I often get asked, how did I become a Psychotherapist. There’s lots of different routes into the profession and often conflicting and confusing advise. It’s not easy and for a good reason, as being a counsellor is a tough job. However, I sometimes wonder if the methods and paths available mean the profession excludes segments of society, which doesn’t feel comfortable. There is lots of research being carried out into this and I hope to see the barriers being broken down over time. Here’s a summary of my route into being a psychotherapist:
Where did I start?
So I started my journey by doing my own research into all sorts of courses and got utterly confused! I finally settled on going to The University of Brighton, but before starting their Post Graduate Diploma course, I needed to complete a CPCAB Level 2 course (at The MET). This is a listening skills course, that I completed part time over a year. It was a great way to put my toe in the water and see if counselling was the right thing for me. I met some really lovely and interesting people on the course.
What I had done before
One of the entry requirements for the Post Graduate Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling is to hold an undergraduate degree, or hold relevant experience you can evidence. Luckily I had already done an undergrad in Business Administration. To begin with I was concerned that this had no subject relevance, but luckily the course will consider any subject.
Applying for uni
Once I had almost completed my CPCAB, I started the process of applying for the PGDip. This consisted of writing a statement of intent. I spend tedious hours perfecting this before submitting it. I was thrilled to be offered an interview after this. I remember being super nervous and leaving feeling like I had been too honest and that I had got it wrong. On reflection, I think my honesty is the thing that sold it. After this, I was offered a place and I was excited to start.
Over the summer, there was an assignment set and I was assigned a rather intimidating reading list. I stupidly took a copy of one of the heaviest texts I’ve ever read on holiday to Mexico with me! I actually enjoyed writing that first assignment, even though I was aware that I felt completely out of my depth and no wonder! I was writing about philosophy, a subject that I had never studied before.
The PGDip has two cohorts, humanistic and psychodynamic. These are both modalities, which basically means the way we think about the theory that we base our practice on. Most lectures are taught separately, but some are together. It was interesting to hear about a different perspective on what we were studying.
The humanistic route focuses on a philosophical approach, looking at existentialism and phenomenology, which ask the question what does it mean to be human in the world and look at how we make meaning in life, amongst other things.
The PGDip took 2 years to complete. As part of the course, I was required to undertake a clinical practice placement, where I needed to accrue 100 hours of therapy. I did mine at Carers Support West Sussex. I was very lucky, they provided supervision every two weeks that met the needs of the course, other colleagues had to pay for this. I was also required to be in weekly personal therapy for the duration of the course.
Setting up private practice
At the end of the PGDip, I was qualified to practice and a registered member of the BACP. I was very proud of my achievement. I soon set up my private practice and set up two clinics in Hove and Steyning. I found my business administration undergrad degree very useful to support me in setting up my business. It wasn’t long before I was busy enough to give up the day job and focus on building my private practice.
Despite being qualified to practice, I was eager to know more. I had the time and space to carry on studying, so I enrolled on the Master of Science in Psychotherapy degree at The University of Brighton for the following academic year. This was another 2 years of study. I am really pleased I did this, as I learnt more about other modalities and ways of working, including psychoanalysis and CBT and how to incorporate this into my humanistic practice.
Covid
During my second year of my MSc, Covid arrived. It wasn’t the best timing. The uni were brilliant and when we went into lockdown, all lectures were moved online. There was a real sense of learning how to do online learning together. Focusing on completing my MSc really helped me through the challenges of being in lockdown.
Needless to say, Covid impacted private practice. I decided to take my practice online a week before the country went into a national lockdown. I will always be grateful to the majority of the clients that agreed to continue our work together online. Since Covid, I have continued to work online and love it! I have been very successful with making a connection with clients when working online.
The MSc is affiliated with the UKCP. I am still working on my portfolio to gain my UKCP accreditation. To gain this, I needed to evidence 450 hours of supervised practice at a ratio of 6-1. I needed to be in personal therapy for another 2 years during the MSc. I am currently working on completing my mental health familiarisation placement in the NHS where I work on a mental health inpatient ward one day a week alongside private practice. Once I have completed this, I will be applying for UKCP accreditation.
What I could do next
There are many opportunities for further learning, as I am expected to keep up to date with CPD. Psychotherapy really is a career where you never stop learning, another reason why I love it! My plans for the future are to undertake training to become a supervisor.
Although it feels like a long way off into the future, I would like to undertake a PhD at some point. I know now is not the right time in life, but I feel excited about the possibility of more study and undertaking more research into mental health.