My whole life I have wanted to help people in anyway that I can. I have always thought about the best way to do this and recently I have become very interested in photo therapy or using any art medium as a form of therapy. So, one of my current life plans is to do a psychology and counselling degree. I have always been very interested in how the human brain works and I really believe that I would enjoy being a part of this profession as well as hopefully helping people deal with their problems and traumas.
My plan would be to go travelling for a few years so that I can learn about different cultures and different places before becoming a part of any form of work and so that if I was to become a therapist, I would be able to understand people from all different backgrounds a lot better. I would also like to travel to see where I want to end up in the world. This would then help me know where I would want to study this degree.
My aim would be to become a full-time therapist while potentially creating a photo therapy course for people to join in on, I have realized that art therapy can be useful for people of all ages and all nationalities as it allows them to express themselves visually rather than verbally. I believe that i would most likely work for a company, probably a charity or something similar and then hopefully go onto working privately as this way I will have a lot more freedom as to where I want to be situated in the world.
I would also be able to work in France, as personally, I know a lot of English in France who do not speak any french yet are still seeking therapy, and as I know the language, I would be able to offer the therapy sessions in both languages which would widen my audience.
I realize to get to the stage of being private or even working for a company, it may be good to apply for volunteer work and to get as much work experience as possible. I would also need enough money if I wanted to move the whole business to another country so that I am able to live whilst I am trying to gain clientele.
I have been looking into the idea of Open University where I could complete the course over 3 years or 6 years and it would be cheaper than actual university. This would allow me to study and work at the same time and then work my way towards becoming a therapist, I would then need to do a PHD and work my way towards it.
Here are some links for me to come back to later on -
https://positivepsychology.com/how-to-become-a-therapist/#:~:text=Most%20therapists%20need%20a%20bachelor's,years%20on%20average%20to%20earn).
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/psychotherapist
https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/psychological-therapies/roles/psychotherapist