Where to start?

You Have to Start Somewhere…

I crossed the threshold of 53 Bridgford Road, West Bridgford, with the sun on my back on an unusually bright spring evening last month. Having recently qualified as a counsellor and psychotherapist, I was scoping out the place as a potential venue for my new counselling practice. I’d been invited to visit by one of the founders of Acupuncture and Counselling Services West Bridgford.

Finding the right place to work with clients was a daunting prospect. There’s a surprising number of businesses renting out therapy rooms in and around the area. So how do you choose?

As with any important decision—including choosing the right therapist, for that matter—it's true that direct experience, followed by trusting how you feel, often yields the best results. (Not being averse to dropping in the occasional nugget of person-centred theory, I’ll mention that person-centred therapy places the client’s personal experience as the highest authority—rather than the therapist’s expertise, for example.)

Intuitively, we often know very quickly if a person or place feels right for us. Counselling can help us learn to trust these inner feelings, rather than rely solely on the judgments of others. I figured I might as well practice what I preach. And at 53 Bridgford Road, I knew almost instantly.

First, there's the location—right in central West Bridgford. Then, easy parking nearby for clients. Things were falling into place.

Over the past few months, my head had been swimming—trying to keep track of all the jigsaw pieces that needed to come together so I could finally start doing what I love: providing person-centred counselling to people seeking positive change. Finding the right venue was just one small but important piece of the puzzle.

First impressions matter. The rooms caught the evening light beautifully, and the space was serene and minimalist. The seating was comfortable. I could  see myself working there.

After chatting with Debbie Knight, who leases the space, about the logistics—renting rooms, calendars, pricing—I left feeling like I had truly landed on my feet. I couldn’t hope to find a better place to begin my counselling career. Of all the rooms I’d seen, my experience told me: this was the one.