist. I am an integrated therapist, which means I use different modalities in sessions, but my core approach is person-centred. The modality that I will use depends on what the client wants to achieve. For some, it is to work through trauma, toxic relationships, or risky behaviours. Some people want to go into the past and look at family dynamics, and for others, they want to achieve a certain goal. The client is always in charge of how they want the sessions to look like and what they want to talk about. 

How do you tailor your work (in person, online, telephone) to fit different client needs?

In private practice, I work in person, online, and via the telephone. I have even done sessions via WhatsApp chat! Whatever the client needs, I try to accommodate. These days, most of my sessions are done via the internet as I have clients all over the world. Some days I am up at 5 am to see a client in Australia and other days I am still working at 11 pm at night. I try to be as flexible as possible.

I am in the community when I am working with charities or businesses. I provide reflective sessions, supervision, and critical incident debriefing to businesses and will host these sessions in their workplace.

What are the first steps a prospective client should take when reaching out to you?

I am always an email away! I offer a 15-minute free consultation for people considering life coaching, counselling, or supervision. This gives them the opportunity to ask lots of questions and decide whether I am the right fit for them. I will not always be!

What message or advice would you give someone who is considering counselling but is hesitant?

Shop around! Look at each therapist’s profile and see how they work and what experience they have. What do I want to achieve? Do I need a space to talk? (person-centred) Do I want to achieve a certain goal? (solution-focused, life coaching) Or do I want to look at the past and the relationship with my parents (psychodynamic)

This will be the biggest investment that you will make in yourself, so make sure that you are happy and comfortable. Be mindful of how they respond to you. If you get an email back saying, “My sessions are booked up very quickly, so hurry up” (not in those exact words), then look elsewhere. A counsellor or life coach should never force you to make a quick decision on whether you want to work with them. Ask them if you can have a conversation with them first via the telephone or video chat. Your intuition will tell you if they are the right fit just by having that space to talk first. And lastly, you have the right to change your mind after having a session. If it does not feel right, then look elsewhere. You are in control!

Visit my website for more info!

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