July 31, 2024 • 33 mins
In this episode of the #TherapistsConnect podcast Dr Peter Blundell interviews Chloe Foster.
Chloe Foster runs Sussex Rainbow Counselling, a service that specialises in providing support and therapy to the LGBTQ+ community. Her practice focuses on creating a safe, inclusive, and non-judgmental environment for individuals seeking help with issues such as gender identity, sexual orientation, relationship problems, and mental health challenges. Chloe Foster's approach is compassionate and tailored to the unique needs of each client.
The email counselling service offered by Sussex Rainbow Counselling allows clients to receive support and guidance through written communication. This service is particularly useful for those who prefer the convenience and privacy of remote support. It enables clients to express their thoughts and feelings in writing and receive thoughtful, professional and reflexive responses from Chloe. For more information listen to the episode and access Chloe's book details below.
For more detailed information or to contact Chloe Foster, visit the Sussex Rainbow Counselling website or their Email Counselling Academy.
Chloe's Website - https://www.sussexrainbowcounselling.com/
Email Counselling Academy (and e-book) - https://www.emailcounsellingacademy.com/product-page/ebook
Links for Peter
Social Media: @drpeterblundell
Website: www.peterblundell.com
#TherapistsConnect is a platform for connecting therapists.
Website: www.Therapists-Connect.com
Twitter: @Therapists_C
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Facebook: @TherConnect
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr Peter Blundell (00:00):
Hello everyone.
(00:00):
And welcome to another episodeat the therapist connect
podcast.
My name is Dr.
Peter Blundell and in this thisepisode I'm interviewing Chloe
Foster, who set up Sussexrainbow counseling.
Which specializes in therapywith LGBTQ plus clients.
And this episode, Chloe talksabout setting up in private
practice, delivering trainingduring the pandemic and setting
(00:21):
up the email counseling academy.
If you listen until the end ofthe episode, you'll hear Chloe
give out a generous discountcode for their ebook about email
counseling.
If you'd like to support thepodcast further, please leave us
a review on your favoritepodcast platform or share this
episode with colleagues, peers,or students to help us reach a
wider audience.
(00:41):
I hope you enjoy this episode.
Hello everyone to anotherepisode of Therapist Connect
podcast.
Chloe, it is fantastic to haveyou here.
I know we have chatted quite abit already, but I'm really
excited for our listeners tofind out a little bit more about
you and the work that you do.
Chloe Foster (00:57):
Thank you.
Thank you for having me on.
I'm so excited for thisconversation.
Dr Peter Blundell (01:00):
You're very welcome.
so we've got the question I askevery single person who comes on
the podcast.
how did you become a therapistin the first place and what drew
you to therapy as a profession?
Chloe Foster (01:13):
I think this is a fascinating question.
I've really enjoyed listening toother people's answers of this
and thinking about my own.
I first had personal therapy, inmy early twenties when I was at
uni, and it was amazing.
It was completely free, it wasfunded by the university and I
had such a good experience.
(01:34):
I was really, really nervousabout having counselling and
there was so much stigma.
This was like 20 years ago,which I think has lifted quite a
lot now.
But I felt really scared aboutreaching out to get help because
I had such a good experience.
I think that really helped methink about it as a career, but
(01:55):
definitely not at that point.
It was much later on.
I never thought that I would bea counsellor then.
it was basically, I was workingfor an organisation where my job
was to coordinate young peopleaged 18 to 30 to volunteer
abroad on European volunteerprojects.
(02:16):
So I was training them andmentoring them and supporting
them on these projects whilethey were, going abroad and also
had international volunteerscoming to the UK as well.
some of my colleagues at thetime were, going on listening
skills courses and I was like,hang on a minute.
I found out about this and I waslike, oh, I'd quite like to do
that.
(02:36):
And they were called, I thinkthey were called counselling
introduction listening skillcourses at our local college.
And I thought, well, that'sgreat.
And also get half a day out ofwork.
So that was nice too.
And so I asked my manager if Icould do it.
And thinking, well, it'd just bea nice course.
I love a course.
I love to learn and I wasastounded.
(02:58):
I absolutely fell in love withit.
I just really, really enjoyedit.
The teacher was great.
The group was great.
then I went back to my managerand I was like, can I do the
next level?
Oh God, they're never going tolet me do the next level because
they had to pay for it.
And they let me do the nextlevel.
And the next level manager wasreally supportive and it did
actually really, really help mewith my work and with being able
(03:22):
to support people and workinginteractively with people.
So I'm really glad I did it.
I still at that point wasn'tthinking I wanted to be a
counselor.
I just really enjoyed doingthese courses.
and it wasn't till later on, Iwas working as an LGBT youth
worker.
and I did the third level, thelevel three.
(03:46):
Counseling course at the localcollege and that's where I
started to really seriouslyconsider whether or not to go to
university and do thepostgraduate because people in
my class were starting toconsider that it hadn't been
something on my radar.
I just wanted to complete up tothe third level.
Also at a similar time I wasgoing to get personal therapy,
(04:10):
through a charity, thatspecialized in domestic
violence.
And I'd been referred for thisto get some support from my
personal situation.
And I, asked in the initialassessment whether or not I
could see a gay counselor,'causeI'm gay myself I was really
shocked by the answer.
They were like, we don't haveany gay counsellors.
(04:32):
And I was like, okay.
Like, okay, maybe they don't, ormaybe they're not open.
And I was just like, oh, I justthink, I think that could really
help me.
I really would.
I feel like it would be reallyimportant for me to see a gay
counselor.
And I was really annoyed andreally kind of like, oh, I don't
know if I really want to usethis service.
And it just felt all a bitstrange.
(04:52):
And I think actually reflectingback on that experience is, what
made me, Be more passionateabout thinking much more
seriously about.
Joining this profession andtraining because my idea was
always to specialize in workingwith LGBTQ clients.
(05:13):
and yeah, so that's kind of howit, how it ended up evolving.
It was a really slow and longprocess.
I also thought that I was tooyoung to become a counselor
because I was doing thesecourses in my sort of mid to
late twenties.
and kept thinking, I need to be30.
I need to be at least be 30.
And those people are more like40 when they do these courses.
(05:34):
and I kept thinking I was goingto be laughed at.
But I wasn't going to be takenseriously.
I wouldn't have life experience,even though I knew I had life
experience.
I knew it'd be okay.
so finally I turned 30 and Iapplied, which is ridiculous
really looking back.
Dr Peter Blundell (05:48):
it was something going on there for you
though, you thought that was theage.
Chloe Foster (05:51):
even though the minimum on the application at I
know it's different depending onwhat institution you study
through, it was 25.
but I, I don't know, I just feltlike, This is what grown up
people do.
This is professors.
People with all this experience,people aren't going to take me
seriously.
it was difficult in thebeginning, kind of looking
younger than I always have been.
(06:13):
and in the beginning withplacements and stuff, it's not
so 10 years on, but.
Dr Peter Blundell (06:18):
It sounds like there was a lot to that
journey.
different elements to it thatall kind of led you to this
path.
I was interested a little bit interms of you talking about being
nervous, going to therapy forthe first time.
