The Aspiring Psychologist Podcast - Navigating the Journey to Mental Wellbeing: A Conversation on Finding the Right Therapist

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hi there, it's Marianne here. Before we dive into today's episode, I want to quickly let you know about something exciting that's happening right now. If you've ever wondered how to create income that works for you, rather than constantly trading your time for money, then you'll love the Race to Recurring Revenue Challenge with my business mentor, Lisa Johnson. This challenge is designed to help you build sustainable income streams. And whether you're an aspiring psychologist, a mental health professional, or in a completely different field,

Starting point is 00:00:32 the principles can work for you. There are also wonderful prizes to be won directly by Lisa herself. And if you join the challenge by my link, you can be in with a chance of winning a one-to-one hours coaching with me, Dr. Marianne Trent. Do you want to know more? Of course you do. Head to my link tree, Dr. Marianne Trent, or check out my social media channels, or send me a quick DM and I'll get you all the details. Right, let's get on with today's episode. Coming up in today's episode, ever wondered why finding the right therapist is an

Starting point is 00:01:06 absolute game changer? Well, buckle up because in today's episode, we're diving deep into the crucial reasons why working with a qualified therapist can transform your life. Whether you're navigating personal challenges, seeking growth, or just aiming for a happier, healthier you, stick around because we're about to uncover the incredible impact a skilled therapist can have on your journey to mental well-being. Don't miss out on the insights that could shape your perspective. Hit that subscribe button, follow the show and let's get started on this empowering exploration together. Welcome to a special collaboration on the Aspiring Psychologist podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Marianne Trent, Qualified Clinical Psychologist, and today I'm joined by the

Starting point is 00:01:59 brilliant Dr. Tara Quinn-Cherillo from the Adversity Psychologist podcast as we team up for a joint episode. Exciting. Together, we're delving into a topic that impacts us all, finding a qualified therapist in the UK. Join us as we unravel the importance of this journey and share invaluable insights on navigating the world of mental health professionals. Whether you're an aspiring psychologist or someone seeking guidance, this conversation is packed with wisdom. Stay tuned for a thought-provoking discussion that might just change the way you approach your mental well-being. Let's dive in. I want to welcome you back Tara to the Aspiring Psychologist podcast and then of course this is a dual episode. Nice to have you and me together again it's lovely to see you thanks for having me. It is

Starting point is 00:02:52 so if people are listening from Aspiring Psychologist podcast we met in August 2022 when we were thinking about the kind of tricky issues of people being appropriately qualified to do what they say they can do, weren't we? Absolutely. It's that long ago, isn't it? So a little tiny seed has now grown into a wonderful thing to try and help people understand a bit more about that. It has. What has our seed grown into Tara? Oh this is so exciting and I can't believe we're actually going to say it. So we have written a book to help people understand. It's kind of two parts really aren't there? A little bit more about being qualified and regulated as a talking therapist in the UK but also to help you understand

Starting point is 00:03:43 some things to look out for if you are going to be searching for a therapist or supporting someone else who's going to be searching for a therapist as well yeah and it is important because it's something that my friends and family ask me you know if I want to find somebody how do I even go about kind of climbing through wading through this quagmire what what do I look for how do I make sure someone is going to be safe and okay absolutely and if it's right to say one of the things that we've learned and we thought we were quite well versed in who's who and what professional bodies they're with there's a lot of little gaps um so we've worked quite hard to inform ourselves in order

Starting point is 00:04:25 to be able to inform the public haven't we um it's not that easy to just go and find a therapist there are so many terms and they're so interchangeable it can be a bit of a a difficult path to navigate and for most people who might be looking for a therapist you might already be feeling quite unwell so that's an extra barrier to get over as well so I think that's why this book means a lot to us because we want to help people make that journey as easy and as safe as possible don't we yeah we do and I think sometimes just trying to you know find that last bit of energy in the tank to find someone almost interview them make sure they're going to be a good fit for you can be exhausting and I don't know about you but I've had experiences where some of my clients now

