Sue is a complementary therapist at Freshwinds and has also become a Community Health Champion volunteer to broaden her knowledge of health issues such as smoking and weight loss. She has enjoyed using this expertise to help a range of people understand how to improve their general health and wellbeing.

“I joined Freshwinds as a voluntary complementary therapist nearly a year ago, then heard about the Community Health Champions programme through attendance at a therapists meeting. I primarily joined to gain a recognised qualification to support the work I already undertake in the community at various health centres where I provide counselling and holistic therapy. However, I have gained far more by broadening my own knowledge regarding health aspects which I have been able to integrate and offer to others.

Through attendance at supervision meetings where guest speakers share their own experiences and specific information relating to a variety of health topics, I have been able to interact and recognise how I can deliver or signpost accordingly to new or integrated areas of health provision that I had not been aware of before.

As a holistic therapist in private practice I have incorporated aspects of achieving the Community Health Champion award by evidencing areas of support that I would already have offered as part of my role. In addition I have provided support and information in a variety of other ways at holistic events in the community, a chat with a fellow bus commuter, a person in my local library to name a few. The majority of health issues have been in relation to alcohol, drug or nicotine addiction and associated weight management and mental health problems.

I have currently completed six months with the programme to date and I am about to receive my achievement award. At times it has been challenging to complete the necessary paperwork to achieve this but I have learnt to be more flexible with my time, more aware of my abilities and give myself recognition of the wealth of experience and knowledge I already possessed but gratitude to the additional knowledge I have gained as a consequence.”