Patient Voices
We hear you.
Are you fearful and anxious?
Feeling sad and depressed? Struggling with anger?
Feeling sad and depressed? Struggling with anger?
- Does life seem harsh and hopeless?
- Have you been diagnosed with chronic or terminal illness?
- Are you struggling alone, unable to voice your pain to anyone who understands?
- Are you feeling angry, isolated, grieving and unsure of who you are, and of your future?
- Are you feeling like your relationships are failing, or that you are a failure?
Are you silently crying out for help? We hear you – Counselling and therapy sessions available online or in person.
Help Is At Hand
Being able to talk to someone in total confidence, in a safe space where you can unburden yourself and be heard, and your feelings validated, can help you to feel better. Talking through the issues that you struggle with, and finding ways that work best for you to make meaningful changes, and to find a way to live with things that you cannot change, can help you to heal your emotional and psychological pain.
~ Journeying with someone through your personal difficulties makes the journey bearable. ~
~ Telling someone your life story allows another to enter into your suffering and to alleviate it. ~
Come, let me journey with you towards your inner healing as you tell me your life story.
About Me
My name is Pavitar Kaur Gill.
I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, a form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, in 1997, shortly after the birth of my second son.
I went on to have two more children, home school for a few years, pursue my research interests in the area of patient narratives about living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and complete an MA in Counselling. Along the way, I have had multiple hospitalisations, two bowel resections, been on powerful immunosuppressants, and lived through a divorce, all while raising four children. I am currently enrolled in an MSc Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health with King’s College, London, to further expand my knowledge and skills. I expect to graduate in 2022.
The loss of my health, and the death of my marriage changed my life, and its focus.
It is now my life’s mission to help others who are suffering and struggling with deep pain.
I believe that my lived experiences enable me to journey alongside others who are suffering in their personal lives, and who need empathy, compassion and understanding.
I bring these with me along with skills that I have learnt, and a heart that genuinely cares, especially for the chronically and terminally ill.
Pavitar Kaur Gill
Patient Voices
Let’s hear from those who have connected with me…
Pavitar is one of those exceptional gems who has scholastic prowess, evangelical eloquence and empathy only a fellow patient could have- all rolled into one!
In the years I have known Pavitar, she’s been constantly updating and acquiring skills for this purpose, and I’m absolutely delighted she is devoting her life to supporting patients coping with chronic conditions and helping persons trying to manage the curved balls life has thrown at them. She is trained in research techniques, counselling, and has a unique set of life experiences that really make her ideal as confidante and counsellor.
My favourite Tamil proverb, in English reads: “You will appreciate the comfort of shade only if you have experienced harsh sunlight”. Few I know have experienced sunlight as harsh and debilitating as Pavitar has. I know because I was there helplessly watching her take blow after blow in a life defined by pain, suffering and indignity. Just when I thought she was going to throw in the towel, she tells me she’s going to smile at life by being there for those on a similar journey. Pavitar gets strength from appreciating the moments of shade in her life. Once you get to this level you will have what it takes to lift others – the experience, empathy and the self efficacy. Pavitar’s deep knowledge in counseling is hygiene factor compared to her strength of character and an uncanny ability to connect at a human level. I am convinced that for Pavitar, counseling is what life has prepared her for. It’s a calling.
Pavitar came on board NuLife Care & Counselling Services as an intern from May 2018 to September 2019. During her internship journey, Pavitar had the opportunity to accompany the supervisor and attend to counselling sessions of individuals who came from various socio-economic backgrounds and displayed a range of concerns that required the much-needed assistance and support.
Surmounting her set of adversities, Pavitar was fueled with the passion to pursue her studies in the field of counselling and wanting to be able to assist individuals feeling afflicted as a result of their circumstances. A diligent and determined individual by nature, Pavitar was able to efficiently utilize these traits in the process of establishing rapport and providing guidance to the clients that were assigned to her. Pavitar works towards alleviating her clients’ uncertainties through integrating her life experiences and the reflections she embarked upon in the process. Evoking a sense of familiarity and resonance, Pavitar engages her clients to introspectively construct a set of solutions in response to their adversities. This ultimately motivates her clients to make the needed changes in their lives and move forth with a renewed sense of dignity and direction. As a guide, Pavitar steers her clients towards reestablishing their identities and reshaping their experiences in a positive manner.
Pavitar exudes much wisdom and positivity that furnishes her with the essential qualities that a counsellor requires in order to establish rapport with individuals who are in need of assistance in times of adversities. Pavitar has proven to be a well-rounded counsellor in the making.
I have been seeing Pavitar to help me through a difficult period in my marriage. She has listened at length to my story, let me weep, rant, vent my anger, repeat the same things at length and never showed any impatience. She is naturally warm and I feel enveloped by her caring nature. She is knowledgeable about the human situation. She shows empathy which is important to me as I want someone who understands what I am feeling and I feel she does. She suggests ways in how to approach what I see as my new relationship with my husband but she never tells me what to do. I leave a session with Pavitar feeling lighter and with a sense of direction.
Pavitar and I met each other during our MA in Counselling Course. She came across as a happy, positive and extremely lively person, which she has proved to be. As I learnt more about her over the next few years, I realized she has loads of life experiences, which make her a super guide and friend. I also found her to be a wonderful, empathetic person who can see the bright side of things. I would not hesitate to share any of my personal concerns with her. To be honest, I would be happy to refer my clients to her as I am sure they will be well cared for and aptly guided.
“I am extremely grateful to have stumbled across Pavitar when I was in desperate need of mental health assistance. She was the first therapist that I felt truly heard by. I always tell her how much better I felt after each session because it is simply the truth. Her gentleness and patience is truly something else. Making appointments is as easy as sending her a Whatsapp message. She is flexible when scheduling appointments and is quick to respond to any queries. There is no doubt that I will continue to work with her to resolve my issues.”
“Pavitar is an excellent therapist with great listening skills and empathy towards her clients. I consider myself fortunate to have her in my corner and working with her on my journey through life’s challenges.”
“Engaged therapy when I felt that I was at my lowest. Pavitar has been kind and understanding, helping me cope through with my issues and guiding me back onto the right path. I have looked forward to every session with her, be it online or face-to-face sessions.
Thank you for providing me with the safe environment for me to work on myself. Truly appreciate everything that we have worked on.
11/10 will recommend”
In addition to being a patient myself, I have a keen interest in patient advocacy and research into understanding how patients are impacted by illness, and how they cope with the challenges they face. The following is a list of various papers I have co-authored and presentations I have made at medical conferences from 2008 onwards:
List of Oral and Poster Presentations (2008-2020)
Additionally, I have given an annual talk since 2010, “Navigating the healthcare system: A patient’s perspective” to the first year medical students of the NUS- YLLSOM, Singapore, to bring awareness of patients’ needs, as well as empathy, compassion and understanding in doctors.
In the light of Covid-19, I trained through Healthserve in June 2020 to reach out to migrant workers as a Care Person, providing a much needed listening ear, and helping to direct workers to the proper agencies for assistance.
I found a great deal of help and support from counselling when I was struggling, and I continue to benefit from it, even as a practitioner myself.
Counsellors need counselling too, and we seek it because it genuinely helps us. None of us is meant to function as a lonely island. We are made for connection.
Finding the right person to connect with, even in the setting of a therapeutic counsellor-client relationship, can be challenging.
Let me make it easier for you…
