Lorna

Lorna joined Cruse Scotland in 2024 as a Practice Placement Student whilst training to become a qualified counsellor. Lorna reflects on her own experience with loss: 'I received no help or support when I tragically lost my mother at the age of 16. I was told by family members not to mention her in case I upset my Dad and just learn to move on. That was 45 years ago, and things have changed so much now. I had no idea how to grow or become a mother myself. I had some counselling a while after this and realised how much it helped me understand my grief. It led me to train as a therapist and help others to manage and cope better.'

Lorna's well rounded experience as a practitioner has helped her appreciate volunteering for Cruse Scotland: 'Even though I’ve been mostly in private practice over the years as a CBT Therapist, I’ve always wanted to work for a national charity like Cruse Scotland. As a student studying late in life as a person-centred counsellor I was delighted when they accepted me on placement.'

The whole experience has been very positive for me and hope to stay on with them as a fully trained counsellor. The support, attention to detail, management and ongoing training is very positive and essential to a trainee counsellor. Having worked for other agencies I can vouch for this positive experience and feel I’m part of something that is of such benefit to others. Many of the counsellors have been with Cruse Scotland for years and have encouraged me to take my studies further and go for my masters in children and young people. We regularly get together for meetings on zoom and have monthly supervision with is invaluable.

Through her own experience with grief, Lorna recognises the value of Cruse Scotland's work: 'Being part of something that brings support and care to others is also helping me cope with my own personal grief as I have lost many people over the years. Being a grief counsellor helps me to understand the loss, bewilderment, fear, devastation, learn more about myself and my feelings and help others to navigate their intense feelings of loss.'

Grief isn’t an illness, but it can feel like one. Normalising physical and emotional distress can be a light in the dark and offer us all some hope for the future."