Disabled activist and academic Richard Currie, one of Result CIC's early coaching clients, talks about his progress since 2012 when we first worked together.

Tell us a bit about yourself 
Hello, my name is Richard Currie I͛m a disability rights activist and mental health researcher for the mcpin foundation. I'm also a member of the greater Manchester coalition of disabled people a director of breakthrough UK and a trustee of the disabled students allowance quality assurance committee and the trustee of Manchester disabled People͛s access group. I have undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in international relations from Coventry University and I͛ve been lucky enough to win a vice chancellors scholarship starting in September studying citizenship and disability. I͛m also a proud uncle to my nieces Eve Amelia and Emma and my two nephews Harry and Leighton. I am an avid fan of Manchester United in my local team Grimsby town football club I love indie music reading about the history and politics and having copious amounts of tea with my friends

How did you come across Result CIC?
I came across Result when I was involved in a project called the ͚Right to Control͛ in which a group of people with lived experience of long-term health conditions mental health problems and disability came together to try and improve personalisation in social care for everyone in greater Manchester. We were part of the project around improving our confidence and negotiation skills both on the group and an individual level through peer support through workshops and one-to-one coaching sessions.

How did the experience with RCIC help you grow and make plans for the future?
To begin with I was incredibly sceptical as to whether the project and individual coaching sessions would be of any use to me personally and professionally (and I was very clear with Jane and Hormoz about this!) In all honesty I was at a low ebb both personally and professionally, had low self-esteem and self-confidence, I was depressed and very self-critical and I felt like a failure and had a very negative view of myself and my life so far.

Through the individual group sessions something really important happened and then my coach shared empathy, understanding and compassion and helped me explore some of my negative attitudes and thought processes through drawing on real-life experiences that really resonated with me and a really important book called ͚what we say when we talk to ourselves. It wasn't all fluffy stuff though we also worked hard together and creating a CV that reflected who I was as an individual and was a true reflection of my skills and abilities and my ambition one day to study a PhD.

My path towards gaining employment one day a week as a researcher for the mcpin foundation and winning a scholarship to study a PhD has not been a straightforward or an easy one. I would be lying if I said my time with Result and gaining employment and a PhD was easy as it wasn͛t. I needed to show determination, persistence and have a heavy dose of luck, however the coaching sessions allowed me to question my negative thoughts and perceptions about myself and my abilities and set me on the way to rediscovering who I was. Since working with Result I have had difficult life experiences, however the sessions allowed me to rediscover my determination and resilience with all the things that you need to face the challenge that is life.