Hello Laia,

Congratulations on completing your studies.

I think it’s a positive thing to be humble and to feel that you don’t have all the answers, particularly in your chosen profession. This means you are keeping an open mind.

Will this new project stop you from taking on any clients? If not perhaps you could see clients part time? Perhaps the way forward is just to get on with it, within limits. You could tell yourself you are going to try seeing clients for six months and then review how you feel about the situation. I really think that confidence comes with experience.

Best of luck.

I, too, am in the counseling/mental health field and plan on one day possibly becoming a therapist, so I can understand where you’re coming from. I would examine where this lack of confidence is coming from. Do you feel that you can’t handle the problems, issues, or situations that your clients bring to you? Do you feel that you lack sufficient training or experience to be a good therapist? Once you have a better idea of where your lack of confidence is coming from, you can begin to address it. Also, I would reflect on what made you choose to enter this field and become a therapist and what you hope to offer your clients…This is where you’ll draw your strengths from. As a therapist, I think you have to accept that you don’t have all the answers to your clients’ problems, but you can provide them with a safe, nurturing place to talk about their issues and work through their problems with your support. I also agree with another poster that confidence is gained through experience and it’s normal to feel nervous and somewhat inadequate at first…