u/Imawapagiki

Hi there,

I am a 46-year-old freelance journalist in the UK and I am thinking of retraining as a Psychodynamic Psychotherapist. If anyone is able to comment on my plan, I'd be most grateful, as this is a daunting (but exciting!) prospect to take on in midlife with a wife who also works and a 17-month-old son.

1. I have been accepted to the BPF's Foundation Course, which I expect to start in October, ahead of the three-year Psychodynamic Psychotherapy qualification.
2. I have also been accepted to a "self-paced mental health coaching" course by a UK charity called Overcome. The course, which is PCI-accredited, uses Motivational Interviewing and other ACT-related techniques to offer short-term mental health coaching or support to low-risk and medium-risk clients.
   1. I've polled various informed people's views on whether this is a good idea. Some have warned me that learning Overcome's more "directive" techniques will just mean that I have to unlearn these when I proceed with my Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. Others have said that, in fact, it will be useful in practice to have experience of more "directive" techniques if a client asks or needs such support.
   2. I am aware that MI/ACT etc stem from a different modality than strict Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. One of my reasons for choosing the BPF path is that it offers ways to be a modality pluralist and I anticipate this is how I'll feel about practice.
   3. The reality is that my journalism work is winding down just as my family needs increase and as I look at a multi-year retraining project. The training that Overcome offers is short, at a hundred hours, even if it is PCI-accredited; so my thinking is that this can offer a modest new stream of work to support my needs as I continue in parallel on the longer-term BPF-oriented objective.
3. I have, meanwhile, also applied to UCL's MSc in Theoretical Psychoanalytic Studies. The MSc is non-clinical, and rooted in a more pure psychoanalytic tradition, but I can't help but think the extra degree will buttress my marketability when beginning private practice. Nor would I deny that I relish the prospect of returning to the university setting.
4. And as an experienced, grizzled, burned-out journalist, I do feel like all of the above could make for excellent writing material. And I would love to continue writing as a journalist-turned-psychotherapist in the future.
5. So – all of this is to say that I would love to know your thoughts on whether this sounds like a good plan. Any red flags? Any suggestions?
   1. Does anyone have any experience with Overcome? Trustpilot rates them highly but I want to make sure this is a smart move.
   2. Do I take on the MSc (if I'm accepted) full-time to get it out of the way? Do I space it out over two or a few years? Or do I just skip it?
   3. Any tips on how to speed up this whole process? Or tips of any kind?
   4. And finally, having just read a post in this sub from a few months ago, does anyone want to comment anew on potential (lack of?) earnings or unrealistic expectations?

Thank you everyone!

S.

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Thanks!

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Thanks!