I am an Italian therapist, naturalised British.  My journey began after my master degree in 2015, when I decided to move to London to become a psychotherapist and where I lived for 8 years.  I initially started working as support worker in a supported accommodation for adults with complex needs, which included those who had mental health issues and those that were under a rehabilitation from substance misuse. Some adults I supported also had experienced some brain injuries.  For several years I worked as Psychologist in a female psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) ward first which then subsequently led me to gain experience from a male PICU later. This experience proved to be invaluable and shaped my professional and personal growth within my field, giving me expertise that I would have not found elsewhere. For example, the importance of a holistic approach to the individual allows me to see past their diagnosis but allows me to see the individual as a whole. From my proven experience of this approach, I find that patients remember gestures of kindness and compassion rather than feeling stigmatised as a result of their condition /  diagnosis. From my continuing development within my practice, I have learnt to be creative and adapt to build a strong I learnt therapeutic alliance and I have learnt the importance of using non-verbal communication in my interactions with my patients.