Bio
I grew up in South Africa. Although I love to travel and have become attached to the many beautiful places I’ve lived and visited — my heart belongs to Africa. Its beauty, history, people, hardship, resilience and underlying Ubuntu philosophy “I am because of who we all are” and “the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all” that is deeply embedded in the African continent.
Its funny how we ‘stumble’ into our purpose, only to find that we were actually being guided and directed each step on our way. Our experiences are often challenging and we negotiate many paths as we find our way on our journey to the self. Often it is a challenge or ‘earthquake’ that begins this incredible journey. People taking back their power and traversing the path to self-authority. Through my unique experiences and completing my psychology counselling degree, I followed my passion and have been supporting, guiding clients through my Wellness Counselling therapy practice.
I wrote my book; 'A Human Story, living beyond the box' in 2017. This book introduces the ‘life-box’ and its intention is to start a conversation about how we understand the world. The life-box is the life we unconsciously construct through our social conditioning and experiences of the world. We expand our life-box when we are able to see that our experiences are stories in our life book and they do not define us. This awareness allows us to take our learnings and move forward to create our best life — beyond the box.
Like you, I have my own unique experiences in the world. I have and continue to confront the challenges and celebrate the joy. Before setting up Wellness Counselling in 2013, I worked in tourism. Working in both corporate and small to medium size businesses, interacting with people in various roles within these companies exposed me to the need for counselling support in the workplace. Wellness Counselling allows us the opportunity to be productive in our lives, both in our work and private capacity. There is a positive correlation between increased workplace productivity and counselling, through shifting ‘blocked’ potential and well-being. Workplace managers and staff who have supported this process have seen transformation in their colleagues and employees. Together with my passion for supporting people on their unique path in private counselling practice, and working with some innovative companies who empower themselves and their employees, has realised the extent and need for emotional support that touches all aspects of our lives.
Many people are living in isolated spaces, whether mentally, physically, emotionally or spiritually. Especially in these changing times, with the future unknown. As we head onto a new timeline, we should take care to continuously check in with our holistic well-being (physical, mental, emotional and spiritual). As an aside, spiritual well-being is mindful of the sensitivity and respect everyone’s belief deserves and of acknowledging the inter-connectedness of people.The spirit of Ubuntu.
Carol Dumsday
Wellness Counselling