Women counsellors' experiences of personal therapy: A thematic analysis

Abstract

Background: Following recent moves to relax the requirements for clinical mental health trainees to undergo personal therapy, this qualitative project explored the effects of personal therapy on volunteer counsellors. Method: Interviews were conducted with 19 volunteer counsellors at a women's community centre, and the data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: Emerging themes included the importance of personal therapy for trainee development, key elements of personal therapy and the idea that personal therapy is ‘a double-edged sword’. Discussion: Allowing for evident methodological difficulties in evaluating the impact of personal therapy on trainees, this study suggests that close consideration should be given to the potentially adverse effects of reducing requirements for personal therapy in clinical trainings.

Keywords:

• personal therapy
• qualitative research
• volunteer
• counsellors
• thematic analysis

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank our participants and Sue Berger. We gratefully acknowledge the support of Middlesex University and the King's Fund.