From £10 to Purpose – Reclaiming Power, Building Global Impact
- Brainz Magazine
- Jun 19
- 6 min read
Updated: Jul 6
Written by Hendrina Sterling Rodriguez, Trauma Alchemist & Voice Catalyst | Founder, Mind Empower Therapy
Hendrina Sterling is an award-winning therapist, speaker, and founder of Mind Empower Therapy. She helps high-achievers and couples transform emotional pain into clarity, resilience, and purpose.
A journey from rock bottom to global impact – rising through adversity, reclaiming identity, and building a purpose-driven life. I arrived in the UK with £10 in my pocket, a heavy heart, and a burning sense of purpose I couldn’t yet name. I had no job, no home, and barely spoke English. I was carrying not only a teeneger and a baby but a decade-long court battle for custody, scars of an abusive relationship, and the echo of voices telling me I wouldn’t make it.
And yet, I had a quiet fire in my bones that said: "You will."
I didn’t know then that this fire would one day become a global healing practice, a Phoenix rising from every shattered piece of my past. But I knew I had to trust myself.
The hustle
In those early days, I slept in a dingy backpacker hostel, ate badly, and walked miles because I couldn’t afford the £1.50 bus fare. Every day, I woke up at 5 a.m., CV in hand, manifesting something more. I kept repeating to myself: My job and my home are here somewhere—I just need to find them. And then, on one of those walks, I saw it.
A decaying house with an almost invisible cardboard sign: "For Rent." I called the number with my broken English. The landlord, a businessman with dozens of properties, had just left for Portugal. But something made him return. He met me, barely understood me, and said: "I don’t know why, but I feel you are the one." That house became my home.
Days later, I walked into a restaurant I couldn’t afford to eat in and left with a job as a waitress. A young man at the door smiled at me and said, "You’re the one." I promised my manager that I would find the right person for the position before I leave!
The universe was listening.
The ascent
That same young man returned months later and asked, "Are you still here? You should move on—to the NHS."
I thought he was mad. I didn’t have healthcare experience or qualification. He said, "Apply for anything. Just get in."
Eventually, I did. I served meals and washed dishes in hospital wards. Then I became a healthcare assistant. I climbed while studying English again, taking counselling courses at the College, and working three NHS jobs. I was a single mum raising two boys, studying Psychology at university and pushing through burnout. I graduated with Honours. I completed a Postgrad in Psychological Therapies.
But I was exhausted. The system that once gave me a ladder became the box I could no longer breathe in. It was time to rise.
The burnout that ignited a new path
In my final NHS role as a Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner, I experienced deep burnout, gaslighting, and discrimination. I was reduced to a number, told I wasn’t enough for more. But the Phoenix inside me said otherwise. While still in this role, I reduced my working hours and started searching for new opportunities, knowing a significant shift was imminent.
I officially resigned from my NHS role in November 2024. From that point, I was no longer employed in the UK, and I relied on my savings as I prepared for my next chapter. In December, I left the UK, actively exploring new job opportunities and potential homes, initially in the Middle East. I returned to England briefly in January 2025 to finalize arrangements for my beloved pets to leave the country. Then, in February, I departed the UK for good to support my mother, who had been diagnosed with cancer and was facing major surgery in Southern Europe.
It was after this final departure from the UK system and my relocation to Southern Europe that I truly launched Mind Empower Therapy. as my primary professional endeavor, and it immediately gained momentum. While I had nurtured it as a vision and a presence-building project even before my departure, it was upon leaving the UK that my newly established private practice, bolstered by my initial engagement on BetterHelp, matched my previous NHS monthly income. The universe was validating my leap.
Even as I was setting up my new life, I vividly remember looking around daily, asking myself: “How can I get out of here? I don’t want to live like this anymore.” This yearning wasn't for a new location; it was for a new way of being, a new freedom.
Every evening, after quitting my NHS job in November 2024, I searched tirelessly for a new home in various countries. I faced rejections from many landlords due to my residency abroad. Yet, I pressed on. Then I found a beautiful house—exactly where I envisioned myself living. I sent a message, but heard no reply for three months. Then, suddenly, a message came back. The agent and I immediately clicked, and she arranged a virtual viewing. At this point, I was preparing to leave the UK permanently in February 2025 to accompany my mother for her surgery, and had plans to rent an Airbnb if I couldn't secure a permanent home before then.
I was thrilled. I told her with full conviction: “Yes, I want it.” But then came the disheartening news: the landlady had chosen another family.
My heart dropped. I was at my edge, trying to hold space for my clients and children while spiraling into depression. That night, I spoke to the Universe:
"I hold space for others. I help people thrive. I give all I have. I believe it is my time. I need to receive it now. I am not asking—I am claiming."
I let go. I booked a flight. I was even prepared to rent a short-term place despite the cost, just to escape the feeling of being trapped in the UK.
And then? One week before I landed, the agent called:
"Hendrina, something happened! The other contract fell through. I was about to re-list the house when the landlady insisted: ‘Don’t post it online. Don’t look for anyone else—call Hendrina. I feel she is the one; I have a strong feeling we will connect well.’”
The house was mine!
Just like that, when I let go of the "how," it came. Quietly. Surely. I flew back to the UK briefly to wrap up logistical affairs; in truth, I’d already left in spirit, and life simply ratified the decision.
The phoenix: A new life, a bigger vision
See here.
Now I live and work across Southern Europe while homeschooling my son. I built an international private practice that sustains me more than any platform ever did.
BetterHelp became a bridge—a training ground, a sanctuary in transition, and a proof of concept. But my private practice became the true fire. Today, my clients come from across the world: coaches, professionals, couples in crisis, high-achievers facing burnout.
They come for the truth. They stay for the transformation.
In 2024/25, I was awarded "Online Therapist of the Year – South West England" by the Prestige Awards. I launched the the Phoenix Series™ to help others rise through storytelling and soul work. I now prepare to step into public speaking and digital healing courses to serve more while staying true to my values.
A message to you
I share this not to impress you, but to remind you:
You are not your struggle. You are not your postcode, your trauma, your accent, or your past. You are your courage. You are your capacity to rise again. You are your fire.
When everything tells you it can’t be done, become the one who does it anyway. The Phoenix path is not linear. It’s forged in ashes, but it leads to flight.
So to anyone stuck in survival:
There is more for you. Your vision is not random. Your healing matters. Your story will set someone else free.
And when you’re ready to rise, I’ll be here—proof that it’s possible.
Read more from Hendrina Sterling Rodriguez
Hendrina Sterling Rodriguez, Trauma Alchemist & Voice Catalyst | Founder, Mind Empower Therapy
Hendrina Sterling is a multi-certified therapist, transformational speaker, and the founder of Mind Empower Therapy. After delivering over 3500+ therapy sessions on BetterHelp and serving 10+ years in the NHS, she now supports clients globally with trauma-informed coaching, relationship repair, and emotional breakthroughs. Named “Online Therapist of the Year 2024/25” by Prestige Awards (UK), she blends psychology, hypnosis, and coaching to help individuals rise from burnout and rebuild from heartbreak. Her signature Phoenix Series™ speaks to the soul of healing.
