A Kinross student who spent nearly a decade living and working with monks on a French fruit farm has been given £7,000 from the public to fund his dream career – to become a psychotherapist.
Stuart Watson set up a crowd-funding project to help him get on a master’s degree course in London.
The 38-year-old has been named as the first winner of the Go Fund My Education competition, organised by the gofundme.com website.
Stuart gathered £7,000 through donations from the public in just two weeks.
He has been accepted onto a prestigious course at the Psychosynthesis Trust in London.
He said: “The course feels like a perfect fit, because it focuses on personal transformation and spiritual development both of which are hugely important to me.
“In addition, I will learn counselling skills and the ability to support others in their transformation and spiritual development. This training leads to a vocation that has real meaning for me.”
Stuart has spent the last nine years at the Plum Village Mindfulness Centre in France. He worked alongside Thich Nhat Hanh and the other resident monks and nuns where he managed the Plum Village Happy Farm, a project he co-founded in 2012.
Stuart developed a keen interest in supporting the growth, healing and transformation of interns. It was during this time that he decided he would like to become a fully qualified psychotherapist.
“Through this work, supporting the well-being of others has become my primary interest,” he said.
“Having lived with mental health problems myself for 20 years, and benefited so much from mindfulness and psychotherapy, I now want to combine the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh with a professional training in psychotherapy, so I can offer high quality support to those in real need, as I once was.”
He added: “It’s so wonderful to have received so much support for my GoFundMe page. I have worked in a voluntary position in Plum Village for the past nine years and my savings have almost run out.
“So I’m looking for financial help to cover the first year’s tuition fees and help with the transition to London.”
GoFundMe spokeswoman Kelsea Little said: “We would like to extend a huge congratulations to Stuart for being our grand prize winner.
“It was amazing to see his friends and family support him through GoFundMe during the contest and we wish him all the best in his dreams of becoming a psychotherapist.”
