To the next generation.....

As we move towards the middle of July, holiday season will soon be upon us. My own child only has another two weeks at school (for which he is eternally grateful for!!) and then summer holidays start and hopefully people can get themselves a well earned break.

Then before we all know it, September is here and the start of the academic year for many people. It's also a fair assumption that it will also be the start of a highly anticipated journey for many trainee therapists too, whether that be a level 3 course at a local college or a level 7 course at a university.

It is those trainee therapists that I am writing to today. To give those people some words of advice I never received when I started my journey.

• Is your course the right one for you? Might seem like an obvious place to start, but it is one that is really important! It is always worth asking yourself some questions such as:

  • What will the course have taught me by the end of it? Which therapeutic modalities does it cover? (Person centred, psychodynamic or existential amongst others) What presenting issues will it teach me about?

  • Is the course regulated and will I be eligable for membership of a counselling body once I've completed it?

  • What are the course requirements? Will I need a placement, supervision or even my own therapy. If so, are these available and at what cost?

    
    

• What support do you have in place? Sometimes people decide to train as a therapist to help people who have experienced similar issues as themselves. Often these issues can be triggered at times during the course. Some courses utilise triad groups to practice counselling skills and hearing difficult things can be challenging to process. So it is extremely important that you have processes in place to help you stay grounded. Whether this is friends you can talk to, taking walks, taking breaks from your studies or getting lost for a little while in a show, podcast or hobby, it is important that you have these tools ready to use when needed.

• CPD is your friend! Starting the road to becoming a therapist can be a long and daunting one. There are many different modalities, presenting issues and interventions which you will come across and knowing which of these resonate with you will be an ever changing thing. In order to start thinking about what kind of a therapist you want to be and with who and how you would like to work (and you may already have an idea of this already), make use of the vast array of reasonably priced CPD options. Sites such as online events offer CPD on a select how much you pay system and others such as PESI often have sales on a variety of courses. Social media can also be useful in searching out free CPD opportunities.

• Start to think about how you intend to make a living from this profession. To some people I'm guessing that this will be too early to consider this, but with the benefit of hindsight this is the most important piece of advice I would give anyone entering the profession. It maybe that you are already employed and being a therapist will be a side hustle. But to those who are using this as a mechanism for a career change or as a way of earning a living, it's only fair to highlight that competition for paid employment roles are fierce, sub-contracting roles are underpaid and directories are clogged with therapists, regardless of area. So start to think about which types of clients you'd like to work with and consider tailoring your learning in that direction. Consider side hustles such as writing, producing CPD or courses. Lastly, as much as marketing can be daunting, it can also be your friend.

My intention when writing this was not to put anyone off. Being a therapist is a hugely rewarding profession and seeing a client flourish with your support is an amazing feeling. But the challenges the industry are facing right now are real and aren't being spoken about enough outside of the profession. As with many areas of life, prices are rising, fees are increasing, all whilst disposable income is falling. The therapy industry is working through attempts at some sort of informal regulation whilst platforms such as BetterHelp are doing their bit to further awareness of the benefits and availbility of therapy, whilst at the same time not really paying therapists an amount that justifies the amount of time and costs their training involved.

It's an amazing journey, but it's a journey that people need to go into with their eyes wide open.