Wise Words: The Must Listen Podcasts for Counsellors
'The Must Listen Podcasts for Counsellors from trainee Therapist Holly Rees'
In the UK, 7.1 million people tune into a podcast each week, according to Ofcom – that’s an increase of 24% in the last year. With thousands of podcasts available on almost every topic, from food to politics, true crime to sport, there really is something for everyone.
Podcasts are not just for relaxing on holiday, the convenience of them means that you can tune in anywhere at any time be it on your daily commute, on the school run or even while doing the housework.
But with so much choice, it can be overwhelming to pick which podcast to listen to next. As an avid listener to podcasts, to make that choice a bit easier, here are my top picks of the best podcasts for counsellors to be listening to right now, or in fact anyone with an interest in people, relationships and life stories.
Imagined Life
As counsellors, we listen to our client’s life stories every day and we have a natural curiosity about people’s different experiences. Imagined Life is a wonderfully immersive and beautiful piece of storytelling. Each episode takes the listener on a journey into the life of a world-famous person to discover what it was like for them before they were famous. Listeners have the chance to walk in the shoes of another person and there are clues to their identity along the way.
Can you guess the life stories of Mohammed Ali, JK Rowling, Betty Ford, Elon Musk, Sarah Palin and many more?
How to Fail with Elizabeth Day
Award-winning journalist and author, Elizabeth Day interviews well-known guests about what it’s like when things haven’t gone right in their lives, and how they have turned their failures into success. Elizabeth approaches each interview with emotion, love, courage and humour. It is both refreshing and humbling to hear in their words how even the most famous, successful people have experienced failure, vulnerability but also triumph. Don’t miss the fantastic book of the same name that accompanies the podcast too.
Hear the stories of Jess Philips MP, Dame Kelly Holmes, Lily Allen, James O’Brien and many more.
Happy Place with Fearne Cotton
TV presenter and mum-of-two Fearne Cotton draws on her own experiences and shares advice from experts on how to work through feeling blue to finding joy every day. Fearne talks openly about life, love and loss and her personal approach and inspiring guests make this the perfect place for anyone feeling lost of frazzled.
Recent guests included Nadiya Hussain, Tom Odell and Jessica Ennis-Hill.
Table Manners with Jessie Ware
Singer Jessie Ware hosts celebrities at her house, but she doesn’t just interview them, she also cooks for them. With help from her mum, Lennie, this podcast guarantees a good dose of laughter and oversharing. Apart from the amazing guests, including Stacey Dooley and Keifer Sutherland, the heart of this podcast lies in the genuine, hilarious and warm relationship with Jessie and her Mum.
Counselling Tutor Podcast
No podcast list about counselling would be complete without mentioning the Counselling Tutor podcast. Hosted by Rory Lees-Oakes and Ken Kelly, each episode examines the theory and practice of counselling, covering a variety of topics. The content is delivered in bitesize and easy to understand segments with humour and personal experiences from the presenters thrown into the mix. This really is an invaluable resource for any trainee counsellors.
If you have any podcasts that you listen to and enjoy, we'd love to hear about them in the comments below!
Author's Bio
Holly Rees is currently studying for a Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling at Farnborough College of Technology. I work as a Volunteer Counsellor at No5, a community-based organisation offering counselling and support to children and young people in Reading. My theoretical approach is humanistic integrative; it is based on the Person-centred (PC) approach, with insights from Object Relations.
You can connect with Holly via LinkedIn or Twitter @holly_uc
