A North East woman who spent more than two decades building a career in the motor trade has swapped car sales for counselling after her own experiences of anxiety, loss and caring for family members prompted her to completely rethink her future.
Kellie Moore, founder of Hunt Moore Counselling and Psychotherapy, now works from a dedicated studio at The Beacon on Westgate Road, supporting adults with a particular focus on neurodiversity, including autism, ADHD and dyslexia.
But counselling was never part of Kellie’s original career plan.
She entered the motor trade at 18, starting in administration before moving into sales, where she discovered she had a natural talent for working with people.
“I realised there was money in sales and ended up moving over to that side of things,” says Kellie. “I really enjoyed it, particularly the customer interaction, and I was fortunate enough to work for some large North East companies.”
It was her own personal experiences that eventually led her in a completely different direction.
After suffering several losses and caring for family members, Kellie found herself experiencing anxiety and low mood, something she had never previously experienced.
“I found myself in a place where I’d never been before,” she says. “I couldn’t get the answers that I wanted or needed from doctors, so I set out on a journey to find a way to help myself.”
Kellie began exploring different approaches to wellbeing, including exercise, sunlight, nutrition and the ways in which lifestyle can influence mental wellbeing.
Then came another unexpected turning point when she was made redundant.
Rather than seeing it simply as the end of her career in the motor trade, Kellie saw it as an opportunity.
“It gave me that little extra push to think, actually, I’m going to go and try and make a career out of helping people.”
She considered becoming a police officer and looked at social work, before settling on counselling.
“I felt it best suited my personality and how I work,” she says. “I’d always had feedback from people over the years that I was a good listener.”
Her decision resulted in a six-year training journey at the Northern Guild in Jesmond, combining academic study with practical experience.
Kellie completed 450 hours of voluntary counselling and underwent her own personal therapy as part of the process.
“For me, it covered all the different bases of being a therapist,” she says. “I got the theory, the hands-on knowledge and worked through my own stuff as I went.”
Her stepson is autistic, and Kellie began noticing that some of the traditional approaches she was being taught did not necessarily reflect his experience.
“I was noticing that actually a lot of the things that were taught as counsellors and therapists wouldn’t work for him,” she says.
That prompted Kellie to create a counselling environment where people could feel comfortable being themselves rather than having to adapt to a traditional idea of what therapy should look like.
Her small studio has been designed with sensory needs in mind, with different lighting options, cushions, blankets, sensory fidgets, puzzles and textured materials.
She also uses creative approaches including sand trays, buttons, miniatures, painting and art.
“The world doesn’t always understand the communication or overwhelm that some neurodivergent people experience,” Kellie explains.
“Sometimes people are diagnosed and don’t understand what that means for them. There can be a broad label that people recognise themselves in, but their own personal lived experience can sometimes get lost in that. I work to help people find that.”
Kellie works with both neurodivergent and neurotypical clients and supports couples, particularly where neurodiversity may be having an impact on a relationship.
She additionally offers neurodiversity coaching for people who have received, or are exploring, a diagnosis and want to better understand themselves and how they experience the world.
The coaching can also involve partners, parents and other family members who want to understand neurodiversity and how it can affect relationships.
There was also supposed to be another member of Kellie’s team.
Rossi, her dog, joined the family the year before Kellie qualified, with the intention that he would eventually become a therapy dog.
Unfortunately, Rossi had other plans.
“He doesn’t tolerate not being the centre of attention,” says Kellie. “And his ability to sit still is about four minutes. He’s my only professional failure but we all love him to bits,” said Kellie.
For Kellie, the move from the motor trade into counselling represents far more than a change of career.
Her own experiences helped her understand what it feels like to struggle to find answers, and she has now built a practice around helping other people make sense of their own experiences.
“I’m a human, I work with humans,” she says.
“It is a simple philosophy, but one which lies at the heart of Hunt Moore Counselling and Psychotherapy.”
ENDS
PHOTO
Kellie Moore at her Hunt Moore Counselling and Psychotherapy studio at The Beacon on Westgate Road.
PR and media keitH@highlighlightspr.co.uk 07814 397951