Experiences of foreign counselling therapists working in the UK : a qualitative study

Objectives: This study's aim is to explore foreign therapists' experiences practicing in the UK, focusing on the therapeutic relationship and how foreign therapists interpret cultural differences in the relationships with their clients. To date, little UK research focuses on exploring psychotherapists' experiences of foreignness: the majority of similar relevant studies focus on clients' experiences. Design and methods: This study uses Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), a qualitative approach that fits well with the researcher's ontological stance. The researcher's perspective is relativist; reality is approached as a subjective concept whereby individuals' experiences shape their world views. For a rich exploration of therapists' experiences, the researcher used semi structured interviews with open questions and prompts aimed at eliciting participants' extensive narratives. Interview transcripts were analysed using IPA (Smith et al., 2009). Results: Findings highlighted participants' personal and professional transformations during training and practice, involving different layers of processing at personal and professional levels, affecting their self-confidence, pressing them to adapt and change their ways to be. Participants found the experience challenging overall but also rewarding in an ongoing assimilation process, adjusting and learning from both environment and clients in the therapeutic relationship. Everyday exposure to cultural differences and challenges enhanced therapists' awareness and sensitivity, leading to increased understandings of others' perspectives and accepting personal limitations. Findings include the impact of accent and race on first impressions and the lack of institutional attention to international counselling trainees on their extra-challenging inner processes. Conclusions: The outcome adds to and expands understandings of multicultural sensitivity in counselling psychology practice, training and supervision. Intercultural exchange enhance understanding of different perspectives, facilitated open-mindedness. Recommendations: Counselling psychology trainers, supervisor and therapists (British and foreigners) should consider power dynamics in the cross-cultural therapeutic relationship including impact of accent and other sign of foreignness in the first impression formation, and general cultural preconceptions either perceived or actual.