Finding her niche in Counselling Psychology- Sarah's story.
Hi everyone
Welcome to our next instalment of the Pathways to Psychology blog.
Today we hear from Sarah Butler- Jones, Principal Counselling Psychologist in Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board in Wales. She never envisioned herself as a Counselling Psychologist, and yet it seems to be a perfect fit. Sometimes we make plans for our careers, and then they change unexpectedly. These changes can involve a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, but often result in a rewarding and inspiring end results- this is certainly the case for Sarah. Darllen hapus! (happy reading!)
Sarah Butler-Jones (she / her) Prif Cwnsela Seicolegydd / Principal Counselling Psychologist (Lead for Memory Service)
Iechyd Meddwl Oedolion Hŷn / Older Adult Mental Health
If someone had told me 16 years ago, when I was sitting my A-Level Psychology exam that fast forward to 2025 and I’d be a Principal Counselling Psychologist, leading a Psychology team in a Memory Service, I would have been pretty confused. Excited maybe, but very confused. I didn’t know what a Counselling Psychologist was, I’d never heard of it before. I didn’t even really want to be a Psychologist back then anyway, my goal was to become a counsellor and work with young people… so how on earth have I ended up as a Counselling Psychologist working in an Older Adult setting?
When you take time to look back and reflect, you often realise that life is full of moments of opportunity (and luck!), and sometimes things fall into place that you never expected would happen, but a part of you feels like “maybe this was always what was meant for me?”
After my A-Levels, I went on to study a BSc Psychology degree at the University of Warwick – it was the time of my life, full of incredible memories and life lessons, and I came out the other end with a 2:1 and a bunch of lifelong friends. I remember taking a module called ‘abnormal psychology’ (in hindsight, an awful name for a module), which centred on different mental health needs and intervention approaches, i.e. humanistic, cognitive-behavioural, psychodynamic etc. and feeling fascinated by it all. I felt uncomfortable with the medical-model narrative of ‘mental illness’ but the humanistic-relational approaches connected with me, and so I went on next to study an MSc Counselling Psychology at Keele University. Essentially, this was a Masters in person-centred counselling, and by this point I’d decided I really wanted to be a Counsellor.
Studying my MSc was a life-changing period in my life – I met the most empathic, authentic, and unconditionally accepting bunch of people I’ve ever known. I was going through a difficult personal period of self-acceptance, having recently come out as a gay woman, and my fellow trainees ‘held’ me, without question or judgement – this taught me the true value of human connection and how healing it can be, in the right hands. I felt so confident that this was where I needed to be and this point in time.
When I finished the MSc and moved back to South Wales, I managed to secure an NHS placement as a volunteer counsellor in Swansea. My supervisor at the time, a formidable, experienced, Counselling Psychologist, took me under her wing and gave me opportunities for clinical work and training, which I could have only dreamed of. One supervision session she asked me why on earth I had a Psychology degree and Counselling training, and yet I wasn’t intending to become a Counselling Psychologist… I told her I’d never even considered it, I’d only heard of Clinical Psychology and that didn’t feel like ‘me.’ She really encouraged me to look at the BPS Qualification in Counselling Psychology (the British Psychological Society qualification also known as the independent route) and talked me through what I would need to do, on top of my existing experience, to get to Chartered status / HCPC (health & care professions council) registration. It was exciting, but also daunting – I didn’t know where it would lead me, but it did make sense.
Around this time, my paternal Grandmother, whom I loved dearly, had recently passed away, and left my brother and I some money… he bought a house, and I paid for my Counselling Psychology training. Had this not happened, I’m well aware that I wouldn’t be where I am now. Counselling Psychology training is sadly not nationally funded, like Clinical Psychology is. Counselling Psychologists have to self-fund course fees, pay for personal therapy and clinical supervision, and frequently have to work for free on unpaid placements. I spent my first two years as a Trainee on unpaid counselling placements, and working part-time in a local care home – financially, it was incredibly hard. Without the support of my family, I couldn’t have done it, and for many prospective trainees, it’s a non-starter.
