Our Betsy’s on mission to help!

Few people are qualified to be an Agony Aunt - but Betsy Mathieson certainly is.

One look at the glamorous blonde is enough to tell you that behind the sparkling blue eyes is a formidable mind, writes -RdS-.
She oozes confidence, and a poised charm that sets her apart from the crowd.  She may be a million miles from the quintessential Agony Aunt Marjorie Proops, but is no less well equipped.
“People have always confided in me,” she explains in her soft Scottish brogue, “complete strangers tell me their whole life stories.”
And it’s not surprising. Betsy is a straight-talker with a wealth of life experience.
A successful business woman, mother of two, philanthropist, inspirational speaker, writer and broadcaster, lifestyle and healing guru - the list of Betsy’s achievements are endless and impressive.
But Betsy is also a woman who has had her share of life’s knocks.
“My father died when I was just six weeks old,” she says, “my mother remarried a few times we moved around a lot, which was a challenge, but it taught me a lot of coping mechanisms.”
Those mechanisms have kept her in good stead and qualified her to give out more than just sartorial and aesthetic advice. She recently separated from her Bahraini husband of 24 years but has bounced back from a difficult time.
“Humour can allay all sort of maladies; it can turn negatives into positives,” she says with a smile.
But Betsy is a survivor and has had to battle for her success. She put herself through university by working at three jobs. Her adventurous spirit brought her from Scotland to Bahrain in 1980 at the age of 21, to help set up the Hilton health and beauty club.
Two years later with just 500 dinars she set up her first business, ‘Betsy’s Face Place’ in a garage on the Dilmun road. Within six months the business had grown so much she had to move it to a villa and within a year she was distributing regionally and supplying training and consultancies.
Her success was so rapid that our sister paper the Gulf Daily News ran a feature on her and asked her to write a regular beauty column for them.
Where others may have faltered, she has never allowed being a female to hinder her business aspirations.
“Being a woman can have lots of advantages in business here. I have never expected special treatment as a woman, if you approach business in a professional manner, you’ll be treated in professional manner,” she says.
Today, her company Spa Arabia has expanded in all areas of retailing, distribution, training and spa design and technology.
 “If you want something in life you can get it,” says Betsy, “I teach mantras and one is that you need to put your ‘CAP’ on. Be Committed, Ambitious and Passionate in everything you do.”
Betsy is also fearless in her pursuits. During the first Gulf War, while pregnant with her second son, Betsy traveled through the Gulf performing her treatments on TV.
“Missiles were going off, but life goes on,” she explains.
Now, as a hands-on therapist, practicing reiki and aromatherapy, Betsy works with a host of household names. She counts British and middle-eastern royalty, world leaders and celebrities among her clients.
“They’ll phone me from all over the world and they tell me the most personal things.
When I started doing therapy I realised that I had something in my hands that made people feel better.”
But it’s not just Betsy’s healing abilities that encourage people to confide in her and seek out her advice.
“In another life I probably would have been a psychiatrist. I think most people just need someone to listen to them, someone to point them in the right direction.
“I did some counseling training a few years ago and I realised that what I was being taught I had already been doing all these years. I feel that it was my purpose in life - to help people.” 
Betsy is relentless in her mission to change people’s lives for the better.
In 2002 she lobbied the Bahraini government to allow Bahraini women to train in beauty and spa therapies.
Eager to give something back to her community she became a founding female member of the Rotary club of Adliya and she is currently the incoming President of the Rotary Club of Manama.
But it is by supporting and empowering young people that Betsy aims to create a better future. She’s a regular inspirational speaker at schools, colleges and universities.
“I love doing motivational things with young people,” she says, “They’re such rough diamonds and sponges for information.”
But perhaps one of the most remarkable things about Betsy, and which makes her the ultimate Agony Aunt is that she considers herself psychic.
“I realised I was quite psychic when I was 12 and went to a new school.
“I had this awful déjà vu feeling and when a boy walked towards me; I just knew that his name was James and that he had a brother with red hair.” 
Astonishingly, her psychic ability has pinpointed serious medical conditions, but she is reluctant to place too much emphasis on her ability.
“I’m just a very intuitive person,” she says.
Betsy is a woman who can turn negatives into positives.
Her relentless optimism, calm logic, and remarkable set of life experiences set her apart from the bland landscape of mediocre agony aunts. 
“I have suffered in my life,” she says, “but I’ve had some great moments. I have two fantastic boys, amazing friends and a supporting and loving family.”
