Real-life story – Cherie Lawrence

Cherie became a mental health nurse after suffering post-natal depression as a teenager. Her career took off from there and she isn’t looking back. 

Cherie LawrenceMental health nurseEmployer or universityNottinghamshire Healthcare NHS TrustSalary range£20k-£30k

What made you decide to become a mental health nurse?

I became a mother unexpectedly at 17 and suffered from (post-natal) depression both during and after my pregnancy. Unfortunately at the time there wasn’t really that much information out there and neither me or my family really understood the condition. My doctor couldn’t offer much help either.

To try and understand it better I did a community mental health course and discovered a passion for the subject – I found it really fascinating.

At school, like many teenagers I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, but I had from quite a young age always…