Five ways to build your career and personal confidence
When I first qualified, I looked at established counsellors and therapists who had unique and powerful branding or who made definitive and authentic decisions about their career path or those who voiced marginal and even controversial opinions about their profession or work with envy. I wanted to be them and had no idea that one day I could or would be in that same situation.
I wouldn’t say I am fully there with them yet but after just over five years I am finding my feet! Recently I’ve found developing these five areas very useful in building my confidence professionally and ultimately personally too.
Focus on self-care
It might sound obvious, but I don’t think it is possible to truly feel empowered and confident in our work (or life) unless we look after ourselves. These two areas of self-care, for example, are essential in feeling our best and therefore feeling our most confident:
Sleep if we aren’t getting enough sleep or if our sleep quality is poor this can have a knock-on effect on our ability to grow and feel confident. If you’ve noticed for a while that your sleep quality isn’t what it could be then maybe it is time to address this. Poor sleep can be for a plethora of reasons including hormonal imbalances, anxiety, eating patterns or nutrition or the comfort or suitability of your bed. It may take a while to get the sleep thing right, but I promise you that when you do the effort is worth it.
Taking time for yourself this is one of those things that we talk about with clients all the time but perhaps some of us aren’t great at ourselves! Many of us have very busy lives with many responsibilities, but, as we may say to our clients, it may only take a few minutes to make some difference. This could involve taking a few moments every hour or so to breathe or working out the things that we can say ‘no’ to.
2. Consider your values
I find it very helpful to have a review of my unique set of personal values every year or so. Brene Brown describes values in the following way
‘Living into our values means that we do more than profess our values, we practice them. We walk our talk—we are clear about what we believe and hold important, and we take care that our intentions, words, thoughts, and behaviours align with those beliefs.’
Brene Brown
Brene recommends that we make a list of the values that are important to us and finally whittle them down to our two most important values. Click here for a useful exercise for reflecting on values. Understanding and living into our key values can help to increase confidence both professionally and personally. One of the areas where considering our values can be particularly helpful is in evolving our unique brand of therapy.
3. Reach out for support
As helpers and healers, it is essential to know when we need support and to work out what type of support would be best. This may involve reaching out to a counsellor or business coach or it may simply mean meeting with a good friend or colleague for a coffee. Like everyone else, counsellors are impacted by the cost-of-living crisis and if we are in private practice there are lots of outgoings already to run our business. For some, reaching out for professional help may not seem possible but perhaps that is where Counsellors Therapy Pot may come in handy!
4. Build a community
As many of us know, counselling can be an isolating profession. Recent world events may have increased this isolation even further. I know myself, that many months after COVID restrictions came to an end I realised I was much more isolated than was good for me. Generally, I feel it is a positive thing that online counselling as well as online group and individual supervision is now readily available. However, there are also obvious downsides to this.
Finding a tribe can really help counsellors and therapists to find their voice and grow their confidence. Networking with peers can help us to see what is possible, feel understood and heard and help us to develop our unique voice. Not only is it helpful to spend time with likeminded people and to swap ideas, but it is also helpful to home in on the some of the beliefs and values in the profession that we don’t agree with.
We hope that Counsellors Therapy Pot can be a space for counsellors to build a sense of community.
5. Go to the edge of your comfort zone
Once you have started your counselling career and got settled into your private practice or role it can be tempting to stay where it is comfortable without trying anything new. Perhaps there is a benefit to this for a while, but over time it can lead to stagnation. So perhaps it is a good idea to try something new, say, every couple of weeks. It can be something small like doing an online workshop on a new subject or it could be joining a new peer supervision group or helping a peer run a training course.
We all know how important it is to be mindful and intentional as much as we can in all aspects of our life. However, if we have a very busy life, which many of us do, we can end up being on autopilot. Reflecting on these five areas and taking measures arising from these reflections can be hugely useful in feeling more confident and empowered in our work.