Julie Worthington

I can’t express how much I have enjoyed doing my courses – Basic, Intermediate and Diploma at the Centre.

I am a different person – I have confidence, high self-esteem, self-respect, a worthiness I had not felt before, I am true to my feelings – I am unique and I have discovered I like me. I have my own thoughts and dreams and my own way of doing, seeing and feeling things

I have discovered a lot about myself during the course and through my own personal therapy, and can now understand how age old beliefs and the self image I had of myself used to hold me back – I am more congruent with who I am and who I want to be. I feel like now I am beginning to be the person I always knew I was, not the person others thought I should be.

I no longer allow people to sabotage me or my self-esteem, and I have discovered that people who tend to do this seem to have a need to be in ‘control’ and their sentences almost always begin with ‘Why don’t you…?’ Or ‘Why have / haven’t you…? Whilst I will listen to people and their opinions, only I know what I want and what is best for me.

I have discovered the importance of developing clear boundaries in order to look after myself, and having coped with a major crisis, I now know that there is nothing I won’t be able to deal with and, although I may feel hurt, sad or angry at the time, I know my self-esteem will remain intact and I will come through the other end. I have learned to manage stressful situations were, in the past, I would have jumped in and tried to solve everything at once. Now I tend to take a step back and think about what can be done ‘now’ to solve the issue. I also recognise that there are times when I am unable to do anything, in these situations, I trust myself to be able to cope with the outcome, and I believe that certain things are ‘just meant to be’ or not. I believe the secret is to not be afraid of our fears but to embrace them and to allow ourselves to feel the fear and find a way of handling it, once we can do this it is no longer a fear. By doing this we become stronger and gain in both courage and confidence and, in turn, begin to live happier lives.

I have discovered to relax a bit more – I tend to be a Perfectionist! I have learned to relax and to accept that when I have completed something it is good enough at that moment – I don’t have to spend another hour or so trying to make it ‘perfect’ – as long as I am happy with it, that’s all that matters.

I have discovered that I am an intelligent, caring, generous, genuine person, and I am going to make a proficient counsellor. I truly believe I have only touched the surface of my potential.

Song: A PIECE OF SKY
From the film Yentl, starring Barbra Streisand
The film is about a girl who disguises herself as a boy so she can study the Torah. This song is about her looking out of the window and being able only to see a small piece of sky, but when she went outside, she found how big it was.
Tell me where
Where is it written
What is it I meant to be?
That I can't dare...
It all began the day I found..
That from my window I could only see
A piece of sky.
I stepped outside and looked around.
I never dreamed it was so wide
Or even half as high.
The time had come
(Papa, can you hear me?)
To try my wings
(Papa, are you near me?)
And even thought it seemed at any moment I could fall,
I felt the most,
(Papa, can you see me?)
Amazing things,
(Can you understand me?)
The things you can't imagine
if you've never flown at all.
Though it's safer to stay on the ground,
Sometimes where danger lies
There the sweetest of pleasures are found.
No matter where I go,
There'll be memories that tug at my sleeve,
But there will also be
More to question, yet more to believe..
Oh tell me where?
Where is the someone who will turn and look at me?
And want to share
My ev'ry sweet-imagined possibility?
The more I live - the more I learn.
The more I learn - the more I realize
The less I know.
Each step I take -
(Papa, I've a voice now!)Each page I turn -
(Papa, I've a choice now!)Each mile I travel only means
The more I have to go.
What's wrong with wanting more?
If you can fly - then soar!
With all there is - why settle for
just a piece of sky?
Papa, I can hear you...
Papa, I can see you...
Papa, I can feel you...
Papa, watch me fly