What’s in a name?

As Babies we’re given a name by an adult; usually our parents but sometimes not. 

Usually a lot of thought goes into this name, we might spend a lot of time as parents-to-be making lists, narrowing things down, living with the idea of a name for a while before discarding and trying another.  Sometimes we, as parents, think, oh the baby definitely looks like a such and such.  And there we have it, a fundamental part of who were are is given to us, not chosen.

I think we are all on a journey in life; to discover who we are and where we fit into this world of ours.  What our sense of purpose is, how we can grow as individuals and how we can help others.  In life, I’ve been fortunate to train over many years to work as  a psychodynamic therapist and am privileged to work with clients who are on journeys of their own.

Many of my clients, friends and family members have changed, or are considering changing, their names, their genders or some other status and I’m happy to work with, honour and respect every one of you in these positive life choices.

For me personally, part of my recent journey has been to explore my name and what it means to me and to come to a place where I’m leaving behind the name that I have been known as for 50 years, 2 months and 23 days.

Tracey, my given name, is a diminutive of Theresa and after a lot of thought, I have chosen Tess which is also a diminutive of Theresa.

And to add to the changes, I’ve also changed my second name following a change in marital status.  So, Tess Dunlop it is.

Warmly, Tess x