The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination. – Carl Rogers

The path to becoming a therapist is both rewarding and complex. If you’re considering counselling training in the UK, you’ve likely encountered a maze of information, that can put you off even trying to get into the counselling profession. This guide aims to clarify the journey and provide you with a clear starting point.

Understanding Therapeutic Approaches

Therapy isn’t a one-size-fits-all profession. There are various approaches, each with its own theoretical background and methods:

1. Existential therapy
2. Psychodynamic therapy
3. Humanistic approaches
4. CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy)
5. Integrative therapy

As you progress in your training, you’ll explore these different modalities and likely find yourself drawn to one or a combination of approaches. While the sheer number of approaches to psychotherapy can seem confusing, don’t let that put you off. All these approaches have a lot in common in terms of the goals of therapy and the understanding of the role of the therapist. The differences between them often come down to emphasis of one aspect over another.

Counsellor Training UK

Becoming a therapist in the UK involves several stages of education and training:

1. Counselling skills courses: These provide a foundation and help you decide if this career is right for you. These courses take place one evening a week, and can be between 10  and 30 weeks. They include lessons on the fundamentals of counselling, and practice of therapy skills (role playing).
2. Diploma in Counselling: A more in-depth study of theories and practical skills. While studying for a diploma you will start seeing clients as a trainee counsellor. The training will be split between the study of theories and practical work in groups.
3. Undergraduate degree: Some choose to pursue a psychology or counselling degree at this stage.
4. Postgraduate training: Many therapists complete a Master’s or Doctorate for advanced specialization.

Accreditation and Professional Bodies

In the UK, several organizations oversee the standards for counselling and psychotherapy:

• BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy)
• UKCP (UK Council for Psychotherapy)
• BPS (British Psychological Society) for those pursuing psychology

Aligning your training with the requirements of these bodies is crucial for professional recognition.

Time and Financial Commitments

It’s important to be realistic about the investment required:

• Time: Training typically takes several years, depending on your chosen path.
• Money: Costs include tuition, supervision, and personal therapy (a requirement for most training programs).

The Personal Development Journey

Becoming a therapist involves more than academic learning. It requires deep self-reflection and personal growth. Most training programs require trainees to undergo their own therapy, which can be a transformative experience.

Being a therapist is as much about knowing yourself as it is about getting to know another person. For that reason students of therapy are usually required to demonstrate their ability for self reflection, either through journaling or through writing self-reflective essays.

Gaining Practical Experience

Theory and personal development are essential, but practical experience is equally important. You’ll need to complete a certain number of supervised practice hours, usually through placements or internships. 

Career Paths

Once qualified, various career options are available:

• Private practice
• NHS services
• Charitable organizations
• Educational institutions
• Corporate settings

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

Learning doesn’t stop with qualification. Ongoing professional development is a key part of a therapist’s career, keeping your skills sharp and your knowledge current.

Taking the First Steps in counsellor training UK

If you’re interested in pursuing this path:

1. Research different therapeutic approaches to see what resonates with you.
2. Consider having some therapy for yourself.
3. Look into introductory counselling skills courses in your area.
4. Reach out to practicing therapists to learn about their experiences.
5. Reflect on your motivations for entering this field.
6. Seek out online forums for students and practitioners, don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Conclusion

Becoming a therapist is a journey of professional and personal growth. It requires dedication, self-reflection, and a genuine desire to help others. While the path may seem daunting, remember that every experienced therapist once stood where you are now.

If you’re passionate about supporting others in their mental health journey, this could be an incredibly rewarding career choice. Take your time, do your research, and don’t hesitate to reach out to professionals in the field for guidance.

What is the most difficult topic to bring up in a therapy session? Is it childhood trauma, relationship crisis, or sexuality? None of the above. The real taboo, the elephant in the room that very rarely gets a mention is money. Often, the only time when money is spoken about in therapy is at the first session, when the therapist and the client agree on the fee and on the way it will be paid. After that, usually there is complete silence.

This is a shame (pun intended), as money – like sex, mortality, pleasure, and pain – affect us all. Whether you are just scrapping by or rolling in it, you are affected by money, and money will be showing up in therapy sessions whether you like it or not, whether you are the therapist or the client. Irvin Yalom tells a story of speaking with a new client and giving them directions to his office. “pass the jewellery shop and the delicatessen, then turn right at the opera house”. When the client arrived, they complained “your directions were all wrong, I passed a job centre and a  homeless shelter, and turned at the pawnbroker”. The moral of this story is that while Yalom and his client took the same route they saw completely different landmarks, which also suggests that their experience of this particular journey was coloured by their respective wealth.

Money Scripts

Remember that time your dad said that money does not grow on trees? Or when your mom praised you on saving your pocket money? These moments shape our “money scripts” – the unconscious beliefs we hold about finances.

These scripts play on repeat in our minds, influencing everything from our spending habits to our choice of partner. In therapy uncovering these scripts can be a game changer.

