My Career: Best bits of being a counsellor and life coach? A sense of fulfilment

Name: Helena O’Leary

Age: 35

Lives: Cork city

Job title: Counsellor and Life Coach

Salary bracket: €30-45,000

Education background: BA New Media and English from UL, Masters in Publishing Studies from University of Stirling, Higher Diploma in Coaching/Coaching Psychology from UCC, BA in Counselling and Psychotherapy from the Irish College of Humanities and Applied Sciences.

Hobbies: Reading, gym, golf (beginner), can learning be a hobby? I love learning new things. For example, I am currently doing a course in beginners sign language.

Describe your job in five words: Fulfilling, interesting, powerful, rewarding, and connecting.

Describe yourself in five words: Empathetic, determined, attuned, non-judgmental, and authentic.

Personality needed for this kind of work? A strong interest in people and connection. The ability to be open, non-judgmental and empathetic while also being able to maintain your own boundaries and self-care.

How long are you doing this job? Just over two years.

How did you get this job? I wanted to become a counsellor from the age of 15 but let doubts (and lack of life experience) put the idea on a shelf for a number of years.

Throughout my 20s, I worked in publishing in Spain, Belfast, and predominantly London. In a sales role within this industry, my love for connecting with people was reignited.

It wasn’t until I moved home just before my 30th birthday that I decided it was the right time to reconsider that dream of retraining as a counsellor. I decided to keep working full time and do my training part-time. After two years of the degree programme, I took a year out to study coaching psychology at UCC before returning to complete the Counselling and Psychotherapy degree.

Do you need particular qualifications or experience? A degree in counselling/psychotherapy, regular supervision for professional development, continued professional development throughout your career.

Describe a day at work: Every day begins with compiling a to-do list, carrying things over from the previous day if necessary, and noting new clients to , content to write, notes to prepare, etc.

I will see a maximum of five clients per day. Before each session I will review the previous session, ground myself, and develop an open session plan - open because I do not lead the session. The client will lead and set the pace. I may have topics I think might be useful but will allow space always for the client to bring whatever is live for them on a given day. After sessions, I record the hours and note anything I want to bring to my next supervision session.

In between sessions, I will spend time on a mixture of istration, scheduling, and most importantly, self-care. This may be getting out for a walk, reading a book, listening to a podcast - essentially, time carved out to return to myself before attending the next client session.

On days that I may have fewer than five clients, I work on business development. This may be marketing, social media, networking, content writing, or exploring new projects.

How many hours do you work a week? Maximum 20 client hours with 15-20 hours of istration and planning.

What do you wear to work? I try to strike a balance between professional and approachable. Nothing too formal. Mostly jeans or tros with a nice jumper.

Is your industry male or female dominated? In my study programmes, it was female dominated but I’m not sure if that is an accurate reflection on the industry as a whole.

Does this affect you in any particular way? Not at all.

Is your job stressful? How? Rate it on a scale of 1-10: No, it is incredibly rewarding and I feel privileged to be a part of my clients’ journey. Maybe a 3-4 out of ten. Stress comes from lack of self-care. It is vital in this career to maintain boundaries, contentment, connection, joy, but also acknowledging and owning emotions, reactions and your humanity.

Do you work with others or on your own? On my own. For now. I love the idea of working towards a collaborative therapy centre where clients can find a whole host of holistic treatments and therapies and where I will have a partnership with other practitioners.

When do you plan to retire or give up working? At the moment, I can’t imagine giving up - slowing down, yes. But it feels too much like more than a job to just stop working with clients entirely.

Best bits: Witnessing mindset and perspective change. When a client says, ‘Helena, you’ll never guess what’ is probably one of my favourite things to hear. The sense of fulfilment. The energy I gain from connection.

Worst bits: Not being able to fix things for my clients can be a hard pill to swallow sometimes, but is an essential part of my role. I am not here to give the answers or provide fixes. 

My role is to clients in developing autonomy - in helping to remove any barriers to goal attainment or happiness so that they can find the answers within.

Advice to those who want your job? Research. There are lots of different courses out there. Examine what each is offering. Are you looking for a focus on theoretical or experiential? Can you find a path to both? Connect with people in the industry and ask them about it.

Start going to therapy. I believe this last point is key. You need to embrace the process as a client before you can sit in the therapists chair.

Back yourself. Don’t let self-doubt stop you from trying.

Email: [email protected] Website: www.helenaoleary.com