At Physis Scotland all of our courses are now underway for the new academic year. Core training to become a counsellor or psychotherapist started in September, the Group work course has been running since late summer, the Couples course started this week and the Supervision diploma started their work together at the weekend.
What does that mean for us all at Physis Scotland?
For tutors it’s exciting getting to know new classes and new students; preparing and updating lesson plans and exercises. For our new students, it’s often a step in a new and different direction learning new skills and learning about themselves. A brave and exciting step often for sure. For our returning students it’s another step in their chosen pathway.
In my experience becoming a psychotherapist can be a long and painful journey of self-discovery. It can also be a joyous journey towards autonomy. It can be fun and sad. It is absolutely normal for our own process to show up positively or negatively at some point during whatever training we are undertaking and we never know when that might happen. But it is important to let it happen, work through the experience with trusted others and emerge differently.
Teaching students to become psychotherapists, supervisors, couples therapists and group therapists and watching them transform in front of our eyes is also a humbling privilege.
Many of you reading this know I didn’t start my own journey to become a psychotherapist until I was 52 years old. Better late than never! And what a role to have at this later stage in my life. I am so thankful for the people in my life who helped me achieve my goal.
So, starting a new term marks many milestones for people in whatever part of the journey they are on. It’s not just about new notebooks or new pens or new books. It’s about becoming a psychotherapist or a supervisor or a group therapist or a couple therapist one day at a time. One day at a time. And being open to changing one thing at a time in our lives for good.
Have a good year all! 😊