Aideen McCarthy Cudmore on her journey into Counselling after PCI College

Prior to the PCI College opening in Kilkenny, I was involved in participating and completing the online original version of the certificate course as were some of my siblings. We would discuss what it was like for us and Dad (Co-Founder Liam McCarthy) would use the feedback in his designing of modules. In those days we sat in on the interviews for applicants for the various courses and had set questions to ask! That was back in the early 1990s when the diploma/degree BSc course in Counselling and Psychotherapy was in its infancy.

PCI College was born in 1991, the Year I moved with my husband John to Kilkenny. Within a very short space of time after that there was a PCI degree/diploma course set up in KK….some might say a subtle hint! However family life and children were my priority at that time and so it took some years before I was ready to give the course the time and energy it needed, although on mature reflection I always knew it was my path to take. Unfortunately, my Dad had passed away when the time was right for me to take part in a counselling and psychotherapy degree course. In his own words, and as a father, I can hear his response “well you’re there now”.

My journey and experience studying at PCI College have been truly a gift in how to live my best life as Socrates is acknowledged as saying “The unexamined life is not worth living”.

I now practice as a Counsellor/Psychotherapist and can honestly say it’s my true north. Since qualifying with my Diploma in 2016, and my First class honours degree in 2017, I have worked in private practice. In 2019, I joined the National Counselling Service/Counselling in Primary Care as an agency counsellor and work full time with that service now. This service offers counselling on many pathways, CAPA- Adult survivors of past abuse where we offer longer-term counselling, SHIP- Self-harm Intervention Programme- medium-term counselling and CICP- Counselling in Primary Care, and short term solution focussed counselling service. I almost started lecturing with PCI College; however, the certificate course I was offered did not proceed at that time. PCI College will always mean something to me on a personal and professional level but particularly as a daughter of Liam McCarthy, it was his life’s dream and I am very proud of him.

Aideen McCarthy Cudmore, March 2021.