ERIKA  KIM  COUNSELLING

B A C K G R O U N D

 

I am a Korean-American from New York now living in the UK. Born in Argentina, I have a diverse cultural background which led me to a special interest in intercultural issues after moving to the UK, such as expat and repatriate topics and third culture kids who are now adults. In addition, I also have a special interest in the Christian faith and women's topics, specifically motherhood and all that comes with parenthood.

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As a mother myself, I know what it is like to desire to be an amazing parent and feel the guilt when it's not attained. But many of us are the first generation within our families to navigate and process what it means to be a mentally healthy family. This became my area of passion when I noticed many people saying the same thing to me after I had my first baby. 'How are you so calm?' Add in my background and over a decade of working with people and their past...

 

I've heard so many different ways the stress presents itself in parents. It can look like being on different pages with your partner or relatives, constantly changing parenting styles in order to pursue 'the calm', constantly looking up new toy rotations on pinterest in hopes to reduce tantrums, etc. It can also look like overwhelm, constant bickering with family members, rage, and more. And like a job, we literally hit the ground running as soon as the baby arrives and many parents reach burn out. The learning curve is steep. I have had hundreds of conversations with parents about the mental load and emotional regulation before they became buzz words trending all over social media. 

 

Prior to becoming a therapist, I worked in various fields ranging from children and young persons work, charity, overseas projects, administration, events planning, creative media, team management, hospitality, healthcare and education. It equipped me to work with diverse groups of people and topics. I began understanding how pain impacts people differently and how differently it can present itself, whether it be our own or inherited from others. I also learned that sometimes people may not know how to process or talk about certain issues in life and how counselling can be immensely helpful in processing these things. Counselling became a fascinating topic not only in unpacking my own matters, but as a tool to journey with others. 

 

I took the unusual path to get where I am today, however I am thankful as it has sculpted a very unique and diverse experience for me which has aided me positively in my training and how I work with my clients. Prior to my counselling training, I received a BS in Health Science with a concentration in Public Health and worked in the medical field. Upon hearing many patients' background stories surrounding their ailments, it didn't take long to realise that there was much more to this physical pain than they presented with. Soon enough, I found myself more interested in their holistic background story and not just the physical pain. I desired to see how our issues impact us rationally, physically, emotionally, spiritually and volitionally, which led to pursuing professional training in Integrative Counselling.