网爆门

Editorial: How we became therapists

With another 网爆门 Student Conference听at the end of this month, we hear from听Julia Buckroyd, one of the presenters,听who sets the theme for this issue about听developing as a practitioner. I find it听hugely refreshing when I hear听practitioners like Julia talk because she听brings so much of herself into what she听says about her work. Here she looks back听at how she has evolved as a practitioner听since her early days of psychoanalytic听training when she 鈥榖elieved the party听line about 鈥渁bstinence鈥� and 鈥渢he blank听screen鈥濃��. Thirty years on she has started听to explore for herself what Winnicott鈥檚听鈥榖eing myself and behaving myself鈥櫶齧eans for her as a therapist in terms听of being authentic and human.

There has been some debate recently听in Therapy Today about whether just听completing a training can properly听equip you for private practice, where you听will be working in isolation, without the听support of an organisation. Julia writes听that she was several years into her career听before she realised that her training was听just a beginning and that she needed to听take responsibility for her own ongoing听development. I wonder whether, as we听move further towards professionalisation听and automatic registration, we鈥檙e more听likely to lose sight of this?

Carleen Robinson talks about her听counselling training as a black African听Caribbean woman and how good it felt to听be able to explore for the first time what听it means to be different in our society. But听her experience of training also echoes that听debated by Eugene Ellis and Niki Cooper听in the December 2013 issue of Therapy听Today. Some of her white peers would听fall silent when the subject came up of听what it felt like to be someone from an听ethnic minority on the course. Perhaps听it was too awkward to go there, Carleen听suggests; perhaps they were afraid of听causing offence. Looking back, she听asks how, if this is not addressed during听training, 鈥榗an therapists relate to clients听experiencing these issues and, most of听all, challenge their own prejudices?鈥�

In 鈥楬ow I became a therapist鈥�, Myira听Khan from Leicester describes how,听during her five years of training she听was the only Asian woman and the听only Muslim on her courses. She has听since set up the Muslim Counsellor &听Psychotherapist Network to offer peer听support and networking to Muslim听students and practitioners. Myira has听been named as a 鈥楳ental Health Hero鈥櫶齜y Nick Clegg for her work.

Sarah Browne
Editor

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