And I was just thinking how manypeople feel like that kind of
like going into a room,particularly if you go to a
service where you don't know whoyou're kind of getting as the
therapist, you know, if you'resomeone in private practice,
(06:40):
you've kind of chosen them tosome degree, but kind of meeting
someone for the first time andkind of feeling like you have to
be kind of vulnerable and openabout yourself.
And you don't really know a lotabout that person.
Chloe Foster (06:50):
Absolutely.
I was so, so nervous.
And you know, actually thinkingback, I remember specifically
that I did not want to go tostudent services where the
reception or something wouldhave been for the counselling to
kind of make an appointment.
I didn't want a phone.
And finally, and I was thinkingI really wanted to, you know, I
did, I wanted to havecounselling, a part of me really
(07:12):
wanted to do it, but I was justso nervous to set it up.
And then I realised there was anemail address.
And back then I didn't haveinternet on my phone, I didn't
have internet, at home.
So I went to a computer in thelibrary and sent an email to ask
to set up an appointment.
And that was amazing because Idon't know if I would have done
(07:34):
it if it wasn't for that.
And that's I think made it somuch more accessible because me
being able to speak out loud wasreally hard.
And that's something I'll speakabout later, but I think the
power of email and being able towrite rather than speak can be
really important.
And particularly folks that havenot had counseling before.
(07:57):
or in a really vulnerable andnervous place and or they're
younger, so they're, they're abit, they're much, much more
nervous.
Typically, I was anyway.
Dr Peter Blundell (08:07):
And I think what you described there is like
that wanting to reach out andkind of seek out therapy, but
then, almost feeling like havinga conversation about it just
felt too vulnerable to kind ofdo that and that actually
sending an email opened thatdoor a little bit without having
to kind of speak to somebodyimmediately.
Chloe Foster (08:24):
Yeah, and interestingly instead of
replying to the email theyphoned me and Which I just find
that hopefully that wouldn'thappen these days because we
should really respond in the waythat our client has communicated
with us.
But I think they were justtrying to set something up
quickly and they, you know, itcan go backwards and forwards
sometimes with appointmenttimes.
(08:46):
but that wasn't quite so scarybecause I'd made that first
step.
Dr Peter Blundell (08:52):
we'll come on to talk a bit more about that,
that, I suppose that topic in itin a bit, but can, before we do
that, can you tell us a littlebit about your career so far
there after you qualified andkind of what you've been up to?
Chloe Foster (09:02):
Yeah, sure.
So I qualified in 2016, andthat's that same year I set up
Sussex Rainbow Counselling,which is my private practice,
where my niche is working with,sexuality, gender diversity.
My peers at the time thought Iwas mad having a niche.
(09:23):
they thought, well, can't I justwork with everybody?
are you sure you're gonna getenough clients?
And I was like, absolutely not.
I don't wanna work witheverybody.
I want to be able to offer, myskills of what I've got
experience with.
'cause I'd worked loads in theLGBT community in different
charities at this point.
and it's what excited me.
It's what I interested in.
(09:44):
And it's kind of clients Iwanted to work with.
So I set that up and I worked inperson for many years and in
2018, I did a specialisttraining to work online.
At the time, remember this waspre pandemic, pre 2020, most
(10:08):
counsellors I spoke to werelike, Oh, why are you trying to
work online?
don't you need to see theperson?
Don't you need to see their fullbody?
You need to be in the same roomtogether and loads and loads of
stigma.
And I was like, no, I reallywant to do this.
It feels like it's the future.
It feels like, this is going tomake it more accessible for both
clients and for me.
So I went ahead and did thetraining and the training also
(10:30):
included, working in text basedcounselling, including email
counselling, which I absolutely,loved.
I was doing a mixture of online,like with video calls, email
counselling, and in personwhilst I was still in Brighton.
And then at the end of 2019, Idecided that I wanted to
(10:53):
relocate, to come back toScotland, where I'm from, so you
can hear from my accent.
So having the training to workonline and experience working
online already and that was setup meant I didn't have to start
all over again with building myname and getting enough clients
in a local area and gettingrooms and all sorts of things.
(11:14):
I thought this is going to makesense to work 100 percent
online.
Again, my friends thought, mycounsellor friends thought I was
mad.
They were like, how are yougoing to get enough clients?
You can't just work only online,surely you'll end up getting a
room, you know, hiring a roomwhen you get there.
And I was like, no, I feel likeonline is going to work really
well for me and for my clients.
So I'm happy to give it a go.
(11:35):
Of course, a few months later,Lockdown hit, pandemic, and
everybody's, having to go onlineand then same friends getting in
touch.
Ah! How do I work online?
what system do I use?
What's happening with mycontract?
And then they're kind ofscrabbling having to do it.
So that was, quite funny.
Well, maybe not funny, but itwas role reversal.
(11:59):
Yeah.
Just, and I just thought, well,you see, I was, I'd be saying
this, but, and then of courseI've carried on working online.
like I'd planned to, but it wasa bit weird the timing because
everyone was like, it's almostlike you knew there was a
pandemic happening.
You relocated and had it all setup and sorted, literally just a
few months before lockdown.
(12:19):
So I was quite relievedactually.
'cause it made.
things relatively smooth in mywork, which was good.
And so, like, during some of thetime when I was in Brighton, and
then moving back to Scotland andcontinue to work online, I was
(12:39):
doing loads of training andloads of training from about
sort of 2018 onward.
So I had years where I wasrunning workshops, both in
person and online, I did loadsof workshops for online events,
Counseling Tutor, NationalCounseling Psychotherapy
(12:59):
Society.
I spoke at the CTUK conference.
I was just basically doing somuch in terms of workshops, and
training for counselors.
I got a bit burnt out really.
it was so much like there wassometimes 100, 200 people at
some of these online workshopsthat were really full on.
(13:21):
And I was getting loads ofpeople asking me to do private
workshops and I was gettingreally known for this and it was
like, Oh, I don't know if I cankeep up with all this.
I need to take a bit of abreather.
And I'd also been doing loads ofadvocacy work around.
pronouns and wanting morecounsellors to be more confident
(13:45):
around asking their clientsabout pronouns, what pronouns
they use and being more openwith their pronouns in their,
email signatures.
That, I'm pleased to say, hasshifted massively.
Now it's really, really commonfor counsellors to have their
pronouns in their emailsignature and their Zoom names.
(14:08):
I can see here, we've both gotthem in our Zoom names here.
And it wasn't the case then.
So I was really on a mission forthat and was really pleased with
how things started to shift.
But basically, yeah, with all ofthat work, so many things going
on all at once, and theexhaustion of the pandemic, it
was so tiring working in thepandemic, working with clients,
(14:30):
talking about similar thingsaround lockdown, all the time
for those of us who were doingit.
Dr Peter Blundell (14:36):
I'm interested in hearing your
experiences of that over thepandemic, because I think a lot
of us who were doing eventsonline, I think because it
almost felt like people wereworking harder in some respect.
Kind of every moment was kind offilled with doing work.
There was no commute.
And there was such a demand forkind of online.
groups, online communities,online stuff, videos and
(14:56):
webinars with that kind ofstuff.
So those of us who were doingthose type of events, I know a
lot of people kind of got to apoint of feeling quite burnt
out.
At that time.
Yeah.
and ended up taking a step back.
And I think, I don't, I thinkthat was partly the pandemic and
then partly working online and Ithink it was a combination of
events that kind of cametogether around that, I think.
