NEW LIFE:A redundancy that came as a bolt from the blue allowed engineer Paul Desmond to turn his life-long interest in psychology, philosophy and hypnotherapy into a full-time career, writes BRIAN O'CONNELL.
ALTHOUGH he had an interest in psychology and philosophy, Paul Desmond chose to study civil engineering at University College Cork (UCC) in the early 1980s, because, as he says himself, “It was a better bet for a career.”
Looking back, had he known then how his work environment was to radically alter in later years, then perhaps he would have made different choices.
“I did civil engineering partly because I had an interest in carpentry and the engineering side of things from a young age. I remember getting a carpentry kit when I was four or five and thinking ‘wow!’.
“I found college tough going and would have been more interested in the practical side of things rather than the academic. But I guess, when all is said and done, and you enter the workplace, you find that maths, physics and experimental sciences and whatever else you might have been doing for four years, counts for little on the site itself!”
Desmond’s parents always stressed the importance of a good education to their children, and on graduating from UCC, Desmond secured a one-year contract working on the building of the new Garda headquarters in Bandon, Co Cork. From there he secured an added six-month contract, before deciding, like many of his contemporaries, to leave Ireland and look abroad for work.
He moved to Denmark, where he started a theatre company, washed dishes and delivered newspapers, taking whatever work was available to make ends meet.
Returning as the Irish economy began to expand, Desmond worked as a land surveyor for a number of years, before taking on a role with building company Sisk in 2000 as a civil engineer in the pharmaceutical division.
“I worked in Cashel for a time and travelled there from Cork, so that meant getting up at 6.30am to be at work for 8am. We worked until 5 or 6pm, on a normal working day. However, when deadlines had to be met, as was often the case, then this could stretch to much later.
“Normally we had a timetable of what needed to be done from environmental audits to safety and quality audits. This was the height of the Celtic Tiger and there was plenty of work.
“I stayed with the company for about eight years and ended up as a senior environmental and quality manager. As a company, Sisk were very good on deadlines and cost lines, and also looked after staff very well.”
Desmond began to first consider a change in career direction towards the end of 2006 and into the beginning of 2007. By this time, he had two young kids and, with his wife Fiona also working full-time, he felt he needed to devote more time to family life.
He began to get a sense that “time was passing us by. My thoughts of changing came more from a positive thing of how do we want our lives to be, rather than us doing something wrong in our careers.”
Desmond’s interest in psychology had been maintained down through the years, having taken on a number of personal development courses and enrolling for a night-time diploma in clinical psychotherapy.
“What happened was that I had the first part of the diploma done and I was toying with the idea of handing in my resignation and pursuing the psychotherapy and hypnotherapy full-time. I was waiting to do the advanced diploma in psychotherapy. But at the same time, I was really enjoying civil engineering. I had finally found my niche in the organisation and was wearing a variety of hats and very busy with it.
“In January of 2008, I was left still contemplating handing in my resignation when the company called a few of us in and gave us redundancy. That really was the start of the end of the building line really. Even though I had been thinking about leaving, being let go was still a bit of a surprise because I had a lot of hats on at that point and a good working relationship with those around me. You do start to think, have I done something wrong? Sisk gave me a few months without any great pressure to move, but with mortgages and so on, it was a financial worry.”
Instead of focusing on the negatives, Desmond saw the redundancy as the final push he needed to turn his interest in psychotherapy into a full-time pursuit. He began to look into the possibilities of setting up a business, and also focused on spending more time with his children.
“I started looking at the business in March, having received my advanced diploma in psychotherapy the summer previous. The set-up costs I was able to fund from the redundancy, and I took a room in Cork’s Oliver Plunkett Street. The work deals with how the mind works, both the conscious and the subconscious.
“What we do is work with clients in hypnosis, which is really just a relaxed trance state, where the conscious mind will just park self-criticism. People come to me for all sorts of reasons, some out of curiosity. Suggestion therapy is also a big draw, and works for people in addressing weight loss, smoking and drink addictions, and so on.
“We try to change habits, and develop different patterns. I usually suggest one to three sessions for someone trying to stop smoking.”
While the business took time to get off the ground, Desmond has now established a routine and has built up career momentum. “I advertise in the Golden Pages and it has started slowly. I think with the recession, people will spend money fixing up the house or car quicker than they might spend on their own health and wellbeing.
“I haven’t yet noticed any trends, but I think I’m going to be reasonably busy. The recession should allow people to take stock and have a greater awareness of values and lifestyle. I think I can make a living.
“I suppose the message for people out there is that redundancy can also be a way out and lead to a whole new life.”