Perhaps one of the reasons I am not fazed by such strong emotion is because personal therapy has enabled me to face my own inner world. Being integrative by orientation and curious by nature I have always attempted to undertake a range of therapy experiences. My psychodynamic psychotherapy equipped me with ways of understanding transference and counter-transference. If a client declares her/his affection for me I see such a declaration within this theoretical framework, as something to be explored, understood and used to help the client deal with past material which may be affecting the success of current relationships.
My person-centred therapy has enabled me to accept the client and the client’s emotions because my emotions were treated with the same respect. My experience of cognitive-behavioural therapy helps me consider the underlying core belief systems that could be influencing the client, eg. beliefs about dependency and inability to function independently. If I had simply studied these approaches and techniques without experiencing them first-hand I don’t believe I would be as good a counsellor.