Ken Kelly and Rory Lees-Oakes are very proud and excited to present the 100th episode of the Counselling Tutor Podcast! There have been over 600,000 downloads of the podcast since it began – that’s about the population of Glasgow – with a total running time of over 20 years (day and night)! To mark this special episode, Ken and Rory focus on the theme of celebration, looking first at owning your success. In ‘Practice Matters’, Rory then explores his experience of celebrating clients’ success in counselling. Finally, the presenters talk about reaching 100 client hours, and how to mark this huge achievement.
It can be hard for counsellors and psychotherapists to own their success, especially when imposter syndrome kicks in, with its typical thoughts of: ‘Am I good enough?’, ‘Everyone is better than me’ and ‘I don’t deserve to do well.’
From a theoretical point of view, these derive from introjected values and conditions of worth – but understanding this doesn’t mean we are immune from such things ourselves.
If you are struggling with imposter feelings, try writing down all you have achieved and reflecting on this. It can be easy to get lost in the detail as you slog through your studies, and to lose sight of the bigger picture of all you have already achieved.
As Confucius said, ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’ Ken reminds us that as you are climbing the mountain, do take a moment every now and then to turn away from the rock-face, see how far you have already climbed, and look at the view.
When a client who is finishing thanks you for all your help, it’s all too easy to feel and claim you did nothing, handing all the credit to them.
Of course, the client does need to engage and be open to change for counselling to make a difference, but it’s important too that you don’t deny your own role in walking that path with them.
Moreover, showing we can accept compliments helps clients to do so themselves.
Ken sets an example to us of how to take pride in our achievements by reviewing the success of Counselling Tutor since the first podcast went out in January 2016:
Continuing the theme of big achievements, Ken reflects on how he has overcome his dyslexia to write a book, Basic Counselling Skills: A Student Guide, which has been read by thousands of people worldwide, has an 81% five-star rating on Amazon, and is ranked as a best-seller there.
Ken also reports that he has received over 30,000 emails from students and qualified counsellors across many countries.
You have used our Facebook group to share your joy at your own successes, for example when you have reached that long-awaited 100th hour of client contact – and when you have finally graduated from your courses (of all levels).
Do keep sharing – it’s a great way both to encourage others and to help you see just how much you’ve already achieved.
Most importantly of all, we have – all working together – created a community, and changed the face of counselling teaching and learning. And that definitely calls for a celebration!
On-demand access to a rich lecture library covering theory, skills, and professional development for counselling students—Mapped to the UK awarding body criteria
“The Student Library has been BRILLIANT, I can’t recommend it enough!
It has been a lifeline in helping me prepare for practice and my first clients. If you’re considering it, go-for-it, it’s absolutely worth it!”
Kelly – Graduated and now in practice.
Counselling can be thought of as a dark and heavy occupation, but in fact it’s about sharing the full range of emotions brought by clients: it’s just as important to share clients’ joys and successes in counselling.
In this section of the podcast, Rory looks at times of joy in the therapy room, reflects on his own experiences, and shares tips on how and where to celebrate clients’ success in counselling.
We have a handout on sharing in the joy of our clients’ success in counselling here – or you can access it via the Counselling Study Resource (CSR).
Get on-demand Certified CPD that is implementable in your practice
In the UK, practitioner-level training for counselling generally requires students to gain 100 client hours. It can take some time to get these, especially as DNAs don’t count.
Celebrations in the Therapy Room