I describe myself as a trainee counsellor, and people are right to ask what that means before they book anything. Here is the plain version.
What training involves
A counselling qualification is not a weekend course. It runs over years and it has three strands that happen at once: taught theory, a supervised clinical placement with real clients, and personal therapy, because you cannot ask someone to look at their own material if you are unwilling to look at yours.
Alongside that sits supervision. Every counsellor in training, and most qualified ones, take their work to a supervisor regularly. We discuss clients anonymously: what I noticed, what I missed, what I might be avoiding. It is the single most useful hour in the month, and it means that when you sit down with me you are getting more than one mind on the problem.
What it means for you
Two honest things.
The first is that a trainee is closely watched. Nobody scrutinises their own work harder than someone still in training. If I am out of my depth, my supervisor will say so before you have to.
The second is that there are limits. Certain kinds of difficulty need a counsellor with more experience than I currently have, or a different kind of specialist altogether. If that is the case I will tell you early rather than late, and I will help you find the right person. Saying “not me” is part of the job, not a failure of it.
Why the fee is lower
Because it should be. A trainee charging what an experienced practitioner charges would be taking something that hasn’t been earned yet. The fee will go up when the qualification does.
If you want to know more about my training and background, the about page has the full list. If you would rather just ask, get in touch.