Chloe Foster (15:18):
Sure, yeah, it was so much, and I'm a very
determined person, like, once Iget my head around something
that I want to do, I'm justlike, right, I'm doing it, and
filling my time, so, justsitting around, watching the
telly or something, I justcouldn't have done that, I
needed to be thriving to keephaving projects to focus on and
(15:39):
to be doing stuff and it reallyhelped me I really enjoyed it,
but it got to a point where Iwas like, Oh, I've taken on a
lot, and this has been going onfor quite some time now,
alongside working with clients,and particularly in the
beginning, when, you know,there'd be weeks and weeks would
go by where almost everyone wastalking about the, about
(16:02):
lockdown and how difficult itwas to be living through
lockdown.
And then to also be livingthrough that myself and be like,
I just don't want to think aboutthis anymore.
Because everyone was talkingabout friends and family too,
but then to be talking about it.
So solidly with clients wasreally tiring, really hard work.
And I'm sure you had similarexperiences and people listening
(16:24):
who were working through thosetimes, which really tough.
So to be doing the trainings,all of those big trainings with
lots of eyes knew was like, Ididn't realize how much it was
taking out of me.
I feel like I got a lot from it,but also it took a lot, and over
time it was burning me out.
So I did sort of take a bit of astep back.
(16:45):
I was much more active on socialmedia in those days.
And now you'll see that I'm muchquieter I've never really.
put myself back into thoseplaces in the same way.
I'm finding it difficult to findthat capacity that might change.
but for the time being, yeah, Ifelt like I just wanted to hide
away and just be like, oh, maybeI'll just see my clients.
(17:09):
Why can't I just do that likeother colleagues?
Why do I have to always have allthese extra projects?
I mean, that's not really me.
I always love to have Loads ofother projects and other things
going on.
Dr Peter Blundell (17:19):
And I'm laughing, I'm laughing, I'm just
laughing because I can relate.
Yeah,
Chloe Foster (17:23):
I was thinking that, as I was saying that, I
was thinking, yeah, you seemlike that kind of person too.
And it's lovely to meet fellowcolleagues who are, who are
similar in that way.
Yeah, it's nice to have otherthings going on.
So I thought to myself, insteadof doing trainings, And for a
bit, not, I wasn't going tocompletely stop, but just to
take a bit of a breather, but todo something else alongside
(17:46):
working with clients.
I thought, I'm going to write abook.
I really want people to knowmore about email counselling.
It's going to be a short e bookand it's going to be what I come
to know and my experiences ofemail counselling over the
years.
because so many counsellorsdon't really know much about it.
(18:06):
So I thought, yeah, that wouldbe nice.
then I'd have to speak toanybody.
I could just hide away and typeaway.
And that was nice.
But then when I released thebook, lots of people were
asking, Oh, how do I find outmore?
How do I get training?
Is there any training options?
(18:27):
I do lots of training.
I have done lots of training.
I've got lots of experience.
I've done teaching and trainingactually since 2003.
It's been pretty much.
Always part of my career, so Ithought, maybe I could put
something together.
maybe that could be quiteinteresting for people that are
interested.
And I thought I'll just putsomething short together and
(18:49):
just to give people a bit of ataster.
And then it just sort ofescalated and I ended up
creating more and more thecourses that I released
initially were really popularand then I ended up having
waiting lists, loads and loadsof people waiting and I was
like, and then I released itagain and then there was people,
more people wanting to join up.
I just can't keep up with Allthese live trainings and all
(19:13):
these Saturdays, it's too muchall on my own.
And I don't really want toinvolve lots of other people.
So then I thought maybe I coulddo some self paced courses.
So that's what I've been workingon recently.
self paced recorded courses sothat more people can access the
training without me having to.
keep running them.
(19:34):
So, that's kind of where I'm upto really in my career.
So that's a long answer.
Dr Peter Blundell (19:39):
No, no, it's fantastic.
And I think we'll probably talka little bit more about the
email counseling.
But what is email counseling?
Chloe Foster (19:47):
So email counseling is basically in a
nutshell, a secure therapeuticemail exchange between a
qualified counsellor and aclient and you would use a
secure platform where you areboth communicating with each
other by email.
(20:08):
And I think the mistake thatsome people make, they think
that, oh, that's going to bereally messy.
It's going to be reallyunboundary, just randomly
sending emails to each other.
how can that work?
It's really important that it'sboundaried, so there's a very
specific word count and set timeand day that the client is asked
(20:29):
to send their email by.
They can send it earlier if theywant, but I won't be opening it
until the time that's kind ofbeen agreed.
And then there'll be a set timeand day that I will be
responding by.
So it's really tightly set up inthat way.
And it basically gives clientsthe opportunity to write at a
(20:51):
time that works for them.
As I say, they can send it whenworks for them, as long as it's
in by the time we've agreed.
and it's really good for peoplewho, particularly if they work
shifts or they are, parents andthey need to do their session at
like nine or 10:00 PM in theevening, and most counselors
(21:11):
probably aren't gonna offer asession that time.
I'm definitely not gonna be.
And so they can.
They can write a time that worksfor them.
So it's really flexible, muchmore accessible.
And they don't have to have aset time every week.
And also I don't have to have aset time every week.
So it's really accessible andflexible for me as a counsellor.
I can, I can work when I want.
(21:33):
I can get up really early and domy, do my email sessions and
then finish early if I want to.
But I don't have to commit tothat every week.
I can, I can move it around.
Dr Peter Blundell (21:44):
It's so interesting.
There's a lot of flexibility tothat, still very boundaried.
I was also, I was imagining thepace is also obviously very
different to seeing somebody inperson or virtually.
Chloe Foster (21:57):
Definitely.
The pace is very different.
It doesn't work very well forpeople who are in immediate
crisis situations where there'sthings that are changing day by
day.
Because the things that theywill write will be out of date
by the time I reply.
So that's really important thatI'm clear with people around
that.
for most people, they like thespace to be able to process
(22:19):
things.
So they can really think aboutwhat they want to write and
carefully write it and not kindof be faced with a question by a
counselor like, Oh, what do youmake of that?
How do you feel about that?
Or what can you say more?
And then you're like, ah, andthen sometimes, you know, some
clients are, you know, lots oftimes just passing in their
(22:40):
session.
They haven't really, they're notreally ready to answer.
They need more time to processit and to think.
And this way they can keepreading over my reply and not
think, Oh, what was it Chloesaid?
Oh, I can't remember.
Because some people, you know,I'm like that.
Sometimes I can't remember whatmy counsellor said.
And I'm just like, ah, that'sreally annoying.
It's really frustrating.
(23:00):
But with an email, I can read itback.
Dr Peter Blundell (23:03):
That's really interesting.
And do you charge per email?
How does it, how does it work?
Chloe Foster (23:08):
Yes, per email exchange.
Yeah.
so the fee would be for eachemail exchange, which means the
client's email to me, and thenmy reply would be one fee.
so we're getting a 50, becausewe have like the, the word count
we use is the same for both theclient and counselor.
So they're getting as much backas they've given, which is
(23:31):
actually quite unusual.
in, in an email, in atraditional counseling.
Dr Peter Blundell (23:39):
So I don't know if my next question is
covered in what you've alreadysaid, but how do you define your
therapeutic approach now?
