From “Counsellor by Proxy” to Community Changemaker: Charlotte Summersides’ Journey
Some people find their calling late. Others, like Charlotte Summersides, were living it long before they had the words for it.
Charlotte is now a registered counsellor working in a clinical role at headspace, running her own private practice in regional Queensland and continuing her studies to deepen her impact. She just needed the right moment and the right pathway to turn what she’s always had into something she could build a career on.
A natural listener, long before formal study
Originally from New Zealand and now based in regional Queensland, Charlotte spent her early adult years travelling and working throughout Australia in hospitality, mining, remote communities and everything in between. And wherever she ended up, people gravitated toward her, not for the small talk, but for the deeper and more meaningful conversations they weren’t having anywhere else.
“People always just told me things, even their deepest darkest secrets, without me even asking. It felt like a privilege,” Charlotte recalls.
Friends, colleagues, strangers and even people she’d only just met would share things they hadn’t told anyone else. She was often told she’d make a great counsellor, but like a lot of people who are naturally drawn to this kind of work, she held herself back.
“It brought up a lot of impostor syndrome when people said that,” Charlotte admits. “I was working through my own mental health challenges, so part of me thought it wouldn’t be right to step into that type of work.”
The doubt was real, but so was the pull toward the work. The seed had been planted. It sat there quietly, waiting for her to say yes.
The moment that changed everything
Charlotte found AIPC at a turning point in her career. Working in hospitality, mining and cleaning environments had taught her a lot about people, but she was ready to channel her natural empathy and compassion into something more purposeful. The Diploma of Counselling offered a pathway to transform her personal strengths into professional skills.
She’d heard about the Diploma of Counselling through word of mouth and was drawn to the flexibility of online study, which suited her lifestyle in regional Queensland.
“I kept coming back to the same question: do I start now, or look back later wishing I had?” Charlotte reflects.
The decision wasn’t without hesitation. Returning to formal study as an adult, especially while managing her own wellbeing, felt daunting. But once she started, something changed.
“I actually found the content really healing for me personally, because it resonated with my own lived experience of mental health challenges.” Charlotte remembers.
That combination of personal experience and professional learning became one of the most powerful parts of her journey.