On Receiving An Award
There is a particular pleasure, and a deep humility, in receiving an award. Not the blinding glare of attention, but a warm, steady glow. A sense of being quietly seen. And I have received two! One as a therapist, and another one I’ll tell you about.
As a therapist, much of my work is invisible. It happens in whispered moments, in tears that finally fall, in the courage it takes to tell the truth. It is intimate, sacred, and often unnoticed.
So when recognition came with this award, it moved me deeply. To be honoured as Relationship Therapist of the Year in the 2025 Global Innovation & Excellence Awards invites me to pause, to look back, to acknowledge the years of training, the times I felt unsure but kept going. To remember the people who walked beside me, challenged me, and encouraged me. I think the award is not just for me, but also for the team of trainers who deliver such brilliant workshops for counsellors, therapists and health workers.
And, in a different but connected way, it touched me that our holiday let, the Welsh Gatehouse, has been awarded Historic Accommodation of the Year by the Wales Prestige Awards. Built in 1270, and being a 2* listed building makes it in the top 8% of important buildings in the UK. The Welsh Gatehouse is steeped in history, and sleeps just 2 people making it a romantic break, like living in another time yet with all the modern luxuries. Couples feel they are living in their own castle, for a night, or a week. And to see this recognised feels like another thread of my life being witnessed and valued.
The real pleasure is not in the trophies themselves, but in what these awards symbolise. They tell me that the values I have tried to live by, the way of working I have stayed faithful to, the care I have poured into both therapy and place, have touched something real. That the effort has resonated.
And yet, humility is woven through this moment. Because I know none of this has been done in isolation. Every client who trusted me, every colleague who stood alongside me, every friend who believed in me, has shaped who I have become. And above all, my own therapists and teachers. Their wisdom has threaded itself through me, shaping not only my practice but the person I am. These awards are as much theirs as they are mine.
To receive recognition with humility is to let it land in my heart, not my ego. To feel the warm glow, while staying grounded in service. To remember that, while these moments honour something real, they do not make me more worthy, or anyone else less so.
So yes, I feel proud. But it is a grounded pride, a grateful pride. The joy is in knowing I have stayed true to the work, grown slowly, and offered what I could.
These awards are also for those who dare to trust the therapeutic journey, and for those who keep places of history alive. They are for the people who bring their stories, their longing, their rawness. And they are for the mystery that guides me, and all of us, quietly, as we stumble our way toward light.
The Welsh Gatehouse Won the Historic Accommodation of the Year 2025
https://welshgatehouse.com/award-3/
Juliet Grayson and her team won Relationship Therapist of the Year 2025 https://therapyandcounselling.co.uk/awards/
Juliet enjoys hearing comments about how these talks impact people – both positive and negative. If you have time, please let her know your thoughts
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScMcMLPGU2WY1sUZJKF7l_BBEi0h5EkRD5lCOn3xpLvvdKnBw/viewform
To sign up for more of these – and info about CPD workshops – https://therapyandcounselling.co.uk/sign-up-for-info/
If you are a therapist, to join an email support group for therapists in the UK where you can ask questions, find out about CPD, and get referrals, go to https://therapyandcounselling.co.uk/counsellor-network-groups-uk/
You’ll find more Juliet’s Musings on https://therapyandcounselling.co.uk/juliets-thoughts-for-the-day/.