A Day in the Life of a Counsellor
Emma Pearson is a British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) accredited counsellor. She’s been working at XenZone for over 12 years providing online counselling to children and young people through XenZone’s Kooth service. We had a chat with Emma to find out what a typical day involves for a counsellor.
Each day starts in very a similar way. I wake up, do yoga several mornings a week and then get organised for the day. My online counselling shifts don’t start until 12 noon. I always check emails, messages and pick up on any admin that needs doing. I find that when working online it’s important to maintain strong relationships with the team to avoid feeling isolated. We all know that if we need another member of the team we are only a phone call or email away; we also use an internal instant messaging service that all the team use when on shift. We also have regular team meetings and I feel we are a strong team. Being a BACP accredited counsellor I also take part in external supervision for a minimum of one and a half hours per month.
Working as an online counsellor, there is no such thing as a typical day. Each day is different from the one before. Working as both an online, and face-to-face counsellor the sessions I have with a young person can vary massively. When doing a face-to-face session, I usually will have some idea about the clients presenting issues however when working online a young person can login for a drop-in chat and the topic will be unknown until we start engaging in chat.
Before my pre-booked online clients, I will log on slightly before the arranged time and will re-read over old case-notes to familiarise myself with presenting issues before starting each session. Sometimes I start the day off with drop-in sessions, other days I’ll have scheduled sessions, everyday varies. Online counselling allows me to reach out to young people who may feel they can’t access counselling in person, as well as offering a young person complete anonymity. Because of the anonymous aspect of Kooth, barriers are quickly broken down. Every time I have an online session with a new young person using the site I will try to build a bond with them using the core conditions. I also discuss confidentiality, contracting and how the service works.
One thing that can’t be assessed when counselling online is visual signals and tone of voice. Because of this I constantly assess the young person and their needs, I re-read and concentrate on every message sent for any emotions and changes in their tone. Drawing towards the end of an online chat or a face-to-face session, I check on how a young person is feeling. I believe this is important to enable them to become more grounded after talking about any emotional issues that they have. After a session a young person may have to continue with their day and this makes checking on their emotions a crucial part when ending a session.
Working online, as well as face-to-face in different settings, allows me to have greater flexibility with my days. When working online my days usually start around 12 noon and can finish at 10pm depending on which shift I’m working. If I work a later shift, winding down after a session can be hard. Even if I’m exhausted, my mind is still alert so it’s important that I relax. I usually have a bath, read a book, or sometimes I do some meditation and deep breathing techniques to help me get ready for bed if I’ve had an intense shift. It’s important as a counsellor to maintain self-care.