Action step: reflect on your earliest money memories. What did they teach you about wealth and worth?

As therapists we need to be attuned to these dynamics. How does financial inequality affect the balance of power in a relationship? How might it impact a client’s snese of autonomy or self-worth?

The Debt Trap: System Failure not Personal Failure

“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.” Charles Dickens wrote these words over 150 years ago in David Copperfield, yet they ring truer than ever.

Many clients view their debts as a personal failing, a mark of shame. They don’t realize they’re caught in a system designed to normalize debt. Credit cards make it all too easy to spend more than we earn. Student loans burden young professionals before they even start their careers. The housing market pushes many into mortgages that stretch their finances to the breaking point. Some people are working and still cannot make ends meet not because they are ‘bad with money’ but because they are not paid a honest wage by the employer. Profits are stolen wages, Karl Marx said.

As therapists, we need to help clients see the bigger picture. Their debt isn’t necessarily a reflection of poor choices or lack of willpower. Often, it’s the result of a system that makes debt almost unavoidable for many. By shifting this perspective, we can help alleviate the shame and self-blame that often accompany financial struggles.

Breaking the Silence: Talking Money in Therapy

So, how do we tackle this taboo topic? Here are some strategies for addressing money in therapy:

1. Normalize the conversation: Make it clear that money is a valid and important topic in therapy.
2. Explore money scripts: bring to therapy your unconscious beliefs about money.
3. Address financial trauma: Recognize that money issues can be a source of deep-seated trauma.
4. Examine power dynamics: In couples therapy, openly discuss how financial imbalances affect the relationship.
5. Challenge societal narratives: In therapy, question harmful beliefs about wealth, worth, and debt.

Further reading on money in therapy:

“The Psychology of Money” by Morgan Housel

“The Communist Manifesto” by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

 

I will probably date myself if I say that Alice Miller’s book “The Drama of the Gifted Child,” was one of the first books that led me to a lifelong fascination with psychotherapy. Originally published in German in 1979, Miller’s book explored what is happening to children who are brought up by narcissistic parents. The child might grow up to become highly successful in environments that value meeting other people’s needs, such as leadership in politics, business, or the arts, but this success comes at a cost: the child has developed a ‘false self’ to meet others needs at the expense of their ‘true self’.

Picture a child who, from an early age, learns to be hyper-aware of their parent’s needs. This child becomes an expert at reading the room, anticipating mood shifts, and providing emotional support – essentially becoming their parent’s parent. To the outside world, this child appears remarkably mature and bright for their age. What the outside world fails to notice is that this is a survival strategy of someone whose childhood was taken away from them.

As this child grows up, the skills honed in childhood often become the foundation of their adult identity and professional life. Their ability to anticipate and influence others’ emotions can lead to impressive careers in fields like media, theatre, politics, or even psychotherapy.

But there’s a hidden cost to this emotional attunement that Miller brings to light: the development of a “false self.” This is the part of the person that’s developed in order to meet others’ needs, often at the expense of their own emotional well-being.

Meanwhile, the “true self” – the authentic core of the person’s identity – gets pushed aside. By focusing so intently on others’ emotional needs (and becoming very good at it), these individuals often neglect their own, leading to a deep-seated feeling of emptiness or neglect that can manifest as depression in adulthood.

It’s a paradox: the very skills that make these individuals successful and admired can also be the source of their deepest feelings of sadness and shame. They are masters at navigating others’ emotional landscapes while feeling lost and abandoned in their own.

The journey towards healing, Miller suggests, involves recognizing this dynamic and starting to uncover and nurture the true self. It’s about learning to turn that finely-tuned emotional awareness inward and giving oneself the attention and care that was so freely given to others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have you ever struggled with overwhelming feelings of guilt? There may be more to this emotion than meets the eye.

Sometimes, guilt is actually a manifestation of repressed anger – anger that we couldn’t afford to express, especially in our formative years.

Think back to your childhood. If you experienced mistreatment or abuse from a primary caregiver, your natural response may have been to feel angry at that person. But as a child, you were utterly dependent on that caregiver for your survival and wellbeing. Expressing that anger directly was simply not an option.

So instead, the anger got pushed down, shoved aside. But it didn’t disappear. Instead, it got redirected inwards. Rather than thinking “you hurt me,” the child learns to think “it’s my fault, I deserve this.”

The caregiver’s status as good and benevolent is protected, and the child can restore a sense of safety. But the cost is significant – the child also learns to habitually turn their anger inwards, and guilt becomes the default emotional response.

This dynamic can become deeply ingrained, carried forward into adulthood. The guilt persists, but its origins in repressed childhood anger often remain unexamined.

Becoming aware of this pattern is the first step. With self-compassion and the help of a therapist, the suppressed anger can be gradually brought to the surface and released. This allows the guilt to dissipate, replaced by a truer, more empowered sense of self.

If you struggle with guilt, know that there may be more to the story. Exploring the roots of this emotion could be a profoundly healing journey.