I'm worried I'm not 'academic' enough — can the library help?

Created by Colette Kelly, Modified on Tue, 5 May at 1:33 PM by Colette Kelly

At a Glance

If you carry the fear that you're not "academic" enough for this, you are not alone — that fear is the most common one we hear. The library is built specifically to bridge the gap that the fear comes from.

Where the fear comes from

Most counselling students who feel this didn't have a bad teacher tell them they were stupid (though some did). It's quieter than that. It's the assumption baked into how training materials are written — for an academic reader who already knows the conventions, the language, the structure. When the materials don't make sense, the inner voice says: "It must be me."

It isn't you. It's the materials.

"I thought myself too stupid to go to uni, so didn't bother trying to get a degree until my late twenties."

"I'm shocked that my tutors at college cannot explain it the same way."

What the library does about it

The library is built on a single belief: counselling theory and skills can be explained clearly. Plainly. Without jargon-for-jargon's-sake. Without making you feel that the fault is yours for not following.

So every lecture is built around three principles:

Plain English — Ken and Rory teach the way they'd teach a friend, not a peer-reviewed journal

Concrete examples — what does this look like with a real client, not just on the page

Multi-format — watch, listen, read; whichever helps it land

What members say

"Rory and Ken have given me so many moments where I have said 'Oh! I get it now.'"

"I found your way of describing subjects very easy to understand and found your talks added the concrete to the foundations I had laid on my course."

"It's like studying wrapped in a welcoming safe feather duvet."

The "Oh, I get it now" moment is what we are aiming for. Not because you weren't capable before. Because the explanation finally matched how you take in information.

A quiet truth

The fact that you worry about being good enough is, in itself, a good sign for the work you'll do as a counsellor. People who never worry about being good enough often aren't.

Want to know more?

You can see everything that's inside — and current membership options — at the Student Library page.

If you have a specific question we haven't answered here, email us at support@counsellingtutor.com — a real person will reply within 24 hours.