On Becoming a Counsellor — and Knowing You’re Welcome

Training to be a counsellor is a big decision.

For many people, it isn’t just about learning skills or gaining a qualification. It’s about stepping into something that feels meaningful, challenging, and deeply personal. It’s about wondering whether you’re right for the work; and whether the training space will be right for you.

From the teaching side, counselling is a wonderful profession to pass on. Sharing the passion for this work, watching ideas click, and seeing students begin to understand what it really means to sit alongside another human being never loses its power.

But it’s also a tough thing to learn.

Training as a counsellor often involves unpicking parts of yourself you’ve relied on for years and gently putting them back together in a way that feels more conscious, grounded, and authentic. That process can bring moments of uncertainty, self-doubt, and emotional stretching. It’s normal, and it’s part of the work.

And then something shifts.

Students begin to find their voice.

They start to trust their presence rather than perform a role.

They move from trying to get it right to being with another person.

Watching that change unfold and seeing people grow into practitioners who feel solid, ethical, and human is one of the most rewarding parts of teaching counselling.

I’m often asked whether I can tell if someone is suited to this work.

The honest answer is yes but not in a simple or formulaic way.

It isn’t about confidence, academic polish, or sounding clever in a group. It’s more of a felt sense: noticing how someone reflects, how they respond to uncertainty, how they listen, and how willing they are to look at themselves with honesty and curiosity. Part of that way of knowing is shaped by my own frame of reference, my own experience, a sensitivity to tone, congruence, pauses, and relational depth that doesn’t always translate neatly into words.

That doesn’t replace structure, standards, or evidence. It sits alongside them.

What matters just as much, though, is that no one is held by one person alone.

At Training by Liberty, we teach as a team. Each of us brings different professional experience, perspectives, and ways of being. Together, those differences create a richer, safer learning environment; one where students are seen from more than one angle, and supported through both challenge and growth.

We talk together, reflect together, and think carefully about how students are developing, not just academically, but as people learning to work relationally and ethically. When someone struggles, it isn’t rushed or judged. When someone grows, it’s noticed and encouraged. And when questions about readiness arise, they’re held with care and responsibility.

We’re not interested in producing replicas or ticking boxes.

We’re people, teaching people, how to sit with people.

If you’re considering counselling training and wondering whether you’d belong — especially if you don’t feel fully confident, polished, or certain yet, this is what we want you to know:

You don’t need to arrive fully formed.

You don’t need to have all the answers.

You do need curiosity, willingness, and respect for the work.

If you’re drawn to counselling because you care about people, are open to reflection, and want to learn how to work ethically and thoughtfully, there is space for you here.

At Training by Liberty, you’re welcomed as a person first — and supported to become the practitioner you’re growing into.