I have been a counsellor and trustee with Vital talk for almost 5 years, since I moved to Orkney. It is certainly the most rewarding job I have ever had. After spending several years battling cancer and depression, during which seeing a Counsellor was a great help, I decided to make a career move out of the classroom and retrain as a counsellor myself.

Most of us will at some point in our lives face some difficulty or other that we can’t work through alone, when we need someone to talk to who is separate from our usual circle of friends, family or support.

Vital Talk is a small Orkney based charity which is now well established as a local provider of general counselling. Providing equal access to anyone aged 16 years and over is important to us, regardless of ethnicity, gender or religion. As a member organisation of COSCA, Counsellors abide by COSCA’s Code of Ethics and Practice, and support COSCA’s vision for a ‘caring, listening society that values people’s wellbeing’. A unique aspect of the service is that Christian Counselling is also available for anyone who wishes it, having the support of several local church organisations.

The service is free of charge but contributions towards running costs are always welcome. We do a little fundraising each year, and aim to be able to financially support counsellors in further specialist training such as couples counselling, working with children and various therapeutic techniques.

So this year I have decided to fundraise by walking the whole 55 miles of the St Magnus Way. This includes the parts I have never done before. With my friend, Julia, who is fundraising for HIV Programme of the Church of Scotland, we have scheduled the walk through out the summer on our "days off". So far it has been strenuous but good fun.

Check out Julia's page too: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/julia-meason.

Many thanks!