Last weekend marked our Senior Training Group’s final training weekend this academic year…and what a year it has been! All of our students have worked incredibly hard, rising to the challenges and embracing new ways of learning and being together, in what have been tricky and challenging times for us all. We are incredibly proud of all our students and are delighted to include a blog post from our Advanced Year 3 students, who share with us some of their reflections as they come to the end of their core training.
Lily
Four years ago I had no idea that I’d be where I am now. As I get closer to the end of 4 years of training I’ve been reflecting on my journey to get here. I started this course because I’d had an interest in counselling for a long time; I just couldn’t find a course that was compatible with a full-time job. I found Physis and I knew it was right for me. I’d read a couple of TA books over the years so I had a slight knowledge of it, and after going to the TA 101 course I was hooked! I’d made up my mind I was going all the way to CTA. I couldn’t get enough of TA in my Foundation Year; I loved the theory and there was just so much to learn. I was in a fantastic group and really enjoyed being part of it. I remember starting therapy in this year and sitting in front of my therapist and telling her I didn’t know what to talk about. I realise how far I’ve come over the last 4 years when I think about this and also the struggles I’ve faced. The journey of self-awareness has not been an easy one for me and there were many times that I felt it would be much easier not to continue. I could put everything I’d unpacked back in the box. I worked through these struggles and it helped to have the framework of TA to make sense of what was going on; I know Impasse theory pretty well now! There was a part of me that didn’t want to give up though, and I’m so glad I didn’t. I feel a huge sense of achievement as I come to the end of the course. Not only that, but if I hadn’t continued I wouldn’t have had the courage to change my career and do something that I love. I’m also continuing my learning through an Exam Prep Group and I’m thinking of starting my own practice. Most importantly, I have some fantastic and supportive friends who have helped me every step of the way.
Now that I have reached the end of four years training, my overwhelming emotion is of relief that the essays are over! I also feel immense pride for successfully achieving my diploma, I never knew an exam could be so enjoyable! Studying TA has been one of the most rewarding, insightful and, at times, challenging experience of my life. I started the course oblivious to myself and my own processes, the self-development I have gained is more than I ever thought possible. I feel grateful for the support, the connections and friendships that will last a lifetime.
Debbie
At the beginning of my Physis training journey, sitting in the beautiful grand rooms at York Place, I felt both excited and daunted. On the one hand – at least three years of weekends dedicated to my favourite subject! On the other – three years of weekends to commit to, on top of my full-time job.
I decided to tackle it step by step, term by term. And, thanks to Physis, I felt supported and nurtured all the way to my Diploma exam at the elegant and cosy Drumsheugh Gardens. There were of course ‘moments’ along the way. Trying not to notice the outside world on a sunny Saturday comes to mind. The course is a major commitment. But there’s always another mind-blowing insight about yourself and the world just around the corner to make it all worth it.
What Physis and Transactional Analysis have given me is a new personal therapeutic journey, in a language that both myself and my therapist understood. Friends and colleagues that finally felt like ‘my tribe’. Teaching that excited me. A learning environment where no experience was wrong, and where we were encouraged to both challenge and develop theory. Every single trainer gave something of themselves to support us along the way, and for all of this I’m truly grateful.