'Psychology as a science sometimes ignores what it is to be human'

'We're one of the British Psychological Society's biggest Divisions. If you created a Venn diagram with other member networks – clinical, health and psychotherapy for instance – and with other therapeutic practices, you'd find our skills, our clients, and the techniques we use overlap with all of them. And yet we're less visible than other areas.'

Christine points out that counselling psychologists are trained in psychological theory and research as well as psychotherapeutic skills. About half of those who qualify in counselling psychology go into jobs within the NHS, but many also have roles in private practice and charities. 

'Our training courses are structured more like those for psychotherapy, with longer placements focusing on working at relational depth with complex clients,' Christine says. 'All our trainees are required to have years of personal therapy while they train. We learn not only relational and psychotherapeutic skills but management skills, so a number of us go into non-psychological jobs, particularly since organisations increasingly value our skills in leadership positions. Perhaps it's this very wide range of skills and knowledge that's key to our relative anonymity and not such a bad thing. Since we are very broad in our remit and approach, we aim to sidestep the tribalism and navel-gazing which sometimes bedevils psychology. Of course, there are other reasons why counselling psychology is less visible than other areas of the Society, but we'll come to those…'

'I started out as a performance poet'

Christine's own path into psychology reflects the very broad nature of the area she works in. 'I was born in Philadelphia. My first degree was in Philosophy and English, with a focus on creative writing. The philosophical part of the course introduced me to phenomenological ways of thinking. At the time, I was intent on being a writer and in fact started out as a performance poet. Again, this informs my work. I introduce a poem into every session I teach, and I find that the use of metaphor is exceptionally useful with the doctoral students I work with.'

Christine trained in existential counselling psychology at Regent's University under Ernesto Spinelli. 'I saw how long it took to become a clinical psychologist and the choice I made reflected my preference for a more philosophical approach to training and an interest in learning to practice existential-phenomenological psychotherapy.'

By this time Christine lived in Bristol and undertook all her placements there, including some lecturing at UWE. 'I ended up joining on a part-time basis and I now work for UWE four days a week. I worked in the NHS for some time and now I'm involved in a lot of research into a wide range of areas as well as teaching on the Doctorate in Counselling Psychology. My continuing private practice gives me integrity and authenticity in my academic activities. I am interested in areas as diverse as mindfulness, ACT, eating disorders, creative writing and EMDR [Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing]. While I was sceptical about EMDR at first, my interest grew, reflecting my view that psychology is a whole-body phenomenon and therefore non-verbal, physical, and physiological interventions and communication are important. In my work I stress existential themes, the importance of embodiment and acceptance.'

Is this variety usual for a counselling psychologist? 'I think so – most of us fulfil a variety of posts. But what I've said shows how our activities influence each other, and that's not just in our professional but also our personal lives. To give you an example from my own experience, I trained as a teacher of mindfulness and mindful eating at Bangor and UC San Diego, and this requires the regular undertaking of extended silent meditation retreats. While I thought my earlier life had put me off religion, I started to practice Buddhism in 2009. My Buddhist practice and beliefs are now very important to me. They inform my therapeutic approach, teaching, and research.'

'We can be much freer in our opinions'

Christine's experiences also raise another more general point about counselling psychology. 'Psychology as a science sometimes ignores what it is to be human.'

Perhaps counselling psychology approaches overlap most extensively with clinical psychology practice, 'and indeed they have grown closer to each other in what they do, though there are differences. Clinical psychologists are involved in community and environmental interventions, just like counselling psychologists. They are increasingly involved in issues of social justice and emphasise a trauma-informed approach – as perhaps all psychologists do now. It's clear to most of us that who or what someone is, is not the primary area of interest; it's their story, it's what happened to them. That's obviously key to counselling psychology's approach.'

But there are differences. 'Clinical psychology often has a paymaster in the NHS. Counselling psychology isn't funded but the positive of this is that we can, perhaps, be freer in our opinions and voice criticisms of policy and practice with less concern about how this affects us. We can be very explicit in our criticisms of the predominant medical model.'

Has counselling psychology changed since you took it up? 'Yes. Research activity has widened hugely. Constant changes in key organisations – the NHS and the Society – mean roles have changed. There's a lack of people and resources in the NHS so responsibility for areas like supervision have been pushed down to younger and less experienced psychologists. Our training has changed: we include training as managers, leaders and in running a business on our doctorate now. There are also wider programmes on working with the media and science communication at our university.'

Do you feel counselling psychologists are interested in influencing wider society and bigger issues? 'Trainees are definitely active in seeking to influence policy and in affecting social change. Community psychology is a key movement here, where counselling, clinical and community psychologists come together to support communities to achieve the positive change they seek. One of the elements of my role is collaborating with experts by experience to transform local eating disorders services, helping to win funding for projects designed by local communities. Collaboration with private, public, and community organisations is essential to our work.'

And training is changing. 'Our students are often employed in Band 7 roles before they graduate. Trusts are also increasingly funding training for counselling psychology students who are already employees.'

'Reclaim the word counselling'

Christine returns to another reason why counselling psychology is less well known than it could be. 'Look at the name badge of someone who has qualified as a counselling psychologist, and quite often you'll see a job title such as psychologist, chartered psychologist, consultant psychologist, practitioner psychologist, senior psychologist, or a title that does not even mention psychology. Certainly, the counselling part is often missing. Now, don't get me wrong – I understand why this may be. We get sick of being questioned about our training or asked to explain ourselves, and barriers to equal access to posts and promotion opportunities based on professional title rather than actual competencies still remain. But my  message to all counselling psychologists out there is that we should reclaim the word "counselling." We should be proud of our roots, our training, and our history, and we should think of the trainees and those coming after us – you can't be what you can't see.'

And should people consider it as a career? 'Yes! There's a real freedom of thought in the profession, both in terms of our approach and our ability to voice our concerns. We are mediators, translators, diplomats, and rebels! Our practice centres on the use of the self in psychotherapy, and if that appeals to you, look at our training. And it's more affordable than you might think; doctoral loans are available, and funded placements can be found.'

• See also our Counselling Psychology collection.