I am ...
... a dealer in hope.
Born in 1991 in Harare, Zimbabwe, the Kunaka 'tribe' moved to the UK in the early 90's. Growing up in East London and Essex was a multi-cultural experience. From a young age I could have been described as resilient and independent with a positive outlook on life and curious about the world and why people act and do what they do. My parents worked extremely hard to give me and my siblings opportunities to succeed. For me this involved studying a psychology degree leading to 10+ years of experience in helping professions including pastoral school support, youth work, intensive family intervention and key-working, project management, research consultancy and as a career development professional.
Every journey has it's bumps, and in 2015 I moved from London life to the south coast for a 'dream job'. But a few months into the role, I struggled with adjusting to a new environment, a new job, culture and a different way of life. Soon it became clear that I needed help, from a professional. Therapy helped me to understand that I was experiencing anxiety, moderate depression and panic attacks, and that it was normal to feel that way.
Seeing a counsellor over a few months helped me to understand my emotions better and how trauma in my own life impacted my thoughts, feelings, behaviours. I also struck up what I later realised was a coaching relationship with a senior colleague at work. This was the second coach I had worked with actually, but it was the first time I truly connected the dots, I was challenged to cultivate a new way of being in the world for myself. A few sessions, questions and conversations later, my perspective shifted, performance in work improved and I felt great. In that moment I realised that the opportunity to deeply reflect on my circumstances and accept what I could not control changed the narrative of my life.
Fast forward to now, and living through the Covid19 pandemic has taught me that life is short and it's important to connect with people and things that give you energy, love what you do and work on what you want from life in small daily doses.
I am a Life, Career & Executive Coach; a Helping Professional; a hope-full human.
