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Think you’ve got a good head for analysing other heads? If so, a career as a Psychotherapist might be for you.

Whether it’s defined as a fascination for the human condition or just plain nosiness, a healthy interest in people and their problems is a basic requirement for any psychotherapist. Another prerequisite is a willingness to put in plenty of hard work: many of today’s psychotherapists have spent at least seven years studying before qualifying to practise.

Psychotherapists are trained to treat mental, emotional and behavioural disorders and often work with clients — either individuals or groups — in sessions lasting up to an hour. They can work within the health service, in voluntary sector agencies or in private practice. Apart from working with clients, they can also work as supervisors to other psychotherapists and health professionals and as trainers.

Domhnall Casey, PRO with the Irish Council for Psychotherapy (ICP), says the main role of the psychotherapist is to help clients to either find solutions to or to understand and live with their problems so that change can take place. He believes that psychotherapists must, first and foremost, know themselves and their own faults, but adds that good communication — particularly listening — skills are vital, as is patience, tact and the ability to treat clients and their problems in the strictest of confidence.

The profession is made up of a number of different theoretical approaches, such as cognitive behavioural therapy and psychoanalysis, and, in Ireland, each of these has its own representative association, which defines and controls the training necessary to register psychotherapists in their area. The ICP is the umbrella group for a number of these representative associations.

According to the ICP, psychotherapy tends to attract people who have already been involved in a related area, such as medicine, psychology or social work. Very often, psychiatrists (doctors who specialise in mental health) and psychologists (who are concerned with how the mind works and motivation and can work in a range of different areas) subsequently train as psychotherapists.

There’s no statutory regulation of psychotherapists in Ireland but this is something that the ICP is currently lobbying to change. The ICP recently worked with the European Association for Psychotherapy to develop a European Certificate of Training, which requires that psychotherapists have a total of 3,200 hours of training spread over at least seven years.

Case study — People Power

Deirdre Dooley’s decision to become a psychotherapist was driven both by her desire to work with people and a fundamental curiosity about the human mind. After completing a BA in psychology and an MA in applied psychology, she spent several years working and travelling before starting a part-time foundation course in family therapy, followed by a masters in psychotherapy in the Mater Hospital. Dooley now runs her own private practice. In addition, she provides post-training supervision for colleagues and works as a training supervisor in the Mater Hospital’s psychotherapy faculty.

As a family therapist, her clients can include individuals, couples or whole families. Sessions last between 50 minutes and an hour and clients usually visit on a fortnightly basis when they’re working through particular issues. Dooley says that while she asks a lot of questions during the sessions, she does not give advice. “I try as much as possible not to impose my biases on the person,” she explains. “I’m trying to bring them to where they want to go and not to where I think they should go.”

Dooley is very enthusiastic about her job and says she continues to be fascinated by how people cope with and overcome amazing difficulties. She points out, however, that peer support is vital. “Some people have terrible stories to tell,” she explains. “If you don’t look after yourself, if you don’t go for debriefing and supervision and find good support, you can become burnt out.”

Grainne Rothery