Sherene Aftab: Founder, CEO, Chief Counsellor and Trainer at SereneHour

Meet the woman who fought conventional norms to create her own success story.

A double Master’s Degree in Management & Psychology along with the various diplomas and certifications in counselling; her work experience as lecturer, trainer and now a counsellor seemed like an unconventional bag of degrees and work experience to have. She seemed to have redefined how anyone could achieve their dreams and aspirations only if they swore to never let go of their true self, their belief in themselves to achieve and to continue to evolve and redefine their goals.

“I did not make the best Career decisions when I was a 15-year-old. I also felt a nagging need to reach out to someone who would help me understand myself, I did not know I could,”  says Sherene.

“I was good at too many things, had too many aspirations and could excel at most things. I knew I loved to communicate, to reach out and help another person, I was gifted with an unusually high emotional IQ for my age, I was sensitive, curious and investigative, idealistic to a fault, creative and loved doing my own thing and implementing my own ideas. Constantly rebelling and questioning anything called ‘conventional’. But, I couldn’t align all these characteristics and create a profession for myself that I would look forward to, every day of my life”.

Sherene elaborates, “I followed everyone else’s advice over my inner voice. I paid heed to what others thought about who I was over what I had to say about myself. The adults who spoke to me about the professions and careers that existed, spoke from their biased perceptions or their inexperience and lack of thorough knowledge. The result of a silly aptitude test taken in school with a bunch of other students, that we didn’t even take seriously, decided my career those many decades back. When I look back, the decisions I made were not completely wrong, but they just didn’t feel wholly right too.”

Sherene laid the foundations of Serene Hour Counselling and Career Advice Consultancy on the very thought that every individual needs a counsellor to help them identify and work through their emotional issues. Irrespective of age, the need to reach out to someone who could provide unwavering support when plagued with emotional difficulties is crucial.

The other aspect being, when children have to make a career choice, the choice they make will decide their happiness quotient, their job satisfaction rate, their choice of livelihood and their future. In a nutshell, What they choose to do for the rest of their lives better be right. How they arrive at that decision better be made with the help of a good mix of professional counselling & scientific techniques.

1. What was the turning point in your life, when you decided to establish Serene Hour?

During my tenure as a Lecturer and Trainer, I would come across talented and bright students who were studying a course because they were forced into it, made an ill-informed study decision, or just didn’t know the right career path for themselves. Together we would find ways to take the next best career action. Much to my surprise, I realised that children began to gradually confide in me about emotional issues and concerns that they wouldn’t trust anyone else with. I had begun to play a role far beyond their Confidant and Mentor. This was a crucial turning point in my life. I decided that I needed to have the right knowledge about human behaviour, counselling skills and therapy to be able to help them holistically. I decided to pursue an education in psychology & counselling. It was funny how I’d write an exam one week and be examining a paper another week. However, this felt like the most natural path for me to follow. When I was 15, I wanted to pursue a degree in Counselling Psychology. For whatever reasons I didn’t pursue it then, I decided to pursue it now.

2. Did you come across any challenges in your journey?

Yes! to name a few. I had to get over my personal inertia of challenging my comfort zone. Others being, that as much importance and emphasis we give towards our physical health, unfortunately, as a society, the same is not true for mental health. For many people,  counselling is not the first degree of help they pursue rather it is the last step. Apart from this, there seems to be a stigma attached to seeking counselling. Especially in the Indian society, career counselling seems to be looked upon as a frivolous waste of time and money. In most cases the child’s career is decided either by their parents, their friends, entrance exam marks and college seats available, which really isn’t the right approach. My primary challenge has been in creating awareness for the need to ‘reach out to a professional’ for ‘Counselling’ when plagued with an emotional crisis. Creating awareness in students for choosing their career wisely and liaising with parents. I help parents understand, communicate and connect with their children; I encourage them to adopt a balanced approach when helping their children make career decisions.

3. Is there a message you would like to leave our readers with?

If there is anyone thing that I hope to inspire you from my journey, it would be that – it is never too late to pursue your dreams, the right time to start is now. I spent my early twenties pursuing academic degrees and a career path different from the one I have now. Coming to understand my passion and the right career path for me wasn’t a smooth linear road. I explored various career paths, pursued academia where I discovered my knack for counselling and my skills for communicating and connecting with children. Furthermore, I developed various ‘Soft Skills’, ‘Career Development’ and ‘Personality Enhancement’ programs, training thousands of students. I finally decided to weave and connect all my skills, knowledge, experience and expertise to take the plunge and pursue Counselling full time and the rest, as they say, is history.

For More Information: Serene Hour Counselling & Career Advice Consultancy