Abstract
The choice of counselling and psychotherapy as a profession is determined by a range of factors. In India, psychotherapy as a profession is still in its early stages of development. There is limited research on what motivates individuals to take up psychotherapy as a career. A qualitative dominant mixed methods research study was conceptualized to explore factors contributing to therapists choosing psychotherapy as a profession. Sixteen practising psychotherapists, 10 women and 6 men, with 6–25 years of experience participated in the study. An interest in the human mind, in healing and reading and in working with children, led therapists to enter the helping profession. Personal qualities such as being a people’s person and being a patient listener facilitated the choice. Experiencing life changing events and personal distress, receiving professional help or adopting certain roles within the family were mentioned as facilitating factors. Personal needs and the role of destiny and chance were also identified as contributing elements. Different therapists took different routes in their journey towards pursuing the profession of counselling and psychotherapy. Awareness of factors that contributed to entering the field through self-reflective practice in training and supervision is recommended.
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Notes
- 1.
MBTI—The Myers Briggs Type Indicator, a popular psychometric test used for assessing temperament and personality type.
- 2.
INFJ profile stands for Introverted iNtuitive Feeling and Judging; the counsellor type as identified by Keirsey (1998).
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Acknowledgments
This chapter is based on the research conducted as part of the first author’s Ph.D. dissertation titled ‘Being a Psychotherapist: Exploration of Therapists Beliefs and Values’ at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai under the supervision of the second author. The authors would like to acknowledge all the participant therapists for making time and sharing their experiences for the research.
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Chetna Duggal, Sriram, S. (2016). Beginning the Journey: What Motivates Therapists to Join the Profession?. In: Sriram, S. (eds) Counselling in India. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0584-8_5
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