Therapists and their therapists

Here’s a thing you might not know: therapists have therapists.

In fact, having personal therapy was a requirement of my counselling training. As well as giving trainees the experience of what it feels like to be in the ‘client chair’, having regular counselling also allowed us to discover how our own histories and experiences have shaped our lives and view of the world.

Having therapy as trainees also helped us to become aware of our own behaviour patterns, to learn to sit with discomfort (ours and others’), and to experience the challenges and rewards of being open to change.

The effect was a little like studying for a degree, while grappling with those parts of yourself that you’d prefer to keep hidden away. Deep breaths all round.

After qualifying, some counsellors decide to continue with their own therapy, while others may take a break. But many (like me) choose to return to therapy now and again during their careers. Life throws up challenges for all of us; counselling gives us a space to be ourselves and process the things that have happened along the way.

All of this is a way of saying: I believe in what I do. When I encourage my clients to persist, even when the going is hard, it’s because I know that sometimes it’s the difficult things that are most worth doing.