I am an Integrative Therapist who has gone on to specialize in Child and Adolescent school counseling and to train in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. This means that work with both children and adults and my work is trauma-informed. I work online, face to face, and through telephone and web-based chat.

My Typical Day

As a therapist, no one day is the same. Each day is a carefully constructed combination of what you have to do and what your client brings. That doesn’t mean that you cannot have structure and control over your working day. One of the great things about being a therapist is the flexibility to schedule your day around your needs, but it does mean that your day is somewhat dictated by the needs of your clients, especially if you have a client that presents as high risk.

A typical working day consists of:

• Checking for client inquiries. For me, I check my email inbox to see if any new client requests have come in either directly from my site or through one of the online directories I have signed up to. Sometimes I get client requests on Instagram, so I make sure to check there too.
• Conducting client assessments (initial consultations to ascertain a client’s needs). On a normal day, I will have 1-2 assessment appointments scheduled. I do this to help create a balance in my working day. Assessment sessions are unlike therapeutic sessions in that they are mostly directed by me and the information I need to obtain from my clients to get a full understanding of what has been going on for them. As my practice is online, I am able to write up my assessments during the session which acts down on admin time. Traditionally they would be written on paper, and then typed up and stored securely.
• One-to-one sessions via video chat. At the moment, the majority of my work is one-to-one. My practice is online only, so I see all clients via video chat. Client sessions tend to be more client-led which means the client and I will work together weaving through their process mentally, emotionally, and physically to get a better understanding of the focus that they have chosen for the session. I am an integrative therapist, who runs a trauma-informed practice so at times it is important to incorporate what is happening for the client physically in our work together. Sessions last for 50 minutes and after each session, I take time to write up some brief notes and reflections to help inform our next session. I usually schedule 2 of these types of sessions a day. Sometimes I am required to liaise with other services that are supporting my clients such as GP services. But this is not often the case on a typical day.
• Writing and creating resources to help guide my client’s processes in between sessions. For the rest of my day, I take time to eat, relax and recharge. I also put aside some time to write and create resources to help guide my client’s processes in between sessions. I find that clients find these tools helpful and I enjoy making them so it is a win-win situation! The resources can be on anything that I think clients might find helpful. For example, I have one called “getting to know yourself emotionally”. This resource guides clients through their emotions and helps them understand their relationship with the different emotions they experience. It also helps them identify any additional support they may need.

Pros

• Flexibility. I am able to schedule my days in a way that suits me and works to support my mental wellbeing. By this, I mean that I can monitor how many clients I have and make sure that I have the mental and physical capacity to support my clients at all times. I am also able to get involved in other projects like the writing I mentioned earlier or delivering workshops on mental health and wellbeing to businesses. I enjoy being able to do lots of different things.
• Great opportunities for continuing professional development. As an accredited therapist I am required to keep up with a certain amount of continuing professional development each year. For me, this is great because I love learning. There is always new trainings or something more you can learn about humans and the way we process and react to things and I find this learning fascinating. I can then use my new learning in my client sessions.
• Meeting amazing people every day and getting to help support them. My clients are amazing! I am always inspired by their journeys and the strength that they have that is often unknown to them!

Cons

• It gets lonely sometimes. Working on your own can be lonely. I think a lot of therapists who run their own practices feel the same. You don’t have staff meetings or water cooler moments so you have to make a conscious effort to stay connected with others in the field.
• It can be demanding when working with high-risk clients especially. Being a therapist can take a lot from you physically, mentally, and emotionally, which is why I take the time to schedule my days the way I do. Although we have been trained to work with high-risk presentations and to hold these difficult feelings for our clients, we are human too and have to look after our own mental wellbeing. Thankfully, we have supervision and often our own therapists to help us do that.

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