Chloe Foster (23:48):
So I was trained as a humanistic counsellor and I
would very much say that myapproach as a counselor is, is
still humanistic, but it's witha very queer and neurodivergent
lens.
So I'm queer and neurodivergentmyself.
(24:08):
And this is very much comes outin my work and in the clients
who choose to come and see me.
I would throw in ideas or somethoughts, throughout our
sessions, which I have found tobe really helpful, particularly
when people are exploring thingsaround their identity.
(24:28):
and they find that reallyhelpful when their counsellor is
open and out.
I think also my approach as atherapist is to try to be as
accessible and flexible aspossible.
And I think this is where theemail counselling comes in.
(24:49):
because email counselling offersanother option in terms of
accessibility.
It's not going to be accessiblefor everyone, obviously, but it
gives that other option.
And because I work in a mixtureof ways, people don't have to
choose.
On the email counseling andthat's it.
They can have some video calls,some email sessions, for
example, and they can have thatmixture if they want, and then
(25:11):
they've got that flexibility ofwhen they meet me.
Dr Peter Blundell (25:17):
And it sounds like that flexibility works
really well for your clients.
Chloe Foster (25:22):
Yeah, definitely.
And for me too, as a counsellor,and I think that's why so many
of us have chosen to go 100percent online in general.
I mean, when I say online, Imean video calls.
So many of my colleagues are nowonly online.
And that's not just because itworks well for the clients, but
(25:42):
it also works well for us aspractitioners.
We don't have to, to do thecommute and pay lots of money
for room hire and things likethat.
So, but I think with emailcounseling too, it's got to work
both ways.
We've got to be able to enjoy itand feel like it works for us,
as well as our clients, and itdoes for me, so.
Dr Peter Blundell (26:04):
I'm also interested in this idea.
I don't know, because there'sprobably not been any research
done that a lot of us wentonline and so did the video
calls, but I haven't heard asmuch people talking about email
counseling.
I haven't really seen anyoneelse doing any training in it
apart from yourself.
So, it's, I think it's an areathat will be growing, I think.
Chloe Foster (26:23):
Yeah, I really hear that a lot, unfortunately.
And I think that's why I'm sopowered up in my mission.
A bit like when I was talkingearlier about kind of pronouns
and stuff, and we're just like,ah, not enough people are
talking about this this is soimportant.
and I think that often in myexperience.
The, traditional kind of onlinecounseling courses and ones that
(26:43):
have existed pre pandemic tendto cover email counseling, but
more as a sort of an add on, notas its main focus.
and I haven't yet seen courseswhere I'm specifically focusing
on email counseling.
And it is something where.
People have much less confidencearound and don't really know
(27:05):
where they're going with andwant to learn more on.
So I think it's going to grow.
Dr Peter Blundell (27:09):
I hope it's going to grow.
Absolutely.
I'm sure you'll have lots ofinquiries after this podcast
comes out.
I wondered how do you see thewider therapy community and how
connected you feel to othertherapists?
Chloe Foster (27:25):
Well, like I was saying earlier, social media
really helped me in the earlydays.
I was really active online Andconnected with lots of people,
yourself included, and felt likeif I hadn't have had social
media, I don't know how I wouldhave, connected with so many
like minded counsellors, becauseI would have just had the people
(27:47):
in my local area, people Itrained with.
So that's massively helped me.
Although I'm not so active thesedays, I feel like those contacts
and networks that I've made arestill really strong.
maybe it's because I'm less inneed of building new communities
because I've been doing it forquite a long time.
(28:08):
having moved to Edinburgh, Iwent to a conference.
I think it was last year and, Imet some people who were queer
Edinburgh therapists and wedecided to set up our own queer
therapy group.
So that's really lovely.
(28:29):
So I feel really connected tothe community there in terms of.
socializing, networking,referrals.
So it's lovely to have thatlocal group, as well as a more
online group.
And I've also just coming to theend of my supervision training
And I've made a really solidgroup of peers with my class.
(28:50):
It was a lovely small class andlots of people at a similar
stage in careers, me kind ofready to take on supervision.
So we've got our own littlegroup now too.
So that's really lovely.
So I really enjoy havingcolleagues in different places.
Yeah, it's nice to have thatconnection.
Dr Peter Blundell (29:12):
It's great.
It also sounds like you've kindof made connections online, but
then also in person as well,which I think is, great that
you've got that balance of boththose communities.
Chloe Foster (29:21):
Yeah, I think specifically with working
online, it's like in lots ofways, you could think, well, it
doesn't matter Where I meetpeople, but it's quite nice
actually to have the localcolleagues as well and to be
able to go to, a local talk andto just have coffees together
and stuff.
It's just, it's quite nice tohave that balance and to know
(29:42):
there's kind of people around.
Dr Peter Blundell (29:45):
Chloe, this has been wonderful.
we've come to the end of our,well, my questions.
I suppose my last one is kind ofwhat future plans have you got,
or is there anything you want totell our listeners about that
they haven't heard about so far?
Chloe Foster (29:58):
I'd like to let listeners know that the email
counselling training that I'vementioned is becoming a bigger
thing.
I've now set up a brand newwebsite, Email Counseling
Academy.
So this is going to beofficially launching in the
autumn of 2024, depending onwhen you're listening to this.
(30:24):
I've been doing lots of betatests and pilots over the last
year or so with these courses.
So I'd love it if anyone'sinterested in finding out more
and learning more about emailcounselling.
that's my biggest thing at themoment alongside client work,
It's the email counsellingbecause I'm really on a mission
to try to help more counsellorsbe confident in offering it
(30:48):
because then more clients can bereached because I can't work
with everyone and the few peoplethat I've trained so far won't
be able to either.
So I really want to try and growthat.
For your listeners, I've got alovely 30 percent off discount
code for my ebook.
(31:09):
So my ebook is email counsellingand introduction for
counsellors, and it comes with abonus audio book, which gives
you a real taster of what emailcounselling is and how it works
it helps you.
work out whether or not it'ssomething that you would like to
train in and learn more.
(31:29):
So I think it's hopefully auseful thing to read before
thinking about whether or notyou want to spend lots of money
on a training, it's an offer foryour listeners, 30 percent off
if you use the code TC, thecapital letter T and C for
Therapy Connect.
So TC24.
all in capital letters and thatwill expire at the end of 2024.
Dr Peter Blundell (31:55):
That's fantastic.
Thank you.
That's a generous offer.
And I think that's going to begreat for people who, as you
say, just want to inquire andknow a little bit more about
email counselling.
before they make a decisionabout whether they want to do a
course with you or some furthertraining.
So that's absolutely fantastic.
And, where else can people findyou on social media?
What's your general social mediaor website?
Chloe Foster (32:16):
At the moment, LinkedIn is the best place to
find me actually.
I'm hoping, planning to be alittle bit more active on there,
going forward.
That feels like the best placefor me at the moment.
The other places that I've usedin the past have, not been very
active in for a while and Idon't think I'm going to have
capacity to keep all of thosegoing.
(32:38):
And so, yeah, I think you justfind me through my name, Chloe
Foster, on LinkedIn, and soyou're welcome to come and
connect with me there.
my private practice isSussexRainbowCounselling.
com, where you'll find out allthe stuff around the LGBTQ
counselling work that I do.
