Welcome to Max

Hi, I?m Max and firstly can I just say, thank you for welcoming me to Valleys Steps. It is a pleasure to be working with such a wonderful charity and team.

So, a bit about me. I have been working within the mental health sector for roughly 14 years. I began my journey by educating young people on how to manage their behaviour and improve their learning skills at various people referral units around Rhondda Cynon Taff. Some of the areas we covered were general education and recreational activities. One of my main roles was to engage the young people in Duke of Edinburgh Award activities. Helping these young people to manage their behaviour and providing them with new skills inspired me to enrol into University and gain my degree in Psychology.

Whilst studying at university I began working with a mental health agency all around the country at various psychiatric hospitals. This enabled me to apply theory to practice and gain much experience working with a wide variety of mental health conditions, such as: anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, personality disorder, anorexia and more. I also worked at various general hospitals and gained experiences with a variety of general health conditions such as head trauma, repertory conditions and neurological conditions. In addition, I had the opportunity to work in local communities helping individuals with disabilities and providing them with new skills to live a more fulfilling and rewarding life.

Which brings me to Valleys Steps. When I first heard of Valleys Steps, I immediately rang the Charity to speak with the lead practitioner Paul. I thought to myself, ?this is where I am meant to be? providing psychoeducation to as many people as I can. I began volunteering for Valleys Steps and helped at workshops. I love how the charity provides self help and personal development skills, and it’s FREE, which is amazing. When I saw that they were looking for course practitioners, I immediately gathered all my materials and applied. A few months later I was accepted into the wonderful charity and started delivering workshops in the community. Amazing.

I have a passion for personal development and self-help. I am constantly reading and listening to podcasts to find ways to tackle everyday issues. Whether these issues be finances, studying, physical or mental illness, stress related, life issues, relationship issues and more. For me, personal development and self-help is a must for everyone. If we can all learn new skills to manage and reduce our stress, while at the same time focusing on personal development, I believe the world would become a better place. Because if we can eliminate our stress and become better individuals, we can pass these skills on to everyone else and bring joy to everyone.

I look forward to welcoming you to our courses soon!