Halfway through my training, I saw a job opportunity with the Alzheimer’s Society as a Dementia Support Worker (which I could do alongside my counselling placements) – I’d loved my care assistant role, although alongside this, my maternal Grandmother was living with Dementia, and I saw the toll it was taking on my family. I felt a huge pull towards supporting families who were going through what we were, and I was delighted to get the job. The next few years solidified that this was an area of work that spoke to me on a different level – I knew I wanted to work with dementia, older adult, carers, etc. I sought out an NHS placement in an Older Adult Mental Health Team and again, this confirmed to me that I could bring both worlds together – working as a Trainee Counselling Psychologist and working in Dementia care. I felt like I’d found my ‘fit.’
The road to qualifying was unbelievably hard – it demanded so much of me mentally and emotionally, and it really tested my resilience. I had to confront my own vulnerabilities, blind spots and pre-conceived ideas, and had to call deep on my courage to keep going after failing assignments and case studies. I had moments where I knew this was my ‘calling’ of sorts, and I knew that the core values of Counselling Psychology aligned with who I am as a person. But I had so many moments where I felt like an imposter, like I wasn’t good enough to do the job, and someone was going to find out and realise this. I had times where I felt excited about my career ahead, but if I’m honest, I had many more where I wondered if I’d ever, even manage to get to the point of qualifying. Luckily, I made it, and passing my Viva exam was one of the proudest achievements of my life.
When I eventually qualified as a Counselling Psychologist in 2019, 4 years after enrolling, I got a job as a Band 7 Practitioner Psychologist in Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, of course, in an Older Adult Mental Health Team. My manager at the time, a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, was kind and supportive, although clearly reticent about employing a Counselling Psychologist, so I felt like I almost had to ‘prove’ myself in a team of Clinical Psychologists. I worked hard, learned a lot, and made a lot of mistakes, but had a team around me who supported me. Fast forward 2 years and I was suddenly a Band 8a, Senior Counselling Psychologist, in a team I loved, doing a job I loved! In 2023, following some retirements and staff leaving, our team underwent a huge amount of change in terms of the workforce – we had an opportunity to do things differently and I was seconded into an 8b Principal Psychologist role. I went back into education, although I swore I never would, and got my PG Dip (post graduate diploma) in Clinical Neuropsychology, and subsequently got offered the Lead for Memory Service role. Again, I felt like an imposter… suddenly I was leading a Memory Service and had a bunch of staff to manage and supervise. It was exciting but scary, and embarking on a leadership journey was a brand new chapter for me!
Fast forward another 2 years and here we are… we have a fully recruited workforce, excellent staff morale, a supportive and inclusive working culture, and so many exciting service opportunities going on. I’ve managed to secure funding from our Health Board for two of our previous Assistant Psychologists, who are now nearly qualified Counselling Psychologists, and this is one of my proudest achievements. I’m part of a diverse team, where Counselling Psychologists and Clinical Psychologists sit alongside each other, without any hierarchy, and it’s a position that early in my career I could have only dreamed of. I truly, whole-heartedly love my job, and I’m so proud to work in the team, Health Board and speciality that I work in. Older Adult Psychology and memory assessment offers the perfect combination of neuropsychological assessment, therapeutic clinical work, carers support, MDT (multi-disciplinary team) working, and research.
I just never realised back then, that this would be exactly where I belong!
We hope you find reading Sarah's journey an inspiration. It is heartening to see how training and lived experience often come together to highlight a path for us all. We wish Sarah continued success and pob lwc in her flourishing career.
Maybe reading about Sarah spurred you on to get in touch- maybe you have your own experience to share. Ultimately we want to inspire the next generation of Practitioner Psychologists, Psychotherapists, Counsellors, CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) Practitioners, PWPs (psychological wellbeing workers) and many more. We invite trainees and qualified colleagues to get in touch.
Kind regards,
The Pathways team.
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