With clients, but there's alsolots of blogs and resources
(32:59):
around working with LGBTQ plusclients.
If that's something you'reinterested in.
I'm not currently offeringtraining to counselors, but
there's lots of information andresources on there if that's of
interest.
And alongside that, my otherwebsite is email counseling
academy.
com.
(33:19):
And that's where it'sspecifically got information
around.
training to become an emailcounsellor.
Dr Peter Blundell (33:26):
Brilliant.
Well, Chloe, best of luck withall of that.
I hope at some point I'll beable to come on one of your
training courses and get someexperience of email counselling
and the nuances of that.
thank you very much for comingon the Therapist Connect
podcast.
Chloe Foster (33:38):
Thank you.
It's been great to chat to you.
Hello everyone.
(00:00):
And welcome to another episodeat the therapist connect
podcast.
My name is Dr.
Peter Blundell and in this thisepisode I'm interviewing Chloe
Foster, who set up Sussexrainbow counseling.
Which specializes in therapywith LGBTQ plus clients.
And this episode, Chloe talksabout setting up in private
practice, delivering trainingduring the pandemic and setting
(00:21):
up the email counseling academy.
If you listen until the end ofthe episode, you'll hear Chloe
give out a generous discountcode for their ebook about email
counseling.
If you'd like to support thepodcast further, please leave us
a review on your favoritepodcast platform or share this
episode with colleagues, peers,or students to help us reach a
wider audience.
(00:41):
I hope you enjoy this episode.
Hello everyone to anotherepisode of Therapist Connect
podcast.
Chloe, it is fantastic to haveyou here.
I know we have chatted quite abit already, but I'm really
excited for our listeners tofind out a little bit more about
you and the work that you do.
Chloe Foster (00:57):
Thank you.
Thank you for having me on.
I'm so excited for thisconversation.
Dr Peter Blundell (01:00):
You're very welcome.
so we've got the question I askevery single person who comes on
the podcast.
how did you become a therapistin the first place and what drew
you to therapy as a profession?
Chloe Foster (01:13):
I think this is a fascinating question.
I've really enjoyed listening toother people's answers of this
and thinking about my own.
I first had personal therapy, inmy early twenties when I was at
uni, and it was amazing.
It was completely free, it wasfunded by the university and I
had such a good experience.
(01:34):
I was really, really nervousabout having counselling and
there was so much stigma.
This was like 20 years ago,which I think has lifted quite a
lot now.
But I felt really scared aboutreaching out to get help because
I had such a good experience.
I think that really helped methink about it as a career, but
(01:55):
definitely not at that point.
It was much later on.
I never thought that I would bea counsellor then.
it was basically, I was workingfor an organisation where my job
was to coordinate young peopleaged 18 to 30 to volunteer
abroad on European volunteerprojects.
(02:16):
So I was training them andmentoring them and supporting
them on these projects whilethey were, going abroad and also
had international volunteerscoming to the UK as well.
some of my colleagues at thetime were, going on listening
skills courses and I was like,hang on a minute.
I found out about this and I waslike, oh, I'd quite like to do
that.
(02:36):
And they were called, I thinkthey were called counselling
introduction listening skillcourses at our local college.
And I thought, well, that'sgreat.
And also get half a day out ofwork.
So that was nice too.
And so I asked my manager if Icould do it.
And thinking, well, it'd just bea nice course.
I love a course.
I love to learn and I wasastounded.
(02:58):
I absolutely fell in love withit.
I just really, really enjoyedit.
The teacher was great.
The group was great.
then I went back to my managerand I was like, can I do the
next level?
Oh God, they're never going tolet me do the next level because
they had to pay for it.
And they let me do the nextlevel.
And the next level manager wasreally supportive and it did
actually really, really help mewith my work and with being able
(03:22):
to support people and workinginteractively with people.
So I'm really glad I did it.
I still at that point wasn'tthinking I wanted to be a
counselor.
I just really enjoyed doingthese courses.
and it wasn't till later on, Iwas working as an LGBT youth
worker.
and I did the third level, thelevel three.
(03:46):
Counseling course at the localcollege and that's where I
started to really seriouslyconsider whether or not to go to
university and do thepostgraduate because people in
my class were starting toconsider that it hadn't been
something on my radar.
I just wanted to complete up tothe third level.
Also at a similar time I wasgoing to get personal therapy,
(04:10):
through a charity, thatspecialized in domestic
violence.
And I'd been referred for thisto get some support from my
personal situation.
And I, asked in the initialassessment whether or not I
could see a gay counselor,'causeI'm gay myself I was really
shocked by the answer.
They were like, we don't haveany gay counsellors.
(04:32):
And I was like, okay.
Like, okay, maybe they don't, ormaybe they're not open.
And I was just like, oh, I justthink, I think that could really
help me.
I really would.
I feel like it would be reallyimportant for me to see a gay
counselor.
And I was really annoyed andreally kind of like, oh, I don't
know if I really want to usethis service.
And it just felt all a bitstrange.
(04:52):
And I think actually reflectingback on that experience is, what
made me, Be more passionateabout thinking much more
seriously about.
Joining this profession andtraining because my idea was
always to specialize in workingwith LGBTQ clients.
(05:13):
and yeah, so that's kind of howit, how it ended up evolving.
It was a really slow and longprocess.
I also thought that I was tooyoung to become a counselor
because I was doing thesecourses in my sort of mid to
late twenties.
and kept thinking, I need to be30.
I need to be at least be 30.
And those people are more like40 when they do these courses.
(05:34):
and I kept thinking I was goingto be laughed at.
But I wasn't going to be takenseriously.
I wouldn't have life experience,even though I knew I had life
experience.
I knew it'd be okay.
so finally I turned 30 and Iapplied, which is ridiculous
really looking back.
Dr Peter Blundell (05:48):
it was something going on there for you
though, you thought that was theage.
Chloe Foster (05:51):
even though the minimum on the application at I
know it's different depending onwhat institution you study
through, it was 25.
but I, I don't know, I just feltlike, This is what grown up
people do.
This is professors.
People with all this experience,people aren't going to take me
seriously.
it was difficult in thebeginning, kind of looking
younger than I always have been.
(06:13):
and in the beginning withplacements and stuff, it's not
so 10 years on, but.
Dr Peter Blundell (06:18):
It sounds like there was a lot to that
journey.
different elements to it thatall kind of led you to this
path.
I was interested a little bit interms of you talking about being
nervous, going to therapy forthe first time.
And I was just thinking how manypeople feel like that kind of
like going into a room,particularly if you go to a
service where you don't know whoyou're kind of getting as the
therapist, you know, if you'resomeone in private practice,
(06:40):
you've kind of chosen them tosome degree, but kind of meeting
someone for the first time andkind of feeling like you have to
be kind of vulnerable and openabout yourself.
And you don't really know a lotabout that person.
Chloe Foster (06:50):
Absolutely.
I was so, so nervous.
And you know, actually thinkingback, I remember specifically
that I did not want to go tostudent services where the
reception or something wouldhave been for the counselling to
kind of make an appointment.
I didn't want a phone.
And finally, and I was thinkingI really wanted to, you know, I
did, I wanted to havecounselling, a part of me really
(07:12):
wanted to do it, but I was justso nervous to set it up.
And then I realised there was anemail address.
