Counsellor steers career in new direction

A North East counsellor has drawn on her own experiences of anxiety, loss and caring for family members to build a new career helping others better understand themselves and their relationships.

Kellie Moore, founder of Hunt Moore Counselling and Psychotherapy, has established a dedicated studio at The Beacon on Newcastle’s Westgate Road after spending more than two decades in the motor trade.

Kellie entered the industry at 18, initially working in administration before moving into sales and building a career around her ability to connect with people.

However, several bereavements and caring responsibilities later led to anxiety and low mood, prompting her to explore wellbeing and the relationship between physical and mental health.

Redundancy subsequently provided an opportunity to reconsider her career, with Kellie exploring policing and social work before choosing counselling.

Kellie said: “I found myself in a place where I’d never been before. 

“I couldn’t get the answers that I wanted or needed from doctors, so I set out on a journey to find a way to help myself.

“It gave me that little extra push to think, actually, I’m going to go and try and make a career out of helping people.”

That decision began a six-year training journey at Northern Guild in Jesmond, incorporating academic study, 450 hours of voluntary counselling and personal therapy.

Her experiences during training, alongside having an autistic stepson, helped shape a particular interest in neurodiversity.

Kellie began questioning whether some traditional approaches to counselling were suitable for people whose experience of the world can differ because of autism, ADHD, dyslexia or other forms of neurodivergence.

She added: “I was noticing that actually a lot of the things that were taught as counsellors and therapists wouldn’t work for him.

“The world doesn’t always understand the communication or overwhelm that some neurodivergent people experience.

“Sometimes people are diagnosed and don’t understand what that means for them. 

“There can be a broad label that people recognise themselves in, but their own personal lived experience can sometimes get lost in that.

“I work to help people find that.”

She has subsequently designed her practice to give clients greater freedom to experience therapy in ways that work for them.

The studio includes adjustable lighting, cushions, blankets, sensory fidgets, puzzles and textured materials, while Kellie can incorporate creative techniques ranging from painting and art to sand trays, buttons and miniatures.

Alongside supporting both neurodivergent and neurotypical adults, she works with couples where neurodiversity may be affecting their relationship.

Kellie also provides neurodiversity coaching for people who have received, or are exploring, a diagnosis and want to develop a better understanding of themselves.

Partners, parents and other family members can be involved to help them understand how neurodiversity can influence relationships and everyday life.

Kellie had originally planned for her dog Rossi to become part of the practice as a therapy dog after welcoming him to the family a year before qualifying.

However, Rossi ultimately proved less enthusiastic about his intended career.

Kellie added: “He doesn’t tolerate not being the centre of attention. 

“And his ability to sit still is about four minutes. 

“He’s my only professional failure but we all love him to bits.”

For Kellie, the move from selling cars to counselling has allowed her to draw on both her professional and personal experiences to create a practice focused on helping others find answers and better understand the way they experience the world.

She added: “I’m a human, I work with humans.

“It is a simple philosophy, but one which lies at the heart of Hunt Moore Counselling and Psychotherapy.”

Want your business, product or service to be seen regionally and nationally? Bdaily helps you get your story in front of the right audience, every day. Find out how Bdaily can help →

Join more than 55,000 subscribers by signing up to our daily bulletin each morning here.