It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, I think most cultures will be familiar with the story of Cinderella or some version of that, and the fact that Cinderella finds her Prince when the glass slipper she previously lost rushing away from the ball at midnight is found to be a perfect fit on her foot.

In the many different aspects of life we may all encounter that element of a “perfect fit” – whether that’s in a job, a relationship, a house, a location, a form of spirituality or whatever it is.

In training as therapists, some may start out with a clear sense of what working approach is a best fit for them, whilst others learn through an integrated approach and perhaps specialise later.

As far as I’m concerned, there is no “right” or “wrong” approach – each has merits and potential application in different circumstances, specific issues, settings, individual clients and therapists.

What I have learned over the years though is that most therapists work best with the approach they feel most comfortable with.

That doesn’t necessarily mean they work exclusively within that approach.  Many therapists integrate techniques and concepts from a number of different approaches.

But most of us will have a core approach as base and one in which we feel empowered and comfortable in developing our own way of working with.

My first year of training was on a course that had a humanistic focus.  My tutor at the end of that year repeatedly commented that my approach was actually very psychodynamic in approach and subsequently, I transferred to another course in my second year that was entirely psychodynamic.

I came out of that second year needing to take time out of training and feeling very bruised by the process.  That may have been as much to do with me and the issues in my life at the time, but I also feel it was about my working with an approach that ultimately wasn’t entirely  a good “fit” for me in the end.

So I took time out, and went back into further training for another couple of years on a course that was integrative and transpersonal, incorporating both some of the psychodynamic concepts that I clearly worked with as well as humanistic in focus, but also those elements that so far had been missing from my training and work but that felt absolutely like a perfect fit for me.

Finding that perfect fit takes time – just like Cinderella’s Prince had to try the shoe on the feet of many others before he found his Princess.

But finding that perfect fit is important for me, for you as a therapist and for any clients you work with.

So what’s your perfect fit?