Starting point is 00:05:10 have been burned from getting the wrong therapist for them and then it's taken them years to kind of lick their wounds and then come back to it again so this is why getting it right first time or certainly the time that you're looking for that's why it matters isn't it yeah we talk about therapist fit a lot don't we so I always like to think of that on two levels so there's the fit between you and the individual is it someone you feel comfortable talking to you know is that person the right person for you personally because I sometimes work with people and the fit isn't right and that's okay but there's also that second level that actually is this person safe are they using a robust model are they qualified in what they say they are can you look them up that's the safety stuff that's

Starting point is 00:05:55 the risk stuff that's the kind of foundation for me and if you can have help with that then you can start to look at well actually is the fit okay and I think that's why our book's quite helpful because we're not just looking at where do you go to find people but we're helping people understand a bit more about those concepts aren't we and hopefully making that journey a little bit easier for them as well we certainly are and you know it's been a joy to work with you on this project you know you've been so responsive You've had to chase me a little bit here and there. Well, when we're both running busy practices, we both do all sorts of other things as well.

Starting point is 00:06:32 We both, I think the kind of common ground, if it's all right to bring that in the podcast, is we like to get good ethical, qualified information out to the public on all things emotional health, don't we? So this kind of came for us from some of that other work as well that you know we both do media work um this means a lot to us this isn't just about writing a book and getting information out there we care about people and we want them to have the right and the safe journey as well don't we we do i passionately care about people

Starting point is 00:07:00 living distress-free lives and being able to feel better you know have that adaptive healing method that means that life doesn't feel like such a struggle um and I guess that's the bit that I want people to hang on to because some people might feel like this is elitist this is not us saying you must see a qualified psychologist. It's not that for me at all. It's make sure you know what you're getting and that someone is the right person to see you. Absolutely. I'm so glad you brought that up because as psychologists and we're both psychologists, different types of psychologists, which is also helpful for people to understand. This is not about elitism at all this is about us wanting to help protect the public because the you know when you listen to the podcast now what

Starting point is 00:07:50 does the word therapist mean to you it can mean so many different things we're talking about talking very specifically but even within talking therapy there are so many different types of practitioners counselors um and we want to help people learn a bit more about that and post pandemic we've got a mental health crisis in the UK so more and more people we know that are reaching out. Where are they going? On top of that we've got a digital age now so more and more people are offering things online and in different formats. That's a lot to navigate even since I started my career 20 odd years ago. So where do you go? Where do you start? And sometimes if that seems really overwhelming, my concern is that people might not start that journey,

Starting point is 00:08:31 they may not reach out because it just seems too much. So we're hoping, aren't we, that this book might be bought by people like GPs, people that are going to be supporting people who might want to also look up a therapist, not just that individual member of the public. So if we can hopefully through our book, educate more professionals, get more conversations like this going. So we've, you know,

Starting point is 00:08:52 we've liaised with different agencies that are in the book, haven't we? And the fact that we can all work together to help people understand a bit more about this and starting conversations is that's what we can do. We can all do that we're doing it right now aren't we well you're a master at that obviously with your conversation starter project but that's um another little passion project for you that um has really grown beautifully in 2023 so just in case people are listening like I don't know what that is

Starting point is 00:09:22 this is where Tara set up um with a friend and colleague of hers that people could just meet and walk and talk and have conversations. And it's it's grown to something beautiful. But yeah. So back to the book. What have we called it and where can people get it? What is our book called?'s called talking heads it's your guide to finding a qualified therapist in the uk and hopefully you will be able to find it on amazon super easy um hopefully you'll be able to tell your friends and your family about it um we're hoping it's a really easy read a nice easy digestible book broken down into some really

