I loved my Work-Based Learning project. I worked with a Private Physio business, which has a really diverse team—massage therapists, personal trainers, movement specialists, women's health professionals, and others who support women through exploration and recovery.
There are lots of physios at different levels, and I started by doing an introductory session where I explained who I was, why I was there, and asked what kinds of things they felt they were missing in their training. They identified gaps in their knowledge around the effects of emotions on the body, how to handle emotions, and working with clients using a biopsychosocial model.
So, I delivered an hour-long introductory talk, and then over the Easter holidays, I did nine one-to-one sessions, each about an hour and a half. These were focused on helping them reflect on their work-life balance, personal development, how they feel about their workplace, and what resources had or hadn’t been helpful—both for themselves and their patients.
I then delivered further training sessions based on their requests. I’ve created a 38-slide presentation covering complex trauma, how trauma affects the body, and models I think they’ll find helpful—like the Polyvagal Theory and the Window of Tolerance. I’ve also included some coaching tools, sleep hygiene strategies, and basic counselling-style support to help them care for their clients' mental health.
After this, I’ll produce tailored resources for them. For example, if they’re supporting a client with mental health challenges, I’ll give them templates they can copy and paste into emails, or simplified versions of worksheets I use in my own practice, adapted for patients.
Pain management is a specialist area for me—especially in relation to long-term conditions and autoimmune issues—so it made sense to choose this placement. I’ve absolutely loved it; it’s been so much fun and really worthwhile. I'm well into the project now.
They requested training on some specific topics, which I could deliver, but I had to do quite a bit of research because some of it was more medicalised than my usual approach. So again, there was negotiation around the training content and style.
In terms of wrapping up the project, I’ve discussed with the manager the idea of doing follow-up one-to-ones in a few months’ time. I think that would be more helpful than what he’s currently envisioning for them, so we’ll need to negotiate that as well.
Interestingly, the manager has said I’ve created something that could be used elsewhere— he sees it as a product that could be offered to other businesses. That’s been really encouraging, and I’ve enjoyed it so much that it’s made me realise I’m not afraid to run workshops or do one-to-one development work. It’s a sidestep from my old profession, but it incorporates lots of coaching, counselling, and psychotherapy techniques. It’s helped me see that I can do this, and it’s even led me to think about building a separate business model around it.
Overall, I’ve really loved having something separate from therapy and counselling. After 20 years in counselling, it’s been good to explore something new and use skills from previous parts of my career. I get a lot of clients in this field already, but working in it from a different angle has been really satisfying.
It’s made me think about other opportunities that might be out there for therapists. We’re often asked about this in supervision, and this experience has shown me how much I enjoy it—much more than I expected. Interestingly, this wasn’t the placement I initially wanted, but it’s turned out to be far better than what I’d originally planned. It’s such a worthwhile part of the course.
It’s also been a great chance to explore my strengths and draw on past experiences. I’d say it’s my first or second favourite part of the course (research is at the bottom—not because of the teacher, just the topic!).
A lot of what we’ve learned—like polyvagal theory and critiques of the medical model—has really influenced my approach in this placement. It’s helped me support their shift towards a more relational, person-centred way of working, which actually fits much better with their values and ethics. The timing of this placement has worked out really well.
It’s made me reflect a lot more deeply than I thought I would, and honestly, my perception of myself as a therapist has changed this year.
The placement has asked me to come back and deliver more training, for which they want to pay me for. I have also been approached by a national company, wanting me to do it for them. So its proven to be a brilliant business opportunity.
