Counsellor
Counsellors help people to explore feelings and emotions that are often related to their experiences. This allows their clients to reflect on what is happening to them and consider alternative ways of doing things. Working in a confidential setting, counsellors listen attentively to their clients and offer them the time, empathy and respect they need to express their feelings and perhaps understand themselves from a different perspective. The aim is reduce their confusion and enable them to cope with challenges or to make positive changes in their life where necessary.
Counsellors do not give advice, but help clients to make their own choices within the framework of an agreed counselling contract.
There are various models of counselling, each with its own theoretical basis. Differences in approach can relate to the individual practitioner’s interests and training, the setting in which the counselling consultation takes place, or the predominant client group. There is also no clear distinction between the terms counselling and psychotherapy, and both can encompass a range of talking therapies. Counsellors working in particular fields (e.g. relationship guidance, addiction, sexual abuse or health) tend to specialise in the models most used in those areas.
Across most areas of counselling, typical work activities include:
This career is open to all graduates and those with an HND qualification. A pre-entry qualification in counselling is more or less essential, however. The following subjects may be useful for entry to diploma or Masters courses in counselling:
Previous counselling skills and evidence that you have the necessary personal qualities are just as important as academic achievement to get onto one of the counselling courses. You will need to undergo Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) disclosure checks if your client group comprises children under the age of 18 or vulnerable adults.
Counselling courses accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) are the most widely recognised in the profession but there are a variety of different certificates or diplomas in counselling available. They usually last between one year (full time) and, more typically, two to three years (part time). The main aim of these qualifications is to enable you to practise counselling in a wide variety of settings.
Requirements for certificate-level courses tend to be flexible and entry without a degree or HND/foundation degree is fairly common. Many diploma courses, however, prefer degree-level qualifications but will often accept a certificate in counselling or other suitable alternative. The cost of diploma courses varies between institutions. It is advisable to check with the individual institution for up-to-date course fees. The BACP offers some bursaries to assist with course fees for students but only if they are on BACP-accredited courses.
If you do not have much experience in counselling, you could consider a part-time introductory course. Such courses are usually run by adult education departments, further education colleges or university external studies departments. Most courses provide an insight into non-directive, person-centred models of counselling but can be based on varying theoretical perspectives.
Relevant experience in a helping capacity is also very desirable. It is particularly useful if you can demonstrate experience of working with a diverse range of clients. You will need to show evidence of:
The demand for counselling is increasing in areas such as employee counselling, adoption, education and addictive behaviours, and competition for full-time paid positions is high. Many paid posts are part time or combined with other duties, such as teaching, nursing or advisory work.
Recent initiatives within the NHS have aimed to improve access to psychological therapies for the general public. This has led to such therapies being made more widely available within the NHS as a result of the recruitment of a large number of practitioners. Further details are available from Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) .
There are many voluntary opportunities available across the counselling sector. Some basic counselling skills training is usually required before embarking on voluntary work but some agencies select and train their own volunteers. Such voluntary experience can be highly valuable and may even lead to further training and paid work. Organisations like the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) , the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) and Volunteering England can provide information about the availability of opportunities in the voluntary sector. You can also search for charities that work with specific groups in your local area via Charities Direct .
Counselling is often taken up as a second career. Many people find that an interest in counselling stems from being in a job where they become aware of the personal difficulties faced by others or from experiencing such difficulties themselves.
For more information, see work experience and internships and search courses and research.
The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) offers an accreditation scheme for counsellors. If you have a qualification from a BACP-accredited training course, you will need to have at least 450 hours of supervised practice, accumulated within three to six years. Other criteria apply if you have a different qualification. More information can be found on the BACP website. All members of the BACP must follow their code of ethics.
Many private, voluntary and charitable counselling organisations also run in-house training schemes that focus on the particular needs of the client group with which they are concerned. They are generally aimed at counsellors already working in these fields or those who wish to add a specialisation to their counselling training.
As with many helping professions, counsellors should be prepared for continuing professional development (CPD) throughout their career. This may include short courses on new therapeutic approaches and possibly progression to MA/MSc or PhD qualifications in counselling. Courses are often self-financing and you may find that part-time training is the only realistic option. Details of the full range of accredited courses available from the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP): Training Courses .
Because most counsellors work part time and/or on a voluntary basis, the career structure is not well developed.
Counselling units generally tend to be small with flat structures and opportunities for promotion are therefore restricted. In larger units, for example in educational or health settings, management opportunities exist but these tend to be less involved with seeing individual clients and more concerned with strategy and policy implementation.
There are opportunities to specialise in areas such as substance abuse, sexual health, bereavement, mental health or family therapy. Experienced counsellors may also specialise in areas such as training or supervision. Experience in more than one setting may be advantageous for career development in general.
There is also the option of becoming a self-employed counsellor once you have significant experience and have undergone thorough training and therapy. The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) recommends that private practitioners should first acquire BACP accreditation, although it is not compulsory to do so. Self-employment can be combined effectively with part-time or voluntary work. As demand for counselling services continues to rise, more people are turning to private practitioners, making it a viable option. Professional indemnity insurance is recommended.
Counselling vacancies can occur in a wide range of settings including:
Increased collaboration, mergers and joint working between the education sector, the health sector and the social care sector mean that patterns of service delivery may vary from place to place. There are also many alternative careers in these sectors that involve the use of counselling skills.
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