Ms Corina Johns

A conversation with Corina Johns

• What led you to choose psychotherapy or counselling as a profession?

  It's the only thing I've wanted to do since the age of about 15 when the idea first came to me. I've always had a gift for listening to and helping people, and genuinely love getting to know and understand others. Being a part of a positive change in someone's life is incredibly rewarding, and I would never want to do anything else.

• Which philosophical approaches have influenced your professional development?

  I think it is fair to say I am fairly existentialist - I believe one of the most important things for us to do in life is find and create meaning. I believe strongly that truth is a subjective thing - none of us can know anything for sure but our own perspective. I think this belief is what drives my curiosity to get to know others from their own point of view. I would also say I am a pragmatist - I believe that often the best way forward is in doing what is most useful to us.

• Which particular aspects of health or the human journey are you interested in?

  So many - I am tempted to say them all, but it feels like that would be cheating the question.
  
  A broad answer would be that I am interested in the uniqueness of each person's journey - whatever it is they face that challenges them to grow to be a stronger, wiser, more adaptive person. That personal growth through adversity is something I am passionate about.
  
  More specifically, some particular areas I am interested in are important personal relationships, insight into our own identity, and sexual identity and expression.

• What methods do you use?

  My first aim is to connect with a person and get to know who they are - this informs so much about what approach is most likely to be useful to them. There is no "one size fits all".
  
  Much of my method is based in psychodynamic therapy, with many other tools from areas like cognitive-behavioural therapy, schema therapy, narrative therapy, systems theory, mindfulness and more. I prefer to choose what is most suited to a person and the situation than to stick to a rigid structure.

• When do you think the client will start to feel that progress is being made?

  That varies a great deal and there is no single answer. For therapy focusing on improving skills at managing or coping with a situation, progress can be made immediately. For some people, having a problem to tackle and complete every session is important. For others, therapy may be a more gradual process as deeper issues are explored and change happens slowly over time. Some people find that they need time to build trust before other goals can be approached. Each person is different and there is no right or wrong.
  
  I think the most important issue here is making sure the pace is right for you. If you are feeling unsure about the speed of progress being made, I encourage you to say so. It might be a matter of clarifying what is happening to feel more comfortable in therapy, or it may be that we need to change to a new approach. I am more than happy to talk about how things are going at any time.

• How has therapy made a difference in your life?

  Therapy has helped me understand a great deal about who I am and why - which helps me see much more clearly in relationships with other people in my life. I have found it helps me cope with difficulties without becoming overwhelmed, manage situations better, accept the past and move on without being weighed down, and made me a better friend, lover, and parent.
  
  I also feel it has made me a better therapist. In my training, I had a supervisor who was fond of saying that we can only help people come as far as we have gone ourselves. I do believe that my own personal progress has helped a great deal in helping other people through their own journeys, whether they be similar or different.

• What do you like most about being a therapist?

  I see being a therapist as a great privilege - the people I meet are giving me their time and their trust, and allowing me to develop a connection unique to them. Being granted the opportunity to start a journey with someone and follow it through to a new experience in life is something I feel great appreciation for. It is not easy to put our trust in someone we don't know, but each person who comes through my door is doing their best to offer that in the hope that I can give them something useful in return. That relationship and the mutual respect it involves is what I enjoy the most.

• Do you ever have 'bad hair' days?

  Of course not, I am super human.
  
  More seriously, I have bad hair days and days when I haven't slept well or have a cold or a pain in my back. I forget things and make mistakes. I also have hard times and periods of stress. These are all part of life. If I let someone down at these times, I do my best to apologise, understand what has happened, and do what I can to make things better.

• What do you think is the most significant problem we face, in the world today?

  I don't think there is one single answer to that - the most significant problem you find depends entirely on where you look. There is certainly no shortage of problems in the world to grab our attention. It's easy to forget that no matter the place we live or the time in human history, that has always been true. Are things any better or worse now than ever? I don't really think there is a definitive answer to that. The only real constant is change.

• Can you share the name of a book, film, song, event or work of art that inspires you?

  Musically, I am a fan of John Darnielle (of the Mountain Goats) and Mark Oliver Everett, among others. They share an appreciation for all kinds of human experience that I find inspiring.
  
  I enjoy reading binges when I find myself with spare time, and if I can name one author who stands out, Dave Eggars is the one that comes to mind. He writes insightful fiction that makes me think in new ways, and biographical stories about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, in a very down to earth way. I couldn't choose just one of those stories that inspires me.