Starting point is 00:10:02 easy read sections um and something again that people can just start conversations about there's this book read it or i've read this in a book let's share that with people um and we're really pleased actually aren't we about sometimes it's hard when we've all got busy lives with both parents as well to try and get something completed getting an idea completed but it just shows when something really matters you can do that can't you yeah and you know it felt like launching it in January um is kind of a really good time because often people might be having new year's resolutions they might be thinking what would I want to be different this time next year mental health and kind of wellness goals are kind of common in that and so it felt like a really important time to launch this book and I think

Starting point is 00:10:53 as well the media started to talk a little bit more about the mental health crisis we have in the UK but also we're seeing more and more and we've had some messages as well ourselves haven't we in conversations with people who have maybe seen someone that they've had concerns about or are just noticing that there's more and more options available to manage your mental health um the rise of coaching in the uk for example is something really important to bring in here um and we just want to help people to navigate all of that information um and when better than the start of the year sometimes after christmas christmas can be a tricky time for many people actually might be a time when people start to reflect as you say make some resolutions or just think about where they might want to make some life choices so

Starting point is 00:11:33 perfect time to have a guide to help you with that journey yeah and i know when i was working in the nhs sometimes people would say well if i wanted to find a qualified private therapist where would i go at which point you're not really supposed to make recommendations so this might be a really nice kind of signpost to say actually there's this that's available that can help you through that process because this is not uh it's not high cost price it's not even particularly long as a book you know it's just getting this out there as a robust and valid and useful information source absolutely absolutely um and it's again yeah we both have background in the nhs don't mean sometimes there can be these barriers

Starting point is 00:12:19 understandable ones to being able to signpost people in the right direction and it but it is really hard though because sometimes that leaves people in uncertain places and people would know I am mrs risk averse I don't like people being left in a situation where they may end up seeing someone who could put them at risk put their mental health at risk and we both know that there are people out there who are offering services that would come under the umbrella of mental health who should not be doing that and we're big and bold aren't we we don't mind starting conversations about that so you know this isn't about bashing people it's just about making the public aware that some titles for some therapists in the UK are not protected and that anybody can set

Starting point is 00:12:58 themselves up as certain types of therapists or talking therapists in the UK which is mind-blowing when you think about it and some people if it's okay to say can hide behind certain names and we might not question those names because they have power behind them so part of the book is helping also to deconstruct some of those titles helping people learn a little bit more about how people can operate so you can spot it so you can be brave and ask those questions about who you're seeing what their qualifications are who they are regulated with who's keeping an eye on the work that they do and what that could look like so we both know don't we that on websites sometimes people can have logos that look super fancy look like they're a member of an organization but actually they are not so we've put some information in there haven't we to help people navigate that

Starting point is 00:13:43 which for me is a really really important part of why we're doing this it really is it's just about safety integrity ethics and you know what we think about is efficacious treatment stuff that actually gets results that that helps people achieve their goals whatever whatever that might be. Yeah. And for some people, it's a huge thing, isn't it, to notice that something isn't okay with your emotional health, to think about taking that big, bold and often vulnerable step to find someone to talk to. For people that haven't been through that journey before, it can be a little bit daunting talking to a stranger

Starting point is 00:14:20 about your inner thoughts, your inner feelings. And we want to make sure that people are doing that in a way that's supportive and protective for them because as you quite rightly pointed out at the beginning of the podcast it can be damaging for some people and that damage can take time to repair and sometimes it's irreparable so we want to really help people on that journey so we're both super ethical aren't we we we care about people that's where this book is coming from um and i'm hoping that anybody who's listened to this podcast whether you are someone who is thinking of reaching out for therapy yourself or supporting someone you know or whether you're

Starting point is 00:14:55 someone who's in an organization where you regularly maybe get asked to signpost people those are the people that we also want to tap into as well. In a nutshell what do we want people to experience from this? So my background and passion is working in learning disability services and one of the things that I learned working with that wonderful client group is about making informed choices helping people to have the right information to then weigh it up and make the best choice for them. So with this book we are providing you with the information and the understanding you need about how talking therapists can operate in the UK in order for you then to go and check the person or persons that you're looking at to begin. Also second really important point to have conversations