And back then I didn't haveinternet on my phone, I didn't
have internet, at home.
So I went to a computer in thelibrary and sent an email to ask
to set up an appointment.
And that was amazing because Idon't know if I would have done
(07:34):
it if it wasn't for that.
And that's I think made it somuch more accessible because me
being able to speak out loud wasreally hard.
And that's something I'll speakabout later, but I think the
power of email and being able towrite rather than speak can be
really important.
And particularly folks that havenot had counseling before.
(07:57):
or in a really vulnerable andnervous place and or they're
younger, so they're, they're abit, they're much, much more
nervous.
Typically, I was anyway.
Dr Peter Blundell (08:07):
And I think what you described there is like
that wanting to reach out andkind of seek out therapy, but
then, almost feeling like havinga conversation about it just
felt too vulnerable to kind ofdo that and that actually
sending an email opened thatdoor a little bit without having
to kind of speak to somebodyimmediately.
Chloe Foster (08:24):
Yeah, and interestingly instead of
replying to the email theyphoned me and Which I just find
that hopefully that wouldn'thappen these days because we
should really respond in the waythat our client has communicated
with us.
But I think they were justtrying to set something up
quickly and they, you know, itcan go backwards and forwards
sometimes with appointmenttimes.
(08:46):
but that wasn't quite so scarybecause I'd made that first
step.
Dr Peter Blundell (08:52):
we'll come on to talk a bit more about that,
that, I suppose that topic in itin a bit, but can, before we do
that, can you tell us a littlebit about your career so far
there after you qualified andkind of what you've been up to?
Chloe Foster (09:02):
Yeah, sure.
So I qualified in 2016, andthat's that same year I set up
Sussex Rainbow Counselling,which is my private practice,
where my niche is working with,sexuality, gender diversity.
My peers at the time thought Iwas mad having a niche.
(09:23):
they thought, well, can't I justwork with everybody?
are you sure you're gonna getenough clients?
And I was like, absolutely not.
I don't wanna work witheverybody.
I want to be able to offer, myskills of what I've got
experience with.
'cause I'd worked loads in theLGBT community in different
charities at this point.
and it's what excited me.
It's what I interested in.
(09:44):
And it's kind of clients Iwanted to work with.
So I set that up and I worked inperson for many years and in
2018, I did a specialisttraining to work online.
At the time, remember this waspre pandemic, pre 2020, most
(10:08):
counsellors I spoke to werelike, Oh, why are you trying to
work online?
don't you need to see theperson?
Don't you need to see their fullbody?
You need to be in the same roomtogether and loads and loads of
stigma.
And I was like, no, I reallywant to do this.
It feels like it's the future.
It feels like, this is going tomake it more accessible for both
clients and for me.
So I went ahead and did thetraining and the training also
(10:30):
included, working in text basedcounselling, including email
counselling, which I absolutely,loved.
I was doing a mixture of online,like with video calls, email
counselling, and in personwhilst I was still in Brighton.
And then at the end of 2019, Idecided that I wanted to
(10:53):
relocate, to come back toScotland, where I'm from, so you
can hear from my accent.
So having the training to workonline and experience working
online already and that was setup meant I didn't have to start
all over again with building myname and getting enough clients
in a local area and gettingrooms and all sorts of things.
(11:14):
I thought this is going to makesense to work 100 percent
online.
Again, my friends thought, mycounsellor friends thought I was
mad.
They were like, how are yougoing to get enough clients?
You can't just work only online,surely you'll end up getting a
room, you know, hiring a roomwhen you get there.
And I was like, no, I feel likeonline is going to work really
well for me and for my clients.
So I'm happy to give it a go.
(11:35):
Of course, a few months later,Lockdown hit, pandemic, and
everybody's, having to go onlineand then same friends getting in
touch.
Ah! How do I work online?
what system do I use?
What's happening with mycontract?
And then they're kind ofscrabbling having to do it.
So that was, quite funny.
Well, maybe not funny, but itwas role reversal.
(11:59):
Yeah.
Just, and I just thought, well,you see, I was, I'd be saying
this, but, and then of courseI've carried on working online.
like I'd planned to, but it wasa bit weird the timing because
everyone was like, it's almostlike you knew there was a
pandemic happening.
You relocated and had it all setup and sorted, literally just a
few months before lockdown.
(12:19):
So I was quite relievedactually.
'cause it made.
things relatively smooth in mywork, which was good.
And so, like, during some of thetime when I was in Brighton, and
then moving back to Scotland andcontinue to work online, I was
(12:39):
doing loads of training andloads of training from about
sort of 2018 onward.
So I had years where I wasrunning workshops, both in
person and online, I did loadsof workshops for online events,
Counseling Tutor, NationalCounseling Psychotherapy
(12:59):
Society.
I spoke at the CTUK conference.
I was just basically doing somuch in terms of workshops, and
training for counselors.
I got a bit burnt out really.
it was so much like there wassometimes 100, 200 people at
some of these online workshopsthat were really full on.
(13:21):
And I was getting loads ofpeople asking me to do private
workshops and I was gettingreally known for this and it was
like, Oh, I don't know if I cankeep up with all this.
I need to take a bit of abreather.
And I'd also been doing loads ofadvocacy work around.
pronouns and wanting morecounsellors to be more confident
(13:45):
around asking their clientsabout pronouns, what pronouns
they use and being more openwith their pronouns in their,
email signatures.
That, I'm pleased to say, hasshifted massively.
Now it's really, really commonfor counsellors to have their
pronouns in their emailsignature and their Zoom names.
(14:08):
I can see here, we've both gotthem in our Zoom names here.
And it wasn't the case then.
So I was really on a mission forthat and was really pleased with
how things started to shift.
But basically, yeah, with all ofthat work, so many things going
on all at once, and theexhaustion of the pandemic, it
was so tiring working in thepandemic, working with clients,
(14:30):
talking about similar thingsaround lockdown, all the time
for those of us who were doingit.
Dr Peter Blundell (14:36):
I'm interested in hearing your
experiences of that over thepandemic, because I think a lot
of us who were doing eventsonline, I think because it
almost felt like people wereworking harder in some respect.
Kind of every moment was kind offilled with doing work.
There was no commute.
And there was such a demand forkind of online.
groups, online communities,online stuff, videos and
(14:56):
webinars with that kind ofstuff.
So those of us who were doingthose type of events, I know a
lot of people kind of got to apoint of feeling quite burnt
out.
At that time.
Yeah.
and ended up taking a step back.
And I think, I don't, I thinkthat was partly the pandemic and
then partly working online and Ithink it was a combination of
events that kind of cametogether around that, I think.
Chloe Foster (15:18):
Sure, yeah, it was so much, and I'm a very
determined person, like, once Iget my head around something
that I want to do, I'm justlike, right, I'm doing it, and
filling my time, so, justsitting around, watching the
telly or something, I justcouldn't have done that, I
needed to be thriving to keephaving projects to focus on and
(15:39):
to be doing stuff and it reallyhelped me I really enjoyed it,
but it got to a point where Iwas like, Oh, I've taken on a
lot, and this has been going onfor quite some time now,
alongside working with clients,and particularly in the
beginning, when, you know,there'd be weeks and weeks would
go by where almost everyone wastalking about the, about
(16:02):
lockdown and how difficult itwas to be living through
lockdown.
