Behind the Therapist’s Chair: A Qualitative Exploration of Counsellors’ Mental Health Support Needs

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the significance of self-care, personal therapy, and emotional resilience among professional counsellors, specifically to understand whether counsellors benefit from seeking treatment. With training programmes frequently lacking structured self-care, the study further investigates whether counsellors should seek counselling themselves. The study explores whether counsellors who engage in personal therapy and reflective practices report greater emotional resilience and professional effectiveness. Qualitative Method was used in this study. Five Professional Counselling Psychologists were interviewed. Braun and Clarke's six-phase thematic analysis was applied to semi-structured interviews. The findings show that personal therapy improves self-awareness, reduces counter transference, and prevents burnout, but its use is inconsistent. Participants identified emotional exhaustion, difficulty maintaining boundaries, and early-career self-doubt as major challenges. Self-care strategies such as meditation, journaling, creative hobbies, and taking breaks between sessions were identified as critical to maintaining well-being and professional competence.