‘Therapy is the best thing I've done in my life'

TV and radio broadcaster Charlie Webster, 39, splits her time between LA and London

- GEMMA CALVERT

How we're treated and the environment we live in shapes how we view ourselves. I was a quiet child who walked looking at the floor, rather than standing tall with confidence. I didn't live in a secure, safe environment. My mum had me when she was 15 and after my parents divorced when I was five, we lived in Sheffield in lots of different houses. My mum married again and my stepdad was a violent man who hated it when any focus was on me, so I protected myself by never talking about myself to deflect attention, which contradicts who I am inside. Now I've come full circle and it's a privilege to be able to help other people who are facing similar challenges.

I'll always have to care for my mental health and that's OK.