And then to also be livingthrough that myself and be like,
I just don't want to think aboutthis anymore.
Because everyone was talkingabout friends and family too,
but then to be talking about it.
So solidly with clients wasreally tiring, really hard work.
And I'm sure you had similarexperiences and people listening
(16:24):
who were working through thosetimes, which really tough.
So to be doing the trainings,all of those big trainings with
lots of eyes knew was like, Ididn't realize how much it was
taking out of me.
I feel like I got a lot from it,but also it took a lot, and over
time it was burning me out.
So I did sort of take a bit of astep back.
(16:45):
I was much more active on socialmedia in those days.
And now you'll see that I'm muchquieter I've never really.
put myself back into thoseplaces in the same way.
I'm finding it difficult to findthat capacity that might change.
but for the time being, yeah, Ifelt like I just wanted to hide
away and just be like, oh, maybeI'll just see my clients.
(17:09):
Why can't I just do that likeother colleagues?
Why do I have to always have allthese extra projects?
I mean, that's not really me.
I always love to have Loads ofother projects and other things
going on.
Dr Peter Blundell (17:19):
And I'm laughing, I'm laughing, I'm just
laughing because I can relate.
Yeah,
Chloe Foster (17:23):
I was thinking that, as I was saying that, I
was thinking, yeah, you seemlike that kind of person too.
And it's lovely to meet fellowcolleagues who are, who are
similar in that way.
Yeah, it's nice to have otherthings going on.
So I thought to myself, insteadof doing trainings, And for a
bit, not, I wasn't going tocompletely stop, but just to
take a bit of a breather, but todo something else alongside
(17:46):
working with clients.
I thought, I'm going to write abook.
I really want people to knowmore about email counselling.
It's going to be a short e bookand it's going to be what I come
to know and my experiences ofemail counselling over the
years.
because so many counsellorsdon't really know much about it.
(18:06):
So I thought, yeah, that wouldbe nice.
then I'd have to speak toanybody.
I could just hide away and typeaway.
And that was nice.
But then when I released thebook, lots of people were
asking, Oh, how do I find outmore?
How do I get training?
Is there any training options?
(18:27):
I do lots of training.
I have done lots of training.
I've got lots of experience.
I've done teaching and trainingactually since 2003.
It's been pretty much.
Always part of my career, so Ithought, maybe I could put
something together.
maybe that could be quiteinteresting for people that are
interested.
And I thought I'll just putsomething short together and
(18:49):
just to give people a bit of ataster.
And then it just sort ofescalated and I ended up
creating more and more thecourses that I released
initially were really popularand then I ended up having
waiting lists, loads and loadsof people waiting and I was
like, and then I released itagain and then there was people,
more people wanting to join up.
I just can't keep up with Allthese live trainings and all
(19:13):
these Saturdays, it's too muchall on my own.
And I don't really want toinvolve lots of other people.
So then I thought maybe I coulddo some self paced courses.
So that's what I've been workingon recently.
self paced recorded courses sothat more people can access the
training without me having to.
keep running them.
(19:34):
So, that's kind of where I'm upto really in my career.
So that's a long answer.
Dr Peter Blundell (19:39):
No, no, it's fantastic.
And I think we'll probably talka little bit more about the
email counseling.
But what is email counseling?
Chloe Foster (19:47):
So email counseling is basically in a
nutshell, a secure therapeuticemail exchange between a
qualified counsellor and aclient and you would use a
secure platform where you areboth communicating with each
other by email.
(20:08):
And I think the mistake thatsome people make, they think
that, oh, that's going to bereally messy.
It's going to be reallyunboundary, just randomly
sending emails to each other.
how can that work?
It's really important that it'sboundaried, so there's a very
specific word count and set timeand day that the client is asked
(20:29):
to send their email by.
They can send it earlier if theywant, but I won't be opening it
until the time that's kind ofbeen agreed.
And then there'll be a set timeand day that I will be
responding by.
So it's really tightly set up inthat way.
And it basically gives clientsthe opportunity to write at a
(20:51):
time that works for them.
As I say, they can send it whenworks for them, as long as it's
in by the time we've agreed.
and it's really good for peoplewho, particularly if they work
shifts or they are, parents andthey need to do their session at
like nine or 10:00 PM in theevening, and most counselors
(21:11):
probably aren't gonna offer asession that time.
I'm definitely not gonna be.
And so they can.
They can write a time that worksfor them.
So it's really flexible, muchmore accessible.
And they don't have to have aset time every week.
And also I don't have to have aset time every week.
So it's really accessible andflexible for me as a counsellor.
I can, I can work when I want.
(21:33):
I can get up really early and domy, do my email sessions and
then finish early if I want to.
But I don't have to commit tothat every week.
I can, I can move it around.
Dr Peter Blundell (21:44):
It's so interesting.
There's a lot of flexibility tothat, still very boundaried.
I was also, I was imagining thepace is also obviously very
different to seeing somebody inperson or virtually.
Chloe Foster (21:57):
Definitely.
The pace is very different.
It doesn't work very well forpeople who are in immediate
crisis situations where there'sthings that are changing day by
day.
Because the things that theywill write will be out of date
by the time I reply.
So that's really important thatI'm clear with people around
that.
for most people, they like thespace to be able to process
(22:19):
things.
So they can really think aboutwhat they want to write and
carefully write it and not kindof be faced with a question by a
counselor like, Oh, what do youmake of that?
How do you feel about that?
Or what can you say more?
And then you're like, ah, andthen sometimes, you know, some
clients are, you know, lots oftimes just passing in their
(22:40):
session.
They haven't really, they're notreally ready to answer.
They need more time to processit and to think.
And this way they can keepreading over my reply and not
think, Oh, what was it Chloesaid?
Oh, I can't remember.
Because some people, you know,I'm like that.
Sometimes I can't remember whatmy counsellor said.
And I'm just like, ah, that'sreally annoying.
It's really frustrating.
(23:00):
But with an email, I can read itback.
Dr Peter Blundell (23:03):
That's really interesting.
And do you charge per email?
How does it, how does it work?
Chloe Foster (23:08):
Yes, per email exchange.
Yeah.
so the fee would be for eachemail exchange, which means the
client's email to me, and thenmy reply would be one fee.
so we're getting a 50, becausewe have like the, the word count
we use is the same for both theclient and counselor.
So they're getting as much backas they've given, which is
(23:31):
actually quite unusual.
in, in an email, in atraditional counseling.
Dr Peter Blundell (23:39):
So I don't know if my next question is
covered in what you've alreadysaid, but how do you define your
therapeutic approach now?
Chloe Foster (23:48):
So I was trained as a humanistic counsellor and I
would very much say that myapproach as a counselor is, is
still humanistic, but it's witha very queer and neurodivergent
lens.
So I'm queer and neurodivergentmyself.
(24:08):
And this is very much comes outin my work and in the clients
who choose to come and see me.
I would throw in ideas or somethoughts, throughout our
sessions, which I have found tobe really helpful, particularly
when people are exploring thingsaround their identity.
(24:28):
and they find that reallyhelpful when their counsellor is
open and out.
I think also my approach as atherapist is to try to be as
accessible and flexible aspossible.
And I think this is where theemail counselling comes in.
(24:49):
because email counselling offersanother option in terms of
accessibility.
