Lessons from Documentary Filmmaking that Shaped Me as a Counsellor & Psychotherapist

Before training as a counsellor, I spent many years as a documentary filmmaker, seeking out and then listening to people’s stories, often during times of great vulnerability. I didn’t realise it at the time, but that work was preparing me for the counselling room. The skills I honed behind the camera – curiosity, empathy, and the art of creating safety – have become the foundations of my practice as a person-centred counsellor.

Listening. It sounds so simple. But often when we think we’re listening, we can be thinking about what we’d like to say next. Good documentary work begins with deep listening. To really hear what someone has to say, I needed to be fully present, tuning in to not just what was being said but also the tone, rhythm, pauses – the unspoken as much as the spoken. As a counsellor, that same attentive listening creates a sense a space and acceptance where people can begin to truly hear themselves.

Body Language, the silent language of the mind. When filming interviews, I learned that people communicate more through their bodies than their words – facial expressions, gestures, posture, eye contact… It could be the way a person breathes or their tone of voice. These subtle physical cues can tell a story. In therapy, being sensitive to these cues helps me sense and develop and overall picture of what’s happening beneath the surface, enabling a deeper level of empathy.

From filmmaker to therapist

Making People Feel Safe. In front of a camera, no one is going to just open up and tell you their deepest fears without you doing the work to help them feel safe. The same is true in counselling – how I carry myself matters. Whether it’s through my own body language, tone/volume of voice, or the pace of the conversation, creating a sense of safety is the foundation of an effective therapeutic meeting. It’s what allows both interviewees and clients to be real, open.

Storytelling. Documentary filmmaking is, at its heart, storytelling – finding and revealing the thread of meaning in another's lived experience. Therapy, too, is a storytelling process. Together, counsellor and client work together to explore how life events have contributed to their own narrative, and potentially how we can build on their story to help them shift toward greater self-acceptance and/or personal growth.

Patience and Presence. In documentary filmmaking, you learn that the most authentic moments can’t be forced. They arrive spontaneously, quietly, without pushing. In counselling, this openness to ‘not forcing’ is especially vital – change unfolds in its own time. My role is simply to hold the space, to stay present and patient, allowing the possibility of something new to emerge.

Editing and Perspective. Meaning in film often emerges during the edit, when I have time to watch, rewatch and consider the deeper meanings of what’s in front of me and how it might connect to other aspects of a person’s story – how moments are linked, what’s left out, what’s reframed. Therapy feels like it has a similar rhythm for me – but in real time as client and therapist can work together to “edit” or reevaluate their story, finding compassion and opportunities in the process of retelling.

Ethical Responsibility and Trust. Working with people’s lives on film requires deep ethical care – to represent them truthfully and respectfully. In counselling, that responsibility deepens: I hold people’s stories in complete confidence, honouring the trust they place in me.

Collaboration, Not Control. The best documentaries are co-created – a dynamic partnership between filmmaker and participant. Therapy, too, is a shared journey. I may hold the space, but the client leads the way and together we discover new meaning.

Both documentary filmmaking and counselling are about witnessing humanity in all its messy and beautiful glory – seeing and being seen. The camera taught me to look with empathy; counselling has taught me to listen with it. Both invite the same question: what does it mean to be fully, courageously human?