African Journal of Clinical Psychology Copyright 2021 by Daystar University, 44400, 00100
ISSN: 978-9966-936-05-9: 2021 Vol. 04, Issue 02 School of Human & Social Sciences
Mandatory Personal Therapy and its Outcomes among Postgraduate Counseling Students
in Selected Universities in Nairobi County, Kenya
Joyzy Pius Egunjobi, Ph.D., Psycho-Spiritual Institute, Marist International University College
Nairobi; Stephen Asatsa, Ph.D; and Josephine Adhiambo, Ph.D.,
The Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi, Kenya
Abstract
Personal therapy is experienced as a mandatory requirement in many counseling and
psychotherapy trainings worldwide with the view that it yields positive outcomes in terms of
personal and professional developments. However, some counseling students think this is not
beneficial in their training. This study therefore assessed mandatory personal therapy and its
outcomes among postgraduate counseling students in selected universities in Nairobi, Kenya.
The target population was all the 635 postgraduate counseling students at the Nairobi University,
Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Daystar University, and Tangaza University College.
These universities were selected from the universities training clinical and counseling
psychologists using stratified random sampling techniques. There were 245 counseling students
who participated in survey, while ten counseling students, five professional counselors, and five
counselor educators participated in the interview. The findings showed that 91.7% of the
counseling students have positive perception of personal therapy as a mandatory requirement in
their training; that personal therapy as a mandatory requirement contributed to their personal
development in terms of self-awareness (94%) and general wellbeing (94%); it also contributed
to their professional development where they witness theories in practice (85%), learned
counseling skills (93%) and techniques (85%), used personal therapy for self-care (93%).
However, there were inconsistencies in the students’ knowledge of the required sessions which
they considered too much. It was recommended that there should be uniformity in the number of
hours of personal therapy required across the universities involved in counselors’ and
psychologists’ training.
Keywords: Mandatory Personal Therapy, Personal Therapy, Mandatory Requirement,
Counseling Outcome, Personal Development, Professional Development, Counseling Students,
Self-awareness, Self-care
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,African Journal of Clinical Psychology Copyright 2021 by Daystar University, 44400, 00100
ISSN: 978-9966-936-05-9: 2021 Vol. 04, Issue 02 School of Human & Social Sciences
Introduction and Background
An essential part of counselors’ training is the mandatory personal therapy for counseling
students. This is so true in many counseling programs across the world including Kenya. This is
justifiable following the Latin adage, Nemo dat quod non habet, meaning, you cannot give what
you do not have. There is also a proposition that one will be a better counselor having been in
personal therapy to deal with personal issues. This will reflect an ancient Latin proverb, medice,
cura te ipsum, (physician, heal thyself).
While the idea and the intention of mandatory personal therapy is plausible, mandatory personal
therapy, as part of training requirement may not receive positive outlooks because it is
mandatory. These may affect the counseling outcomes as well as professionalism that the
program intends to instill in the counseling students. This study, therefore, assessed counseling
outcomes of mandatory personal therapy among counseling students in the selected universities
in Nairobi County, Kenya.
No one is immune from life challenges of a biopsychosociotechno-spiritual nature (Egunjobi,
2019a). Egunjobi also stated that, therapists who invest their time and wisdom in treating others,
especially those who suffer from mental illness and challenges are themselves not immune from
suffering the same or similar mental illness and challenges. This idea was portrayed by Carl
Jung’s wounded healer; a term he derived from the legend of a Greek doctor, known as
Asclepius, who in recognition of his own wounds, established a sanctuary at Epidaurus where
others could be healed of their wounds (Jung, 1970). This makes mental health profession a
challenging profession since the counselor is also prone to being infected by the client’s
psychological wounds or having his or her psychological wounds reopened (Egunjobi, 2019b;
Luton, 2019). A wounded healer who is not aware of his or her wounds can be dangerous and
become a ‘wounded wounder’ (Egunjobi, 2019b).
Counselors are therefore encouraged to seek personal therapy to deal with their own mental
health issues which they may have been suffering before taking up counseling profession or
which may surface due to offering counseling services. The counselor’s unresolved issues can be
triggered during counseling session in form of countertransference. Hence, Sigmund Freud
(1937) cautioned other analysts to manage their feelings and issues within themselves or to seek
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, African Journal of Clinical Psychology Copyright 2021 by Daystar University, 44400, 00100
ISSN: 978-9966-936-05-9: 2021 Vol. 04, Issue 02 School of Human & Social Sciences
therapy in order to deal with them. For Freud, personal therapy is the deepest and most rigorous
part of clinical training. Rhetorically he asked, “where and how is the poor wretch to acquire the
ideal qualification which he will need in this profession? The answer is in an analysis of himself,
with which his preparation for the future activity begins” (p. 246). This analysis of the analyst is
materialized in personal therapy where the therapist is a client of another therapist.
In the United States of America, while personal therapy is neither required in the training of
psychologists or counselors nor required to obtain licensure in mental health disciplines such as
psychiatry, clinical psychology, etc., some specific training programs may require it, and a large
number of programs recommend personal therapy for their trainees (Reidbord, 2019). The
Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) had no
formal policy regarding personal counseling for students. CACREP accredited programs only
require students to experience 10 hours of group counseling instead (CACREP, 2016a, Section 2,
6h). The American Psychological Association (APA, 2017) and the American Counseling
Association (ACA, 2014) also do not require personal therapy as an important and necessary
element of licensure or certification for psychologists and counselors. Notwithstanding, many
therapists themselves do seek personal therapy. As Reidbord (2019) puts it, mandated, urged, or
independent choice, many practicing psychotherapists do claim experience in "the other chair".
In the United Kingdom, the British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy (BACP), the
British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) and the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy
(UKCP), as part of the SCoPEd collaboration, came up with requirements for accreditation
which require no personal therapy for qualified counselors, but requires personal development (a
form of personal therapy) for accredited counselors (BACP, 2018).
While there are many universities and colleges of higher learning in different countries within
the African continent offering mental health related courses, it is not clear how many of them
require personal therapy for trainees. Studies in this regard are not readily available. One thing
that is evident in counselor education is that students are required to observe a certain number of
hours of practicum and on-site supervision. In Nigeria, for example, not all the universities
offering psychological and counseling programs require personal therapy (Egunjobi, 2020). In
Kenya, however, as Egunjobi noted, many psychological or counseling training programs at
different levels: certificate, diploma, bachelor, master, or doctoral require personal therapy for
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