Kate Armstrong is committed to helping people bring out their best - which can often mean navigating through their worst fears, doubts, and marginalised experiences. Insights spoke to Kate, an LGBTQI+ gender and sexual diversity counsellor, about what she hopes to bring to FrontTier’s research and programmes, and what advice she might have as lawyers and professionals navigate the upheavals thrown up by the ongoing pandemic.
Delivering wellbeing programmes to diverse communities
As an LGBTQI+ counsellor, Kate understands that diverging from the heteronormative can present unique wellbeing challenges.
“Part of my career as a counsellor has involved extensive experience working with the LGBTQI+ community in various specialist roles and organisations; working alongside people to facilitate change, enhance wellbeing and strengthen authentic living,” said Kate.
“Identifying as LGBTQI+ (or anything different to the 'majority') can bring unique challenges when exploring and navigating identity in our heteronormative and cisnormative world,” she observed. “Gender and sexual diversity counselling is simply about accepting numerous identities and practices and understanding that to live a healthy and meaningful life, people need to be able to live as they identify and love as they are.”
Being able to do so means challenging societal stigmas head on.
“I am passionate about addressing the stigma that still exists for any marginalised group,” said Kate. “This can involve increasing access to, and improving delivery of, high quality support services that give every person the right to a life of freedom and equality without discrimination or barriers to wellbeing.”
Her work for FrontTier helps further this mission.
“I was inspired to join FrontTier to be involved in work that gives me the opportunity to engage with diverse groups of people in diverse environments to facilitate necessary conversations about the importance of wellbeing,” said Kate. “It is exciting to be working alongside people who are passionate about delivering bespoke programmes. Our programmes work with the latest data around the neuroscience associated with resilience, mindfulness and emotional intelligence. Together, we work to create tailored leadership, coaching and people development experiences that maximise individual and workplace wellbeing and performance.”
Facilitating psychologically safe spaces to create positive change
“FrontTier offers a variety of innovative, research-led programmes in the leadership and development space,” said Kate. “Part of my role will be developing and delivering the programmes which have a focus on emotional intelligence and wellbeing.”
“I bring with me a deep level of compassion and understanding about the challenges of being human in our complex world,” said Kate. “I will be facilitating psychologically safe spaces for people to learn and engage with concepts and practical strategies that will create positive change and enhanced wellbeing.”
Indeed, much of her approach is about shifting focus from managing mental distress to cultivating mental wellbeing.
“It is often easy to lose sight of the fact that our mental and emotional health informs and influences so much of how we navigate our world, from our work, to our relationships, physical health, goals, purpose and so on,” said Kate. “However, we tend to only give our mental health the focus it requires when there is something that disrupts it or challenges it in such a way that it causes us to pay attention.”
“I believe it is important to convey and normalise that self-compassion, self-care and resilience is about learning simple and relatable ways of paying attention to your mental and emotional health every single day, which in turn helps people to maintain balance, respond effectively to change and sustain the energy and motivation required to cope with life's list of demands.”
Helping to heal people bravely facing their own challenges
“The most rewarding aspect of my work is having the privilege to journey alongside people as they bravely face challenges that are causing them emotional, psychological or relational pain,” said Kate.
As Kate journeys alongside those she helps, she also steers them to heal.
“I help facilitate a safe space for them to engage in processes that allow for healing and deepened self awareness, which ultimately serves to guide positive change and authentic living.”
The ongoing global pandemic has heightened several risk factors generally associated with poor mental health.
“These risk factors include isolation, anxiety, financial insecurity, and fear,” said Kate. “At the same time, the pandemic has significantly impacted areas that serve as protective factors, such as employment and educational engagement, connection, stable routines, and access to health services.”
“This, alongside having to quickly learn how to adjust to a hybrid work environment, the challenges posed by both the benefits and limitations to working online, adapted hours of work and connecting globally with other countries in various stages of the pandemic has brought about significant change.
“Inevitably, it also means we are busy, and mentally/emotionally full in new and different ways. Now more than ever, resilience and self-care become paramount to manage the ever changing landscape of life and work.”
However, in adversity lies opportunity. Kate, quoting Elizabeth Lesser, noted this:
“How strange that the nature of life is change, yet the nature of human beings is to resist change. And how ironic that the difficult times we fear might ruin us are the very ones that can break us open and help us blossom into who we were meant to be.”