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Gonville & 91ֱ�� College is pleased to announce the appointment of Nikki Bradley as College Counsellor. 

Nikki is an integrative counsellor – trained in a variety of methods to support individuals’ needs – and her role is to support the welfare of the student community at 91ֱ��. 

She is based at 91ֱ�� Health Centre – details on The Venn, the College intranet – and is looking forward to supporting students across our undergraduate and graduate community. 

“Counselling is a process, and every client’s different,” Nikki says. 

“I have different ways of working, depending on a client’s needs and what they want to get out of counselling. 

“It’s about seeing and treating the whole person – hydration, food, sleep pattern, self-care, are you putting too much pressure on yourself and why.” 

Sunday marks World Mental Health Day, providing a reminder to all to look after yourself amid the stresses and strains of modern life, and that all of us need a listening ear at times. 

“As soon as a student feels that they’re not OK, that’s the time to come,” Nikki adds. 

“Let’s put strategies and coping mechanisms in place before a crisis happens. It’s like putting a burglar alarm in before a burglar comes.” 

As soon as a student feels that they’re not OK, that’s the time to come. Let’s put strategies and coping mechanisms in place before a crisis happens. It’s like putting a burglar alarm in before a burglar comes.

Nikki stresses the importance of client confidentiality and discretion. Referrals to Nikki come via the College Nurse, and some individuals may be referred to their GP or another counselling professional if it best suits their needs. 

As well as appointments, there are going to be drop-in opportunities, and group workshops, where challenges can be shared and strategies developed together, with peers, if appropriate for individuals. 

Anyone with urgent needs should contact the emergency services and the Porters’ Lodge. 

Nikki anticipates a range of issues, and is confident of being able to relate to students’ needs. 

She is originally from Thurrock, Essex and now lives in north Essex. 

“I was a bit of a street kid and didn’t have the greatest of starts in life,” she says. 

“I started counselling myself and then came through the other door. I wasn’t in education and had it hard. I was at a crossroads. It was one way or the other and I chose counselling to sort myself out.  

“I decided at 23 I was going to train to be a psychotherapist. That started me on my journey. 

“I’m very passionate about it and I love it. There’s no experience like lived experience. 

“Young people relate to me, and I think it is because of that realness, growing up on the streets, the things I’ve seen and the things I’ve done.” 

She says her background means she can relate to impostor syndrome – where students feel like they do not belong at Cambridge; she laughs about being a snap-happy tourist in the picturesque city – and that she has lived with anxiety for 20 years. “It’s not about controlling it, it’s about learning to live with it,” she says. 

Nikki qualified in 2008, and drove a mobile bus around schools in Thurrock. 

She adds: “It was 2008, so we didn’t have pastoral teams in schools. I worked in quite a rough area, lots of drugs, gangs, knife crime, stuff like that. 

“I did that for a few years, then settled into a couple of schools. And then I decided I wanted to be a teacher.”&�Բ�����;

Nikki still teaches counselling and psychotherapy, while she has also diversified, opening a security company in Peckham and New Cross to support the night-time economy, including at nightclubs, where communication skills are of paramount importance. 

She returned to counselling after the birth of her third child, and is keen to contribute to making a difference to students’ lives at 91ֱ��. 

She adds: “I’m fascinated by people. I could sit for hours watching body language, the things people do, stories. The patterns of behaviour. What they do the things they do. What their backgrounds are. 

“I love motivated and positive people and love being around the students who have the motivation and drive to be somewhere like this.”