If you have a friend or relative who has trained as a counsellor ...

[fusskat]

... has it changed your relationship with them?

I have a lovely friend, who I have always felt very relaxed and open with. Spending time with her always made me feel good. When she told me she was planning to train as a counsellor I told her she'd be great at it, because she has a genuine interest in people and is so easy to talk to. However, now that she's trained, and practising, I find I'm more guarded with what I say to her. I wonder if I'm being analysed, and there's been a couple of times she's responded to things I've said in what I imagine is her "professional voice". I still love her to bits, and it's not a biggy, but I do feel less relaxed. It strikes me that it must be a common hazard of the job!

If you have a friend who is a counsellor, or if you are a counsellor, is it something you notice too?

Yes I have a friend who is a counsellor, I've known her since before she trained. Honestly hasn't changed the way I see her at all

Good counsellors don't analyse anyway, they stay present.

Do you think she has actually changed or do you think you have changed the way you perceive her?

I’ve got a lovely friend who is a counsellor. Our friendship didn’t change after she qualified at all.

I’m not a counsellor but a mental health nurse and I notice that people speak differently to me when they find out! Strangers want to tell me everything.

My friend has recently retrained as a counsellor, haven’t noticed any difference in our friendship. She’s perfect for the job!

One friend retrained and is now a self employed councillor and doing very well. My other friend was a psychiatrist before she retired. My relationship with both has always been relaxed and I never wonder if they’re analysing anything I say. The friend who retrained doesn’t act any differently as a friend than they did in their old (unrelated) career.

A friend who retrained went headlong into it and burned through every relationship during or shortly after qualifying, including her marriage.

From my understanding, this isn't that unusual, since the course makes you deeply examine and pick over every single detail in a way that only really solid relationships can survive.

People seem to think anyone trained in counselling, psychology or psychiatry can read their minds. They can't. They aren't sitting there thinking 'oh Fusskat chose coffee instead of her usual hot chocolate, that means...'. Just relax.

I'm a counsellor

Yes, we don't really do this IME. She might be A counsellor but she isn't your counsellor.
I'm naturally an analytical person but I don't analyse my friends unless they ask me to for a good reason (wanting advice etc). Counsellors don't analyse much anyway. And when I'm not working I'd rather not work.