Iris Osk Gudsteinsdottir

A Bit About Me

Prior to embarking on a journey to change my career and become a counsellor, I worked as an Interior Architect and Lighting Designer in Italy and in the UK. After some time in my previous career I felt that there was something missing, and to fill that void I volunteered alongside work, as a mentor for teenagers in a secondary school in Surrey. It was the experience of mentoring that propelled me into the field of counselling and psychotherapy and also having experienced first hand how helpful counselling can be.

I am originally from Reykjavik, Iceland, and before settling in the UK in 2012, I lived in many different countries like Norway, Italy and Switzerland. The experience of living in and adapting to new countries, cultures, people and languages has influenced me and shown me that despite how we may appear different to each other we are fundamentally similar; humans with aspirations, needs and complex stories, all deserving of respect, empathy and understanding.

In addition, I often experienced being the 'odd one out' or 'different' because of being a foreigner and a minority in a group. It is important to me, and I want to emphasise, that I offer an inclusive service where I welcome people from all backgrounds and identities, whether these are cultural, religious, race, gender or sexuality related.