184 - GDPR for Therapists
Surviving Counselling Training – Returning to Counselling Practice
Episode 184 of the Counselling Tutor Podcast begins with Rory Lees-Oakes and Ken Kelly offering their tips on how to survive counselling training. Next, ‘Digital Counselling Revolution’ looks at GDPR for therapists, especially when working online. Finally, counsellor Paul Cullen provides a ‘peek into practice’ through a conversation with Rory about his work.
Surviving Counselling Training (starts at 1.25 mins)
Rory and Ken talk about various aspects of what it is like to go through counselling training, including:
- what brings people to train as counsellors
- the relevance of Chiron, the Greek mythological ‘wounded healer’
- possible effects of training on you as a person
- possible effects of training on your relationships
- importance of self-care
- support available for people who have been out of the world of study for some time
- how technology now supports the study
- how Bloom’s taxonomy is used in counselling course criteria.
Rory has written an e-book on surviving counselling training – you can download this here.
Data Protection and GDPR for Therapists (starts at 23.15 mins)
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In 2016, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was passed in the European parliament; in 2018, it became enforceable. The GDPR is all about data protection.
Ken and Rory talk about GDPR for therapists and the various aspects of this important piece of legislation, including:
- when and how to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
- how to ensure that your website is GDPR-compliant, e.g. in its cookie policy
- how long you need to store counselling notes.
You can contact the ICO if you have any specific queries that you can’t see answered on its website.
We have a lecture dedicated to GDPR for therapists here, and this important topic is also covered in our 80-hour Online and Telephone Counselling course.
Returning to Counselling Practice (starts at 33.30 mins)
Rory talks with Paul Cullen – a counsellor based in Thirsk, North Yorkshire – about his career to date. Having qualified as a counsellor in 2007, Paul worked briefly in private practice before taking some years away from the counselling profession to do related work.
In this interview, Paul shares his experiences of returning to counselling practice, including:
- steps taken when returning to counselling practice
- refreshing of his knowledge and skills through the Counselling Tutor Podcast
- feelings on beginning client sessions again
- the process of rejoining a professional body
- his experience of taking the BACP’s Certificate of Proficiency
- what being a counsellor means to him
- the rebuilding of his confidence
- ways to counteract the imposter syndrome
- effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on his work
- his experience of working online
- the contribution of our Online and Telephone Counselling Course.
If you would like to share the passion in your practice, please email rory@counsellingtutor.com with a summary of the work and interests you would like to speak about.