The Vet's Perspective: You Are Not Alone

There's a moment that changed everything for me. I was sitting in a wellbeing stream at a veterinary CPD conference, and for the first time I looked around the room and realised: I wasn't the only one struggling. The demands of veterinary practice, the creeping self-doubt, the feelings of imposterism, others were carrying them too. That moment of recognition was quietly profound, and it set me on the path I'm on today.

My name is Cate. I am a practising veterinary surgeon, a registered BACP member, and a counsellor. After that conference, I became a Vetlife volunteer, and my passion for supporting the veterinary community has only grown since. Whatever challenges you're facing, I want to help.

How I work

I am an integrative counsellor, which means I draw on a range of therapeutic models to find what works best for each individual I sit with. At the heart of my practice, though, is person-centred therapy.

Person-centred therapy is built on a simple but powerful belief: that every person has an inherent capacity for growth, healing, and reaching their full potential. My role is to create the conditions that allow that to happen through:

• Sincerity and authenticity: I show up as a real person, not a detached professional
• Non-judgemental warmth: you are valued and accepted, exactly as you are
• Empathic understanding: your lived experience is heard and truly felt

That last point matters enormously in veterinary contexts. The nuanced stressors of veterinary practice - the emotional weight of clinical decisions, the culture of stoicism, the relentlessness of the work - are not things I need to have explained to me. I've lived them. That shared understanding deepens the therapeutic space in ways that are hard to quantify but very real.

Carl Rogers, the founder of person-centred therapy, believed that change becomes possible when we fully accept who we are. He put it this way:

"When the other person is hurting, confused, troubled, anxious, alienated, terrified... then understanding is called for. The gentle and sensitive companionship offered by an empathic person... provides illumination and healing. In such situations deep understanding is, I believe, the most precious gift one can give to another."

— A Way of Being, Houghton Mifflin, 1980

Working with trauma and the body

I have completed a Level 6 Advanced Diploma in Trauma, which has deepened my understanding of how traumatic experiences can live in the body; showing up as autonomic dysregulation, somatic sensations, or even chronic physical symptoms. My sessions often incorporate a focus on the mind-body connection, using breathing practices and grounding techniques to help release physical tension and emotion. If you've ever felt that something is "stuck", that talking alone doesn't quite reach it, this way of working may resonate with you.

About me

I work with adults and young people (16+) online. You can find me in the Vetamorphosis Therapist Directory a not-for-profit service connecting veterinary professionals with therapists who have genuine insight into veterinary life.

You are not the only one in the room struggling. And you don't have to keep doing it alone.