It's not going to be accessiblefor everyone, obviously, but it
gives that other option.
And because I work in a mixtureof ways, people don't have to
choose.
On the email counseling andthat's it.
They can have some video calls,some email sessions, for
example, and they can have thatmixture if they want, and then
(25:11):
they've got that flexibility ofwhen they meet me.
Dr Peter Blundell (25:17):
And it sounds like that flexibility works
really well for your clients.
Chloe Foster (25:22):
Yeah, definitely.
And for me too, as a counsellor,and I think that's why so many
of us have chosen to go 100percent online in general.
I mean, when I say online, Imean video calls.
So many of my colleagues are nowonly online.
And that's not just because itworks well for the clients, but
(25:42):
it also works well for us aspractitioners.
We don't have to, to do thecommute and pay lots of money
for room hire and things likethat.
So, but I think with emailcounseling too, it's got to work
both ways.
We've got to be able to enjoy itand feel like it works for us,
as well as our clients, and itdoes for me, so.
Dr Peter Blundell (26:04):
I'm also interested in this idea.
I don't know, because there'sprobably not been any research
done that a lot of us wentonline and so did the video
calls, but I haven't heard asmuch people talking about email
counseling.
I haven't really seen anyoneelse doing any training in it
apart from yourself.
So, it's, I think it's an areathat will be growing, I think.
Chloe Foster (26:23):
Yeah, I really hear that a lot, unfortunately.
And I think that's why I'm sopowered up in my mission.
A bit like when I was talkingearlier about kind of pronouns
and stuff, and we're just like,ah, not enough people are
talking about this this is soimportant.
and I think that often in myexperience.
The, traditional kind of onlinecounseling courses and ones that
(26:43):
have existed pre pandemic tendto cover email counseling, but
more as a sort of an add on, notas its main focus.
and I haven't yet seen courseswhere I'm specifically focusing
on email counseling.
And it is something where.
People have much less confidencearound and don't really know
(27:05):
where they're going with andwant to learn more on.
So I think it's going to grow.
Dr Peter Blundell (27:09):
I hope it's going to grow.
Absolutely.
I'm sure you'll have lots ofinquiries after this podcast
comes out.
I wondered how do you see thewider therapy community and how
connected you feel to othertherapists?
Chloe Foster (27:25):
Well, like I was saying earlier, social media
really helped me in the earlydays.
I was really active online Andconnected with lots of people,
yourself included, and felt likeif I hadn't have had social
media, I don't know how I wouldhave, connected with so many
like minded counsellors, becauseI would have just had the people
(27:47):
in my local area, people Itrained with.
So that's massively helped me.
Although I'm not so active thesedays, I feel like those contacts
and networks that I've made arestill really strong.
maybe it's because I'm less inneed of building new communities
because I've been doing it forquite a long time.
(28:08):
having moved to Edinburgh, Iwent to a conference.
I think it was last year and, Imet some people who were queer
Edinburgh therapists and wedecided to set up our own queer
therapy group.
So that's really lovely.
(28:29):
So I feel really connected tothe community there in terms of.
socializing, networking,referrals.
So it's lovely to have thatlocal group, as well as a more
online group.
And I've also just coming to theend of my supervision training
And I've made a really solidgroup of peers with my class.
(28:50):
It was a lovely small class andlots of people at a similar
stage in careers, me kind ofready to take on supervision.
So we've got our own littlegroup now too.
So that's really lovely.
So I really enjoy havingcolleagues in different places.
Yeah, it's nice to have thatconnection.
Dr Peter Blundell (29:12):
It's great.
It also sounds like you've kindof made connections online, but
then also in person as well,which I think is, great that
you've got that balance of boththose communities.
Chloe Foster (29:21):
Yeah, I think specifically with working
online, it's like in lots ofways, you could think, well, it
doesn't matter Where I meetpeople, but it's quite nice
actually to have the localcolleagues as well and to be
able to go to, a local talk andto just have coffees together
and stuff.
It's just, it's quite nice tohave that balance and to know
(29:42):
there's kind of people around.
Dr Peter Blundell (29:45):
Chloe, this has been wonderful.
we've come to the end of our,well, my questions.
I suppose my last one is kind ofwhat future plans have you got,
or is there anything you want totell our listeners about that
they haven't heard about so far?
Chloe Foster (29:58):
I'd like to let listeners know that the email
counselling training that I'vementioned is becoming a bigger
thing.
I've now set up a brand newwebsite, Email Counseling
Academy.
So this is going to beofficially launching in the
autumn of 2024, depending onwhen you're listening to this.
(30:24):
I've been doing lots of betatests and pilots over the last
year or so with these courses.
So I'd love it if anyone'sinterested in finding out more
and learning more about emailcounselling.
that's my biggest thing at themoment alongside client work,
It's the email counsellingbecause I'm really on a mission
to try to help more counsellorsbe confident in offering it
(30:48):
because then more clients can bereached because I can't work
with everyone and the few peoplethat I've trained so far won't
be able to either.
So I really want to try and growthat.
For your listeners, I've got alovely 30 percent off discount
code for my ebook.
(31:09):
So my ebook is email counsellingand introduction for
counsellors, and it comes with abonus audio book, which gives
you a real taster of what emailcounselling is and how it works
it helps you.
work out whether or not it'ssomething that you would like to
train in and learn more.
(31:29):
So I think it's hopefully auseful thing to read before
thinking about whether or notyou want to spend lots of money
on a training, it's an offer foryour listeners, 30 percent off
if you use the code TC, thecapital letter T and C for
Therapy Connect.
So TC24.
all in capital letters and thatwill expire at the end of 2024.
Dr Peter Blundell (31:55):
That's fantastic.
Thank you.
That's a generous offer.
And I think that's going to begreat for people who, as you
say, just want to inquire andknow a little bit more about
email counselling.
before they make a decisionabout whether they want to do a
course with you or some furthertraining.
So that's absolutely fantastic.
And, where else can people findyou on social media?
What's your general social mediaor website?
Chloe Foster (32:16):
At the moment, LinkedIn is the best place to
find me actually.
I'm hoping, planning to be alittle bit more active on there,
going forward.
That feels like the best placefor me at the moment.
The other places that I've usedin the past have, not been very
active in for a while and Idon't think I'm going to have
capacity to keep all of thosegoing.
(32:38):
And so, yeah, I think you justfind me through my name, Chloe
Foster, on LinkedIn, and soyou're welcome to come and
connect with me there.
my private practice isSussexRainbowCounselling.
com, where you'll find out allthe stuff around the LGBTQ
counselling work that I do.
With clients, but there's alsolots of blogs and resources
(32:59):
around working with LGBTQ plusclients.
If that's something you'reinterested in.
I'm not currently offeringtraining to counselors, but
there's lots of information andresources on there if that's of
interest.
And alongside that, my otherwebsite is email counseling
academy.
com.
(33:19):
And that's where it'sspecifically got information
around.
training to become an emailcounsellor.
Dr Peter Blundell (33:26):
Brilliant.
Well, Chloe, best of luck withall of that.
I hope at some point I'll beable to come on one of your
training courses and get someexperience of email counselling
and the nuances of that.
thank you very much for comingon the Therapist Connect
podcast.
Chloe Foster (33:38):
Thank you.
It's been great to chat to you.
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