Dear Mariette,
I was very interested to read your article, which I think has a lot of importance for therapists.
When I completed my training in Aromatharpy and Reflexology in 1996 with the Scottish College of Complementary Medicine in Glasgow, there was a counselling component to our training, given by a practising counsellor, which was very helpful. Since then, I have done a couple of courses in Edinburgh in Advanced massage training, which also encouraged looking at these issues of communication, and also did an SVQ in Counselling Skills. This has been particularly important for me, as virtually all my work over these past 12 years has been carried out in NHS and social work contexts....currently, almost completely in the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, where I work with acutely mentally ill patients, patients in rehab, and also older patients with severe Alzheimers and Dementia. My communication skills are challenged to the extreme in these contexts ! I have tried to organise supervision sessions for myself at points, but have not found anything which feels particularly satisfactory....though I liaise with Occupational Therapists on site, and they can provide me with some informal support.
For me personally, having a strong sense of a spiritual context is very important, and that is something which I am constantly trying to nurture in my life and work.
Thank you for your article. I think it highlighted something vitally important.
Best wishes,
Fiona Cartmell
