Therapy For Trainee Counsellors

Weekly therapy with a suitably qualified and experienced therapist for at least two years is a course requirement for the majority of students studying to become qualified counsellors or psychotherapists in the UK. This involves a major commitment in terms of both time and money. As a trainee counsellor or psychotherapist, what can you expect working with me?

What Happens In Therapy

People generally come to therapy when something in their lives is going wrong and they want help making sense of the problem and thinking how best to handle it. However, this is not always the case for therapists-in-training. As trainees, we may not relish the sometimes uncomfortable experience of examining - in relationship - our own approach to being in the world but be very keen to tick the course requirement box and get out into the post-qualification world as fast as we can.

On Blind Spots

We all have - or have had - blind spots. These may be behaviours or emotional responses to certain situations that we may be unaware of (or only vaguely aware of) but other people close to us see only too well. Blind spots in relationships at best lead to confusion and at worst do harm and the therapeutic relationship is no different. This is why, in my view, it is critical that trainees fully engage in their own therapy and that qualified therapists working with trainees are prepared to challenge (kindly and firmly), to be as congruent as humanly possible and to engage in their own supervision.

If during your training as a counsellor or psychotherapist we choose to work together, I will listen closely to your story and strive to understand your perspective. But, at the same time, I will be on the look out for potential blind spots that might get in your way of becoming a competent and effective therapist.

Examples of common blind spots include:

• a need to fix other people

• fear of making mistakes (the non-catastrophic kind)

• unfinished business (eg with a close relative) that we project onto others

• a tendency to judge

• conflict avoidance

• thinking there is a solution to a problem and that we know what it is

• defensiveness

• too much urgency

• not enough urgency

• rigid boundaries

• soft boundaries

• and so on....

Choosing A Therapist Whilst In Training

As a trainee, finding the right therapist for you can be a challenge. Your course will no doubt have requirements that will narrow the field. For example, the Humanistic Counselling and Psychotherapy Post-graduate Diploma at University of Brighton requires students to work with a UKCP-registered therapist whose main training is Humanistic. Then there are practical factors such as finding someone who is relatively local and who has availability that dovetails with your own. And, generally, the more experienced a therapist is, the higher their fees - although most, like myself, will offer reduced rates to trainees.

To Conclude

As therapists we do not need to be completely sorted on a psychological level (phew!). But, we do need to be aware of our strengths and weaknesses as well as have the courage to reflect on our own way of relating to others, take responsibility for inevitable mis-steps, share our doubts in supervision, respect our limits and take care of ourselves. This will be an ongoing imperfect process throughout a career as a professional helper.

As a trainee, therapy with me might well be challenging on a number of levels. At the same time, provided that the two of us are able to find a good enough 'fit' to work well together, I aim to offer the kind of experience that will provide you with an in-depth understanding of what you, as an individual, will be able to bring to therapeutic relationships with your future clients.

Caroline Clarke, UKCP registered Humanistic psychotherapist (Universities Training College UTC member). Therapy for trainee counsellors and psychotherapists in Brighton.

Image courtesy of Mila McGonigal on Unsplash