Anne Power is the host of our couple dynamics workshop.

Brighton Therapy Partnership is hosting a training event on 11 October called Thinking About Couples. This will be a day focused on understanding couple dynamics, and will be of use to nearly everyone in their practice. The event is now fully booked, but please subscribe to the waiting list if you’d like to attend. In the run up to the event, we spoke to Anne Power, who will be leading the day.

In addition to offering training, Anne works in private practice with Pimlico Psychotherapy, and has published numerous papers. She is currently working on a book, discussing the topic of retiring from the therapy world.

1. How did you start out in counselling & psychotherapy?

My way in was very gradual. At university I volunteered as a listener/befriender. Later I was involved in co-counselling and then did a group training before a psychoanalytic training. So over the years I moved through various different modalities and I retain respect for all of them.

2. You are trained as both an individual psychotherapist and as a couple’s therapist. What prompted your interest in couples work?

I had always been interested in couple dynamics but perhaps earlier in life hadn’t felt clear enough about my own relationships to opt for a couple training.

When I found a Relate training specifically aimed at people with individual qualifications it was perfect for me. I really appreciated the systemic theory which I learnt with Relate and that, with the psychodynamic understanding of couple fit has helped me enormously in my work with individuals.

3. Can you tell us more about the book you are writing on therapists and retirement?

This was prompted in a very practical way when a supervisee began to speak about the possibility of retiring. I thought ‘Help I’d better go and read something on this,  I don’t know anything about how you set about closing down a therapy practice’. I found that at that time, in 2010, there was just one (very good) article by Jean Boyd-Carpenter.

Since then a little more has been written but mostly this area has not been explored because when therapists retire they don’t usually want to write about it. I interviewed a couple of retiring therapists thinking I would write a paper but the project gained momentum because I found it so interesting to talk to senior figures about their experiences. So I went on to interview a dozen who retired and a number of others who relocated or who made a temporary closure of their practice for maternity leave.

4. What got you interested in delivering training?

Earlier in life I had thought about a teaching career and had volunteered in a primary school. When I qualified as a therapist I knew I wanted to become a trainer if I could and I immediately signed up for a City and Guilds 730 course in teaching adults.

This is one of the most excellent learning opportunities I have had. I was on a course along with others who were beginning to teach languages, computers, keep fit, maths and other subjects. Our task was to learn to plan lessons, evaluate our teaching and above all respond to individual and group dynamics in the class. Our teaching practice was observed in situ and so the opportunities to learn were very profound.

5. If you weren’t a therapist, what would you be and why?

That is a very good question. I feel very fortunate that I have, after a bit of a scenic route earlier in life, found a career which is right for me. Perhaps I could be a teacher of something else – I’m quite skilled at sewing so that might be an option.

6. Where can people hear more from you?

I’m not very active online. I have a simple website at www.pimlico-psychotherapy.com

Thanks to Anne for offering her time for this interview, and we hope to see you all on 11 October!

For more information, please visit Anne Power’s speaker’s page