Help Nathalie fund her Master’s in Counselling

Hi, my name is Nathalie and I want to support people in transforming their relationships with themselves and others to live happier and healthier lives. I believe it is my purpose to hold space for people and support them on their path of understanding their own psyche and resolving unhealthy patterns and stored trauma.

I contribute to my community with work as an Education Assistant and as a Yoga and Meditation teacher. Through working as an Education Assistant I recognize my limitations and I want to educate myself further to be able to offer deeper mental health support for youth and adults. Working in the community also made me aware that there are limited resources and long waitlists for counselling support.

This had led me to my dream of wanting to become a registered Counsellor. I am hoping to find support funding my Masters of Counselling and Psychology Program with Yorkville University which I am accepted to start in January 2022. The tuition is $37.300 and I am hoping to be able to pay for half of it myself with the support from my family.

Unfortunately, I am not eligible to apply for a student loan through the British Columbian government because I chose an online program so I can continue working while studying. After applying for student lines of credits with multiple banks, I came to realize that my chances of getting funding through a bank are very low also. My family won't qualify as co-signers, because they live in Germany.

I have a hard time asking for help, but my friends encouraged me to do so because they believe I should do this program to become a counsellor, so here I am. I do understand though that life is busy and that money isn’t always accessible. If you are in a position to help, any amount at all is very much appreciated.

If I can find a way to fund my master’s program I would love to give back and offer pro-bono counselling sessions and sessions on a sliding scale and work for the community mental health programs after graduating. In the meantime I have started a meditation podcast which is available for anyone seeking some mental wellness tools which I am planning to expand. (http://www.beconscious.de/en/meditation-podcast)

To be able to get to know me better and to understand why I chose the path of becoming a counsellor, I am sharing my letter of intent from my masters’s application with you. Thanks so much for your time and support. Please reach out if you have any questions.

Much Love, Nathalie

Letter of Intent:

‘I would love to support people of all ages in understanding themselves and their environment better to increase their quality of life and build healthy relationships with themselves and others. Therefore I want to do the Masters in Counselling Psychology Program.

I have been interested in psychology since I did my Undergraduate in Business Administration. It was fascinating and simultaneously shocking to me how the business world uses psychology to achieve higher profits. I went to the University of Dual Education and I was employed by Mercedes. I worked mostly in their truck plant during my practical semesters. During our first week, we were introduced to team-building methods. I was intrigued to learn more about human behaviours, personality types, and group dynamics. In six practical semesters, I worked in different departments in the big plant. I had to adjust to new work environments and new teams every time. I loved getting to know my supervisors and colleagues, to figure out their personalities and what the best way to approach them and cooperate with them was. After graduation, I was hired as assistant of the head of the department in supply management. I worked closely with the head of the department who was in charge of 7 teams, each with a team leader and hundreds of staff. It was a delicate job to be his voice. I learned how important it is to understand each personality and act accordingly to be successful in my job and to build good relationships. I got to know a lot of colleagues well and witnessed anxiety, pressure, and depression.

I hit a turning point in my career when my Grandmother was diagnosed with cancer and we nursed her at home. I realized that I am lacking fulfilment and that I would like to work not only with people but would like to support people to live a better life. I started a Naturopathy course in Germany and was drawn to any discipline which focused on psychological root causes for imbalances. I specialized in Traditional Homeopathics, which focuses on understanding individuals with their unique psychological and physical nature. I learned about different personalities, the unique way humans express themselves, and how important it is to hold space for their full expression to get to the cause of imbalances. I also got a great understanding of the human body and its anatomy and physiology. In a counselling course, I was introduced to different counselling techniques like Roger's human approach, Freud's psychoanalysis, behavioural therapy, art therapy, hypnotherapy, and systemic therapy. I have also completed many Yoga Instructor courses in which I learned techniques to calm the mind and promote wellbeing.

After finishing my Naturopathy degree I started working at the office of a social centre that managed retirement homes, youth centres, and a hospice. I enjoyed working for a business that focuses on human wellbeing from a young age till death.

Slowly I started working as a naturopath part-time. Clients have been seeking support for physical and emotional issues. Often we learn together that the issues are rooted in mental health matters, even if they appear of physical nature at first. No matter what symptoms my clients present to me, I always hold space for them to understand if there is an underlying psychological cause.

I moved to Canada in 2017 and have been working as a yoga and meditation instructor and a health practitioner part-time and I have been holding space for many people. Even in my retail job, customers would open up to me and we would end up having deep conversations in which both sides learned about life and human psychology.

In November 2020 I started working as an Education Assistant. I worked on call for a couple of months before I took on a full-time position at an Elementary School in town. From January till June I supported a grade six student with anxiety in getting ready for middle school. We worked only one-on-one, as his anxiety is heavily triggered by social settings and he wasn't able to participate in the classroom routine. It was an inspiring journey getting to know him and understanding his anxiety to create a learning setting in which he could achieve his academic goals and in which he could socialize in the right doses. I also supported a kindergarten student with a complex developmental-behavioural condition. It was interesting to observe the difference between the students. The kindergarten student responded well to mindfulness techniques and structure, whereas the grade 6 student needed more autonomy. I worked in different classrooms as general support as well. The children taught me how necessary it is to create unique settings for individuals, so they can grow and work towards reaching their potential. Working as an Education Assistant inspired me to do my Master's in Counselling. I have been accepted as an Education Assistant at the Highschool in town starting in September. I am excited to continue supporting students while also forwarding my education in the master's program.

My whole adult life I have been intrigued by psychology and the immense impact of mental health on our wellbeing. Not only have I gained much experience in supporting people professionally, but also personally. I have witnessed my family members doing better when they have searched for professional help and I have supported them through many crises myself.

Completing the Masters of Counselling Psychology program is a huge step to my goal of becoming a counsellor. I am envisioning myself building a career as a private counsellor working with both adult and youth populations and supporting my clients to gain an understanding of themselves and be more content in their lives. ‘