Katrina Vlcek’s friend was sitting across from her, pouring her heart out in a busy Sydney coffee shop.
Katrina says she didn’t know what to do. “I didn’t know how to help her.”
She wanted to give advice, offer guidance to her friend who was clearly suffering. But she didn’t feel qualified.
Katrina made a decision in that moment – she didn’t want to feel that way again. She was going to study counselling.
This wasn’t the first time someone had come to Katrina for advice or comfort – friends often sought her out for advice or a chat when issues were weighing on their mind.
She was warm, comforting by nature – a good sounding board.
But when it came to uni study, Katrina says she had major self-doubts. “I told myself I was too stupid to do this,” Katrina says, reflecting on her journey years later, from the warmth of her clinic.
Insecurity can be difficult to shake – particularly when its roots run deep. Despite scoring top marks from the outset, Katrina says she had trouble shaking her imposter syndrome.
“I'll be completely honest,” Katrina says. “Every semester, I was never sure if I was going to pass. But whenever my results came back, they were distinctions or high distinctions.
“When I finished uni, I received a commendation for academic excellence – I couldn’t believe it, I was sure they had made a mistake.”
Katrina says it was some words from a lecturer that changed her outlook.
“She said it’s about being you – you’ve got to get back to who you are and why you want to be a counsellor.
“That really resonated with me – yes, I had to learn all the skill and the techniques, but when in the counselling room sitting across from clients, I need to be me, my authentic self.”
Counselling program coordinator Dr Katrina Andrews says counsellors come from a variety of backgrounds, who each bring their own unique skillset to the profession.
“A big part of counselling is understanding people,” Dr Andrews says. “You can’t understand people properly if you don’t first understand yourself – that’s why we encourage all our students to express themselves authentically.
“That will come across to clients.”
If that moment changed her outlook, Katrina says work placement at UniSC’s student-led Counselling clinic only reinforced it.
“Michelle Crosby is one of the supervisors in the clinic – she is just phenomenal,” Katrina says.
“She just extends you in areas that you didn't know you could go into as a counsellor.
“Her experience and her guidance were a huge benefit to my own learning – it was incredible.”
Katrina has opened her own counselling clinic called Empowering You in Cooroibah on the Sunshine Coast now, describing herself as an eclectic counsellor – pulling in different tools from each theory to suit each client’s personal needs.
“It's amazing when you get that positive feedback from clients,” Katrina says. “My clients work very hard in therapy, and it is an absolute honour to be able to walk beside them on their journey.
“I feel very blessed and privileged to be a part of that.”
Media enquiries: Please contact the Media Team [email protected]