The importance of diversity in counselling

What is your background and what made you decide to become a counsellor and then teach others?

I knew from a young age, I wanted to work as a therapist. Sociology and psychology were my favourite subjects.

I first worked in the NHS for 15.5 years in the hospital chaplaincy team. Here I also worked with frontline staff and with health psychology and psychiatry services. I initially studied Islamic Psychotherapy, but I didn’t want to restrict my practice to a certain demographic; I believe in the healing qualities of psychotherapy and believe therapy should be inclusive and accessible to everyone. It is a privilege to be able to support someone on their journey of finding meaning in challenging and distressing circumstances. I started my lecturing in the psychological therapies and mental health team because I felt it was time for change, for a more inclusive and equitable learning/training experience for students. As such, I am the first woman of colour to work as a lecturer in Psychological Therapies and the Mental Health team, and I was also the first person of colour to set up a counselling service in Bradford City centre when I started my private practice.

How did you go about getting into counselling and teaching?

Lecturing and teaching was at the heart of my role when I worked in the NHS, and I wanted to bring that same ethos to teaching counselling/psychotherapy and mental health. If we are to make the counselling/psychotherapy and mental health profession more inclusive, we must first review the training offered to therapists and consider how our training caters for and meets the needs of racial and cultural identities. If we can make our training more inclusive then we can contribute to making future therapists/mental health practitioners in counselling and psychotherapy professions practice with equity, and as a result psychotherapy can be accessible to all, whatever their age, race, religion, sexuality or gender...that is my vision! 

What do you think has changed in the world of counselling since you started?

There is a lot more awareness which is generating important dialogue on the topic of racial identities, largely since movements such as Black Lives Matter and Black History Month which have created a space for important, much needed dialogue and engagement.

What do you think still needs to change?

We need to keep the dialogue going, to monitor our progress and keep pushing and challenging ourselves. There is always room for growth and improvement to work on systemic change for a more equitable and inclusive future for our profession. 

What can be done to encourage more diversity in counselling?

At Leeds Beckett Psychological Therapies and Mental Team, we are taking a holistic view of our challenges, making our course design more inclusive, engaging in the community and being proactive, for example, our work with Northpoint Scholarship. Inclusive practice is the golden thread that runs through all our course. As a course provider for counselling and mental health it gives me great pride, to see a diverse student cohort and it shows change is possible.

For more information on counselling and mental health courses at Leeds Beckett University please visit https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/school-of-health/psychological-therapies-and-mental-health/