My Story

Carla Boulton CounsellorHow did I Get Here?

As a teenager in the mid 1980s I left rural Shropshire on the National Express bus, drawn toward the bright lights of London I was sure about several things…school had not been a great environment for me – I met some lovely people but somehow it wasn’t my thing – too busy; too noisy; too regulated – I wanted to be an artist and I loved to hear deep stories about people’s lives. So I painted and let people talk to me in the pub!

I showed my paintings and drawings at a gallery in London, then went on to work in the fabric trade, drawing pictures to print and embroider onto fabrics. I’ve had various jobs including arts project organiser for the BBC, jazz band manager and book designer in publishing companies. For nearly 40yrs  mostly as a freelancer – I have made my living designing, painting, drawing, photographing. I’ve also helped people to set-up new businesses, to slay their problems and face their challenges.

Amongst all the work stuff I moved back to Shropshire in 1999. I have four adult children, I’m a nanny, a mother-in-not-law, a wife, a traveller and have accumulated various animals along the way. I love to learn and have been back to ‘school’ several times to study European languages, Business, Fine Art, Coaching and Counselling.

It came to me later in life that many of my previous struggles in organised education or nine-to-five jobs were about Neurodivergence, in this middle bit of my life I’ve discovered this is ADHD. I don’t like that last ‘D’ because in a medicalised world it stands for ‘Disorder’ – I’m not disordered I’m ‘Differently ordered’. I’ve evolved many strategies for working efficiently over the years and I’m pretty sure this is why I’m happy to be with people who are evolving (in whatever way) in their lives too.

The things that link all my various areas of interest have been communication, interpretation and listening skills so I learned how to do this in a professional context. As a qualified Person Centred Counsellor and a Coach, I hope that my real-life experience will inspire you to have a conversation with me about life or design or a new ‘design’ for your life. Let’s talk!

email me [email protected] or telephone or text me on  07724 157617