Meet Désirée

Désirée’s life journey, like most others, has had many twists and turns, highways, by-ways, detours, delays, and dead ends. For Des at times, the pathway seemed clear and direct, at other times it seemed confusing, endless, or impossible.

Des reflects that it is fellow travellers, from all walks of life, who have often guided, directed, and even walked alongside her for a while. It is her hope to be such a fellow traveler to others along the difficult parts of their journey.

It was only later in life that Des discovered her purpose and calling for psychology. Prior to this she had first studied procurement and logistics upon leaving school and obtained a national diploma. That career plan did not go far. Taking her degenerative eye condition into account Des considered and applied for physiotherapy. She made it to final selection but was not accepted.

Just when she thought she had run into another dead end, the road took an unexpected turn and Des landed up on a parallel path. This path led her into a world unknown to her and she studied, trained, qualified, and developed a career in alternative therapy, including reflexology, aromatherapy, and shiatsu. While working in this field, the horizon began to open up and Des developed an interest, curiosity, and fascination for the power of the mind, the influence of perception, and the importance of alternative perspectives. 

Des then eventually made a conscious decision to change direction, take a different pathway and pursue a different career. Knowing that it had been a while since she had studied, and her eyesight had diminished, she realised that much of the journey would be up hill, and adjusting, adapting, and navigating new terrains would also be part of this exciting journey.

Obtaining her Master’s degree in counselling psychology was not the destination, it was the start of another travel experience that now gives Des the opportunity to have the privilege of walking alongside others, for a while, in their journey of life.

In addition to counselling students and budding professionals at university, Des has chosen to provide online counselling on Saturdays to ease the load of those who have no gap in the weekly dash.

Her special interests in counselling are with individual adults (18+) who are dealing with trauma, seeking support and recovery from an abusive relationship, grief and bereavement counselling, dealing with anxiety, and adjusting to a disability (whether new or long-term).