Few people are qualified to be an Agony Aunt - but Betsy Mathieson certainly is. One look at the glamorous blonde is enough to tell you that behind the sparkling blue eyes is a formidable mind, writes -RdS-.
She oozes confidence, and a poised charm that sets her apart from the crowd.  She may be a million miles from the quintessential Agony Aunt Marjorie Proops, but is no less well equipped.
“People have always confided in me,” she explains in her soft Scottish brogue, “complete strangers tell me their whole life stories.”
And it’s not surprising. Betsy is a straight-talker with a wealth of life experience.
A successful business woman, mother of two, philanthropist, inspirational speaker, writer and broadcaster, lifestyle and healing guru - the list of Betsy’s achievements are endless and impressive.
But Betsy is also a woman who has had her share of life’s knocks.
“My father died when I was just six weeks old,” she says, “my mother remarried a few times we moved around a lot, which was a challenge, but it taught me a lot of coping mechanisms.”
Those mechanisms have kept her in good stead and qualified her to give out more than just sartorial and aesthetic advice. She recently separated from her Bahraini husband of 24 years but has bounced back from a difficult time.
“Humour can allay all sort of maladies; it can turn negatives into positives,” she says with a smile.
But Betsy is a survivor and has had to battle for her success. She put herself through university by working at three jobs. Her adventurous spirit brought her from Scotland to Bahrain in 1980 at the age of 21, to help set up the Hilton health and beauty club.
Two years later with just 500 dinars she set up her first business, ‘Betsy’s Face Place’ in a garage on the Dilmun road. Within six months the business had grown so much she had to move it to a villa and within a year she was distributing regionally and supplying training and consultancies.
Her success was so rapid that our sister paper the Gulf Daily News ran a feature on her and asked her to write a regular beauty column for them.
Where others may have faltered, she has never allowed being a female to hinder her business aspirations.
“Being a woman can have lots of advantages in business here. I have never expected special treatment as a woman, if you approach business in a professional manner, you’ll be treated in professional manner,” she says.
Today, her company Spa Arabia has expanded in all areas of retailing, distribution, training and spa design and technology.
 “If you want something in life you can get it,” says Betsy, “I teach mantras and one is that you need to put your ‘CAP’ on. Be Committed, Ambitious and Passionate in everything you do.”
Betsy is also fearless in her pursuits. During the first Gulf War, while pregnant with her second son, Betsy traveled through the Gulf performing her treatments on TV.
“Missiles were going off, but life goes on,” she explains.
Now, as a hands-on therapist, practicing reiki and aromatherapy, Betsy works with a host of household names. She counts British and middle-eastern royalty, world leaders and celebrities among her clients.
“They’ll phone me from all over the world and they tell me the most personal things.
When I started doing therapy I realised that I had something in my hands that made people feel better.”
But it’s not just Betsy’s healing abilities that encourage people to confide in her and seek out her advice.
“In another life I probably would have been a psychiatrist. I think most people just need someone to listen to them, someone to point them in the right direction.
“I did some counseling training a few years ago and I realised that what I was being taught I had already been doing all these years. I feel that it was my purpose in life - to help people.” 
Betsy is relentless in her mission to change people’s lives for the better.
In 2002 she lobbied the Bahraini government to allow Bahraini women to train in beauty and spa therapies.
Eager to give something back to her community she became a founding female member of the Rotary club of Adliya and she is currently the incoming President of the Rotary Club of Manama.
But it is by supporting and empowering young people that Betsy aims to create a better future. She’s a regular inspirational speaker at schools, colleges and universities.
“I love doing motivational things with young people,” she says, “They’re such rough diamonds and sponges for information.”
But perhaps one of the most remarkable things about Betsy, and which makes her the ultimate Agony Aunt is that she considers herself psychic.
“I realised I was quite psychic when I was 12 and went to a new school.
“I had this awful déjà vu feeling and when a boy walked towards me; I just knew that his name was James and that he had a brother with red hair.” 
Astonishingly, her psychic ability has pinpointed serious medical conditions, but she is reluctant to place too much emphasis on her ability.
“I’m just a very intuitive person,” she says.
Betsy is a woman who can turn negatives into positives.
Her relentless optimism, calm logic, and remarkable set of life experiences set her apart from the bland landscape of mediocre agony aunts. 
“I have suffered in my life,” she says, “but I’ve had some great moments. I have two fantastic boys, amazing friends and a supporting and loving family.”
See Ask Betsy