Psychology/Counselling/Life Coaching

countryfan

Hi All. This is my first time to post a thread so hopefully I do it ok Anyway to put a very long story very briefly I have for far too long worked in a job that I am just a number putting in the time in order to get paid. Due to a plethora of circumstances I have been forced to look at my entire life and have decided to embark on a total life transformation. Basically if I keep on doing what I've always done I'll keep on getting what I've always got and I don't like what I've always got so I've decided It is time to turn my dreams into reality so I can be the very best person I can be. I have always had an interested in helping others through being a Counsellor and Life Coach. I currently have no qualifications but would be very interested in hearing from anybody who has trained in this field and what courses they would recommend etc. Would also like to talk more to like minded people if there's anybody out there????:eek::eek::eek:

dar100

Personally, I would stay away from life coaching, unless you first train in either psychology or psychotherapy. This is because generally life coach courses are only of 1 year duration, and though they may be good courses, they are inadequate for some of the issues clients may present with.

There are stickies in this forum regarding different professions and the routes to take.

Hope that helps, I'm in work so can't go into full details

countryfan

Thanks dar100 - yip that's my feeling with the life coach aspect too.

Fundrous

Hi Countryfan, counselling and life coaching are very distinct practices, in approach and outcome. I am a trained career and life coach and am happy to answer any questions you may have about it.

HiGlo

Hi there,
I'm kind the same as you. I realised one day that I wanted to totally change my life path and career so I'm slowly but surely making my way through it now.....

I am at the end of a 4 year part time undergrad degree in psychology with an end goal of being a counsellor/psychotherapist.
The one key bit of advise I think I would give you is - CORU are expected to soon be the regulatory body over counselling and psychotheraphy. The regulation is underway. So at this stage, if I was you I would try and look only at courses that are approved by a well recognised body like
PSI
IACP
APCP
ICP
Or some such..... Not all of these organisations accredit courses so have a look on their websites...

Having a recognised qualification when the regulation comes in will put you in a stronger position. It would be awful to put yourself through years of college and then realise it's worthless and you have to start again!!! As a guideline (it depends if you're studying full time or part time), it will take between 6-8 years to get to the qualification of Masters. Depending on the route you want to take you may need to do a Doctorate. I foolishly, naively thought that I could do a 1 or 2 year Masters after the degree and I'd be done, but I am aware now that the route for me will take me at least 8 years - I'm half way through.

I'm not sure what part of the country you're in but I've studied in DBS so can offer some information on that course - BA in Arts (Psychology). If you're interested, you're welcome to PM me.

JuliusCaesar

HiGlo wrote: »

The one key bit of advise I think I would give you is - CORU are expected to soon be the regulatory body over counselling and psychotheraphy. The regulation is underway.

APCP

The links you give to back up this claim about CORU are from this particular organisation, which has a regrettable habit of overstating the case. If CORU can succeed where attempts to regulate counselling and psychotherapy by the EU and the UK failed, I will be exceedingly surprised.

The other organisations are affiliated to European bodies.

APCP claims to be involved with the Psychological Therapies Forum? Does that even still exist? The PTF was iirc a loose affiliation of counselling bodies which recommended that the profession be regulated. Don't think they actually reached agreement on how this could be done.

hotspur

JuliusCaesar wrote: »

The PTF was iirc a loose affiliation of counselling bodies which recommended that the profession be regulated. Don't think they actually reached agreement on how this could be done.

Well there is a pretty big disagreement between the IACP and the ICP on whether counselling and psychotherapy are different things, and as such that counsellor and psychotherapist should be different statutory titles.

Here is the IACP position paper on it:
http://www.irish-counselling.ie/files/UserFiles/News-Links/IACP-Position-Paper-Nov-20-2013.pdf?pmsession=3l8pt8i1su95m3gpsqvgefgrf0

And the ICP:
http://iahip.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ICP-Position-Paper-January-2015-1.pdf

leblanc

Hi All

Can I weigh in here with a question (as this is the most recent thread on the topic) I'm considering seeing a life coach as I find myself moving in the same circle over the last few years and want to move on to do something I would enjoy rather than working for the sake of working. A) is this something a life coach is qualified to address and if so; can anyone make a recommendation in the Kerry/Limerick area or what should I be asking of a coach before I commit to them?

Many thanks,

Le Blanc

magicmoves

leblanc wrote: »

Hi All

Can I weigh in here with a question (as this is the most recent thread on the topic) I'm considering seeing a life coach as I find myself moving in the same circle over the last few years and want to move on to do something I would enjoy rather than working for the sake of working. A) is this something a life coach is qualified to address and if so; can anyone make a recommendation in the Kerry/Limerick area or what should I be asking of a coach before I commit to them?

Many thanks,

Le Blanc

Hi Le Blanc, I am in the same boat too and would be interested in any advice aswell. I think we all want to enjoy our work which will make our lives more fulfilling.