How to Protect Yourself as a Therapist - Working as an Interpreter for Counselling

In Episode 267 of the Counselling Tutor Podcast, your hosts Rory Lees-Oakes and Ken Kelly discuss this week's three topics:

Firstly in 'Theory in Practice', how to write a counselling CV.

Then in 'Practice Today', Rory and Ken discuss protecting yourself as a therapist.

And lastly in this week's 'Practice Matters', Rory speaks with Eniko Koncz about being an interpreter for counselling.

How to Write a Counselling CV [starts at 02:26 mins]

When it comes to putting together a CV, you want to be presenting the best of what you have to offer. In this section, Rory and Ken go through certain things you might include when writing your counselling CV:

Your CV should reflect who you are, your views, and your why.

Include your understanding of ethics, and your commitment to learning and personal development, your perseverance.

When writing a counselling CCV, include some of your hobbies or personal interests - this will assure the person reading your CV that you have an outlet for self-care.

Look if you have any transferable skills from things you've done in the past.

Your counsellor CV should open a window - you should be able to talk about the things on your CV, it should include things that invite conversation.

Include any areas of research you've done and been interested in.

When thinking of how to write your counselling CV, consider what they will want to hear - does anything you've done in the past fit in with their values? Do your research on where you're applying.

Include headings and highlight/bold certain words you feel are important. When someone is scanning over your CV, certain things should stand out to make them want to read your CV in full.

Have your CV proofread, read it to yourself out loud.

Ensure your contact details are easy to find on your CV.

Show your passion - add why you think you'd be a great fit with where you're applying.

Maybe add a letter along with your CV detailing why you are a great fit specifically for where you're applying and your reason for wanting the position.

Pay attention to detail.

How to Protect Yourself as a Therapist [starts at 24:18 mins]

Being a counsellor can come with risks, and it's important to take measures to avoid it as best you can. In this section, Rory and Ken discuss some of the dangers you may encounter, and how you might consider planning for them:

Have a separate work phone - you should separate personal from professional as much as you can, specifically in relation to how clients can contact you, this allows you to enforce certain boundaries.

Think twice about answering a call from a withheld number - if it is a client trying to contact you, they can leave a message and you can get back to them.

If you're seeing a client alone, do you have a system in place to account for risk? Consider having a 'buddy' - someone that you text when a client comes in, and when a client leaves. If they don't hear from you and can't get in contact with you, they can alert the police.

When working for an agency, there should be a lone working policy in place.

If the session is taking place at a client's home, or your own, has a risk assessment been made? Does someone know where you are?

Have a think about these situations and the measures you can put in place so you're prepared.

Working as an Interpreter for Counselling [starts at 39:33 mins]

In this week's 'Practice Matters', Rory speaks with interpreter Eniko Koncz, finding out more on interpreting counselling sessions.

The key points of this discussion include:

Eniko can interpret both in Hungarian and in Russian.

She interprets both online, and in-person.

By interpreting a session remotely, this allows for more flexibility and less travel.

Ideally, the counsellor will be in touch beforehand to pass over some information on how...