FAQ

Making contact with a therapist

You may get in touch with a counsellor or psychotherapist through your G.P., another professional or through a recommendation. You are paying for a service so check around and don't feel obliged to continue with someone who you do not feel comfortable with. A good therapist should receive you with respect, warmth, non judgemental acceptance and an open mind. Don't put up with a therapist who does not adhere to personal boundaries. For example: a therapist who is frequently late, takes phone calls, or is frequently distracted is not abiding by the boundaries of the therapy. Do talk to them about anything you are not happy about in the therapy. Unless they are in training they should either be working towards accreditation with one of the organizations below or be accredited. For a listing of accredited therapists contact the main professional bodies in Ireland:

ICP Irish Council for Psychotherapy www.psychotherapy-ireland.com
IAHIP Irish Association for Humanistic & Integrative Psychotherapy www.iahip.com 
IACP Irish Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy
www.irish-counselling.com
PSI Psychological Society of Ireland www.psihq.ie

Accredited means:
The therapist is fully qualified
Has a minimum of 450 hours (IACP) post graduate experience of working as a therapist
Abides by a code of ethics and practice
Has regular supervision
[Associate members of organisations are not accredited]

Organisations which accredit individual therapists based on established high standards in Counselling and Psychotherapy training

After training a therapist works towards accreditation (equivalent to registration or licensure in USA). If someone is accredited they can add membership after their name i.e. MIACP or MIAHIP (fully accredited member). Accredited means the therapist has been scrutinised by the professional body and qualifications checked that they have had appropriate training [fully qualified], are experienced (350-600+ hours of client work under supervision), abide by a code of ethics and have regular supervision and continuing professional development.  For a listing of accredited therapists contact one of the professional bodies in Ireland listed below.  Be aware that it is unethical to use the term 'associate' (as in associate member of.......) as this is a category which anyone (lay person, plumber, etc!) can join regardless of who you are and should not be stated in any advertising literature as it can deceive people into thinking the person is an accredited member when they are not.   
  

Foundation courses and entry requirements for Professional training programmes 

A foundation course is required for entry to recognised professional training courses. Institutes offering professional training courses are looking for a Foundation course that involves a high level of personal development work, especially through groupwork as well as theoretical input that helps you understand the subject. They want to know that you have experienced, coped with and grown from groupwork as recognised professional training courses will involve group therapy. The following general criteria is used to assess if you are suitable for professional training:

Experience in personal development work (commonest reason for non-acceptance is an applicants lack of personal development)

Sufficient self awareness, maturity and stability

Ability to make use of and reflect upon life experience

Capacity to cope with emotional and intellectual demands of course

Experience of counselling training: foundation course

All the above are developed on a foundation course where personal development work and theory seminars are facilitated by accredited psychotherapists with training or teaching qualifications (H.Dip or BA Ed)
 

"At its core counselling is a searching human relationship where the client and the counsellor are committed to finding creative responses to the client's present difficulties and needs." IACP (1995).

Theoretical approaches to Counselling & Psychotherapy 

Gestalt: focused on full here and now awareness, encouraging self support and self responsibility

Existential: philosophical approach with no inherent techniques or skills. Focuses on how the person is choosing to live their life. Encourages self responsibility and review of personal perspectives, beliefs, wants, values, attitudes and needs.  

Cognitive behavioural: helps person to develop more self supportive thought patterns and behaviours through fairly directive and psycho educational approach

Person centred: based on the therapist being empathic, genuine and accepting. The client is viewed as the expert on themselves

Psychodynamic: psychoanalytical, making links between present behaviour and past experiences

Psychodrama: encourages live reenactment of traumatic experiences and desired outcomes.

Bodywork: therapist focuses on the clients body directly in order to facilitate frozen experiences and emotions therein

                                          

A personal view on what is required for an effective counselling and psychotherapy relationship

People that visit therapists (clients) are unique individuals with unique problems, circumstance and strengths. Accordingly, in offering the client the best 'treatment' response as a psychotherapist the challenge for the practitioner is to be able to offer an individualised approach based on the unique individual needs of the client. That last sentence is important. The therapist should not limit the client by working from a fixed singular approach which tries to fit the client into it! rather than the therapists adapting and forming a 'fit' with the clients way of operating in the world. A common mistake in inexperienced therapists and others is to offer the client an approach based on the therapists own belief system or belief system introjected from their training (often offering only one theoretical approach), rather than focusing on what is best for the client based on research, training and experience in a no of models and what grounded personal experience (work and life) has taught the therapist. Thus the therapists ideally draws on a no of approaches depending on what is most likely to help the client. By this I do not mean eclectic (pick and mix!) rather meaning integration of approaches studied and experienced by the therapist. Thus an approach not based on only belief and preference rather on substantial training, experience, reading, personal development work, reflection, discussion, openness to, etc. Therapists also need to focus on the whole person being prepared to not only help the client through the 'talking cure' but also focusing, on the clients physical self - their body, movement etc. The therapist needs to have had sufficient training and experience to be able to do this, of course. In a broader sense effective therapy involves a balance of support and confrontation (confronting the client with what is outside their awareness but influencing  their problem situation) with the level of each dependent on the individual needs of the client. Through my supervisory work it is clear that the greatest challenge for many trainee and inexperienced therapists is to be open, direct and honest with clients and themselves. A challenge many also rise to meet in the process of supervision. In conclusion, therapists, to be effective, need to be flexible, creative, innovative and fluid in their approach and belief systems