100 – Success in Counselling
Celebrations in the Counselling Room – Achieving 100 Client Hours
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.
Owning Your Success (starts at 2.13 mins)
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:
- The main website (counsellingtutor.com) has been upgraded and rebuilt three times to keep up with users’ needs and technological advances.
- Over 2 million free resources have been accessed (including downloads, articles and videos) by people all over the world.
- The Counselling Study Resource (CSR) has been born – and has had two rebuilds and hefty investment in order to improve its efficient and effective working in line with the latest technology.
- The team has grown from the original two (our regular presenters, Ken and Rory) to seven, including people with a wide range of expertise – from academic researching/writing to finance.
- Our Facebook group – dedicated to the study and practice of counselling and psychotherapy – has grown to have over 21,000 active members, making it the largest Facebook group in this field in the world!
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!
Celebrating Clients' Success in Counselling (starts at 18.14 mins)
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 Handouts Vault and Counselling Study Resource (CSR).
Achieving 100 Client Hours (starts at 21.00 mins)
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.
Rory and Ken offer key tips relating to practice hours:
- As the hours must be supervised, make sure you fully understand the requirements of your awarding body and course provider on supervision.
- If you are struggling to complete your hours by the end of your course, don’t panic – there’s usually a ‘grace period’ afterwards.
- If you’re worried about building your hours, speak to your course tutor for advice.
- Try searching ‘client hours’ on our Facebook group for lots of related discussions.
- When you reach that 100th hour, make sure you make time to celebrate in a way that feels special and meaningful to you!
Free Handout Download
Celebrations in the Therapy Room