Embracing the wounded healer- Paisley's journey in Counselling Psychology
Hello everyone and welcome to the next instalment of our Pathways to Psychology blog. Today we hear from Paisley McManus, a colleague soon to complete her studies in Counselling Psychology at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Paisley has already found a niche and writes about her guiding compass, her learning, and her willingness to flex and change as her career path takes shape. We hope you will find reading Paisley's blog inspiring.
Training to Become a Counselling Psychologist: A Voyage of Continual Discovery
by Paisley McManus
Journeying into Counselling Psychology: Embracing the Wounded Healer
Having started my Counselling Psychology Doctorate in 2022, I had been working towards this moment for many years, motivated in both conscious and unconscious ways. To illustrate, after setting my heart on becoming a Psychologist during my A-Levels, I initially doubted that working-class people were fit for university, however I soon learnt that despite being the first person in my family to do so, it was possible. Undertaking my Psychology undergraduate degree was exciting; I loved learning about the human mind and I engaged in any care-related roles I could find, including befriending, helpline volunteering, honorary contracts, and mental health support work. The end goal at that time was to pursue Clinical Psychology, a popular route that I knew would result in me becoming a Psychologist. However, a turning point in my career trajectory (and life itself!) arose when I met Miltos, the inspiring senior lecturer facilitating my final year undergraduate module ‘Principles of Counselling and Psychotherapy’. It was through his teaching that I finally discovered alternative pathways existed, including Counselling Psychology. I was quickly magnetised to Counselling Psychology and took every step I could to pursue it, such as the prerequisite Counselling Skills Certificate.
I appreciated many things about Counselling Psychology, including its emphasis on the use of self, its critical stance toward the medical model, the opportunity to learn Psychodynamic approaches, the embracing of pluralism, and finally, its valuing of life experience as shaping someone’s readiness for and experience of doctoral training. To illuminate the latter, it feels undeniable that my upbringing, relational templates, strengths, and adversities have shaped who I am today. In many ways, I believe my life experiences intuitively predisposed me to a career in supporting others, while I also chose this pathway with passion and intention. During the module on Counselling and Psychotherapy, I encountered the term ‘wounded healer’, whereby undergoing mental pain is argued to predispose one towards wanting to support others (Farber, 2017). Discovering the wounded healer concept validated my life experiences and endorsed my wish to help others; I realised that this was something that could be embraced as a Psychologist. The wounded healer is a powerful term that I have carried throughout my journey; I am still learning how I resonate with this concept, yet Counselling Psychology was the place I found it to fit.
Exploring Potential Directions: Learning through Placements and Modules
Embarking on Counselling Psychology training was intimidating to begin with. Looking back, it was indeed exhausting to meet the demands of assignments, personal therapy, research, and placement work over the years, yet equally, time passed like the blink of an eye. For example, the once impossible-sounding 450 hours of supervised practice were soon behind me, counting every hour meticulously: a forgotten task. I used these 450 hours to gather a range of experience, across primary care, secondary care, physical -and mental health, and within private and NHS settings. Through testing the waters, I was able to discover which areas I most enjoyed working with, such as my desire to work with individuals in a relational manner in the long-term. I came to appreciate both CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) and psychodynamic work, starting to blend them into my own integrative practice, while holding my relationship with clients at the core. Expect the unexpected is what I would tell aspiring trainees; although establishing goals is helpful, remaining open-minded was key!
Not only does discovery occur via placements, but at UWE (University of the West of England) Bristol, I was exposed to a wide range of modules, including theoretical learnings, practice-based assignments, and teaching on Neuropsychology, leadership, and critical Psychopathology. In the latter module, we were encouraged to critically evaluate the sociocultural contexts in which ideas such as depression are understood. For instance, I used Cantopher’s (2017) stress-based illness model and Gut’s (1989) productive depression to better understand this phenomenon; this felt rebellious, deconstructing traditional conceptualisations of mental health and finding alternatives. Ultimately, such criticality alongside curiosity is a special gift that my training in Counselling Psychology offered, enhancing my worldview.
Falling in Love with Academia: Finding Passion in Teaching and Research
Next, an unexpected twist in my journey occurred via my research interest of Autoethnography. Autoethnography is an approach to research which usually encompasses the researcher as primary participant sharing their subjective lived experience and critically analysing this in relation to sociocultural contexts, with the aim of connecting with the reader or audience (Adams et al., 2022). I chose to use this methodology for my thesis, encouraged by a small collective of Counselling Psychology colleagues in the field. Following my discovery of Autoethnography, I became increasingly passionate to advocate for its use, presenting my understandings of Autoethnography at conferences and away days. Networking further, I eventually landed a role as an Associate Lecturer, teaching undergraduate Psychology classes and introducing Autoethnography in research-related modules. Finally, I now supervise undergraduates using this approach; it is a gift to witness students making space for their own stories as meaningful psychological research. I fell in love with working in academia and I am excited to see what opportunities continue to emerge; if you have a passion for research, Counselling Psychology might just offer a place to pursue this further!
Becoming through Practice: Applying Insights in the NHS and Beyond
Reviewing the entirety of training, I am now in my final stages, with only my research left to submit. Counselling Psychology training has been one of the hardest journeys to navigate, with persistent self-reflection, the demands of placements and assignments, alongside life itself not stopping while you are a trainee! It requires the art of spinning plates and asking for support, to manage everything at once. However, I would not change this journey, for Counselling Psychology has changed who I am both personally and professionally.
At present, I balance my interests in teaching at the university alongside a busy NHS position, working in secondary community mental health care and rehabilitation hospital settings. I feel privileged to be working alongside amazing clients in the NHS. I aspire to bring a contextual, critical, relational, and social justice informed perspective to this work. Moreover, I advocate for the reflexive use of self for mental health practitioners, as was important from the very beginning of my journey into Counselling Psychology. Beyond the NHS and academia, I aspire to continue engaging in qualitative and post-qualitative research. Most importantly, I hope to continue developing my skills as a Practitioner. As Counselling Psychologists and human beings, we are ever-evolving, transforming, becoming. There is a world of possibilities ahead, and this incredible voyage of discovery is set to continue.
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