Starting point is 00:15:43 to be bold and ask them so if you can take one little nugget from this if you're looking up someone getting to the point where you're going to book an appointment ask them how do I find out who you're registered with and actually go and look them up that's the really important thing being okay with having tricky conversations absolutely so obviously the beauty of a podcast episode is that it's not just for the week that it's launched it's an eternal beautiful beast you know but given that this is you know January um what would be your hopes or wishes or kind of advice for how how our listeners can have a gentler journey in 2024 Tara what would I like for people in 2024 I would like people to be more compassionate to themselves if they are struggling to be okay with having conversations those conversations can be a huge help to you to

Starting point is 00:16:46 others it can be that first stepping stone to feeling better about yourselves and as you said quite rightly Marianne we're all about people feeling better aren't we you know that doesn't always have to be in a clinical setting we can start daily conversations I'd like more of that in 2024 checking in on people how are you how are you really following it up and waiting for that response that's my top thing oh that's so nice I do that more now I do it in my own life how are you on the school path and I'm still walking and now making that effort to either not ask if I can't stop or to go how are you really and I've got time to listen or shall

Starting point is 00:17:25 we make that's really makes such a big difference doesn't it I always use the school path metaphor for all of that stuff that we ask hi how are you and we're still walking we don't stop and maybe we just say hi then yeah if we know we haven't got time that's my thing now if I haven't got time to ask I don't ask now it's really made a big difference. Or if I notice someone, I'll be like, we should catch up. It's been so lovely chatting with you. Thank you for welcoming me back to your audience. And, you know, thank you for sharing your time with my audience too. Looking forward to what 2024 brings for you.

Starting point is 00:18:01 Thanks for being such a lovely part of my 2023 and you know providing all this wonderful content that you do absolutely for free often for the people that are in your life um you know and may may 2024 be prosperous for you and for everyone you care about feelings are very mutual people need to hear more about marianne and the fantastic work you do and the fantastic person that you are as well thanks tara that's really kind so yeah looking forward to i'm sure we'll chat again on our podcast in future if people did want to check out talking heads your guide to finding a qualified therapist in the UK. They can do that by checking the links in our show notes, on our socials, or by going straight to Amazon. Thank you so much for

Starting point is 00:18:53 your time, Tara. A pleasure as always. And that's a wrap for this eye-opening episode of both the Aspiring Psychologist podcast and the Adversity Psychologist podcast. A huge thank you to our fantastic co-host, Dr. Tara Quinn-Cherillo, for joining me, Dr. Marianne Trent, in this insightful conversation on finding qualified therapists in the UK. If you have found value in today's discussion, don't forget to hit the like button, subscribe to the Aspiring Psychologist podcast and the Adversity Psychologist podcast for more great content and share your thoughts in the comments. If you're listening on MP3, please do subscribe to the shows. Please also check out the other recommended videos which are on screen if you're watching on YouTube now. Remember, your mental health journey is uniquely yours and the right therapist can make

Starting point is 00:19:45 all the difference stay tuned for more engaging episodes and until next time take care of yourselves thanks for being part of my world if you're looking to become a psychologist then let this be your guide With this podcast at your side You'll be on your way to being qualified It's the Aspiring Psychologist Podcast With Dr. Marianne Trent My name's Jana and I'm a trainee psychological wellbeing practitioner. I read the Clinical Psychologist Collective book.

Starting point is 00:20:36 I found it really interesting about all the different stories and how people got to become a clinical psychologist it just amazed me how many different routes there are to get there and there's no perfect way to become one and this kind of filled me of confidence that no I'm not doing it wrong and put less pressure on myself so if you're feeling a bit uneasy about becoming a clinical psychologist I'd definitely recommend this just to put yourself at ease and everything will be okay. But trust me you will not put the book down once you start.

The Aspiring Psychologist Podcast - Navigating the Journey to Mental Wellbeing: A Conversation on Finding the Right Therapist

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