About Me — Kamarun Kalam
Social Worker, Psychotherapist, Family Mediator, Supervisor and Author.
“When hearts and minds work together we find peace.” (Kam)
Hello everyone, I wish you all a very warm welcome to my ‘About Me’ profile. My name is Kamarun Kalam and I am a 42 year old British Muslim.
My Backstory…
I was born and raised in Uxbridge Middlesex in the UK but moved to Birmingham aged 11. My late parents were first generation Bangladeshi and passed away when I was in my 20’s. I was raised straddling two worlds- trying to fit in with traditional Bengali customs (to please my parents) and living as a British Muslim. I had to embrace both cultures whilst navigating my way through childhood and learned a lot about life quite early on. Lessons learnt from my father:
“ Always work hard for a living, study and be the best in whatever you put your hand to. Never look to anyone else to provide for you. Be independent and self sufficient, never lie, respect yourself and your elders and work to help others.”
Lessons from mum:
“You must know how to cook, so that you can feed your family, don’t shout or get angry too often, be courteous, polite and don’t laugh too loud, talk too much or walk too fast. Women should be able to juggle the many domestic tasks and learn it all from a young age.”
Clearly very different characters. I chose my father as my role model and have benefitted from his pearls of wisdom as a result. I have been blessed with three beautiful children all teenagers now and a cheeky pet parrot Coco. I am also grateful for my loving spouse without whom I couldn’t have achieved what I have to date. He has been my rock, an ever present motivator helping me to fulfil my ambitions in life.
My Career…
I chose my career in social work when I was 14, I knew I wanted to help people and such a profession was perfectly placed to support families in need. I followed a straight trajectory from school to college to Uni and graduated with an honours degree in Social Work. Twenty years on I still practice as a social worker but part time supporting foster carers on Fosterline which is funded by the Department for Education. The other half of my week is spent supporting individuals, couples and families internationally as a Psychotherapist and Family Mediator in my private practice Talkwell Counselling Service. I also supervise students and newly qualified Counsellors.
To learn more about my service visit www.talkwellcounselling.co.uk
My love for writing…
I enjoy sharing my insights as a professional so writing is another passion of mine. I tend to write from the heart and am very direct both in speech and on paper. My preferred subjects are anything to do with evolving and developing as humans, our life struggles, family dynamics, relationships, personality, self improvement and mental health. I recently published a self help book called “The I In Me- Who Am I Anyway” on Amazon. It’s a practical workbook that contains activities, exercises and strategies to help people who cannot afford therapy to access mental health support for themselves. It encourages self reflection, and explores the personality and identity of the reader. For a free preview of the E-book version click this link https://amzn.eu/5euAhQc there is also an audiobook and a paperback version as well.
I love quotes and have a Pinterest board and Instagram accounts- if you are interested look them up using the following links:
Pinterest @kamarunk https://pin.it/7pvua1Y
Instagram @kamarunkalam
Connect with me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kamarun-kalam-bacp-accred-social-work-england-reg-880551111
Drop me an email: kam@talkwellcounselling.co.uk
I hope you have enjoyed reading my profile and if you would like to read more of my work, please scroll down to view my story links pinned below. I will leave you with another one of my own quotes:
“Home lives not in bricks and mortar but with the people you love. I carry home everywhere in my heart.”
Kamarun Kalam
