Counselling and Psychotherapy in Scotland 18 Viewfield Street, Stirling FK8 1UA Tel 01786 475140 Fax 01786 446207 email cosca@compuserve.com website www.cosca.org.uk Pathways to becoming a counsellor/psychotherapist In order to become a counsellor/psychotherapist you will need to have appropriate levels of training and experience. Although you are probably aware of this it can sometimes be difficult to know where to start. This leaflet explains some of the routes you can take and you will find a list of useful contacts at the end. The first task is to decide what becoming a counsellor/psychotherapist means to you. Do you want to use a counselling/psychotherapy approach in your present career? Do you want to work within an organisation? Do you want to offer some of your free time and work as a volunteer counsellor/psychotherapist? Do you want to become an independent counsellor/psychotherapist with your own clients or working in, for example, a GP surgery? The answers to these questions will determine the level of training and experience you will need to practice ethically. COSCA advises that someone with no training or experience in counselling/psychotherapy first undertakes the COSCA 120 training programme in counselling skills. This is first steps counselling skills training and COSCA recommends that people do not undertake any helping role if they have not completed this or an equivalent training. Using counselling skills in careers related to counselling/psychotherapy Some people may approach their counselling/psychotherapy career as part of the continued personal and professional development within their current profession. Typically social workers, care and health workers, advice and guidance workers, teachers and pastoral care workers are examples of the professions in which counselling skills are used and can be extended into a career in counselling/psychotherapy. The COSCA 120 hour programme is the level of training COSCA recommends for people using a counselling approach in the support part of their work. In addition an experienced and qualified counsellor/psychotherapist should supervise the helping work. Working for a counselling/psychotherapy organisation There are many opportunities in Scotland to work as a counsellor/psychotherapist in an organisation. This work is often unpaid but increasingly organisations are being well enough resourced to pay some of their counsellor/psychotherapists. Working within an organisation has many advantages: 1
Most organisations offer specialist training Some organisations provide training at no cost to the trainee All organisations provide practice opportunities All organisations provide a support structure Most organisations provide opportunities for continued training and development Most organisations provide counselling/psychotherapy supervisors at no cost to the counsellor/psychotherapist Some organisations have a system of accreditation of counsellors/psychotherapistss All organisations operate within an agreed code of practice Some organisations offer free training to unpaid workers and some ask that a contribution toward the cost of training be made. Most national organisations maintain a system of accreditation, supervised practice and continued professional development for their counsellors/psychotherapistss. Many other organisations welcome voluntary input but may not have the same resources to train, supervise and accredit their workers. Scottish organisations offering training and practice opportunities to unpaid counsellors/psychotherapistss are listed in the useful contact section at the end of this leaflet. In addition there are many local projects that offer opportunities for unpaid work but these may have limited resources to provide training for workers. In such cases you should complete the COSCA 120 hour training programme in counselling skills, take advantage of training and development opportunities whenever possible and ensure that high quality support is provided for your helping work. Local projects can be identified by contacting local volunteer centres or councils for voluntary service. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) and Volunteer development Scotland can help you identify your local contacts. Working as an independent counsellors/psychotherapists Counsellors/psychotherapistss working within organisations and professionals in related careers, often embark upon additional training to help them develop counselling/psychotherapy into a paid full, or part time career. People wishing to establish a career in counselling/psychotherapy outside the voluntary sector or related occupations would typically gain professional training that would allow them to become accredited with a national organisation such as COSCA or British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). This training would be to COSCA or BACP diploma in counselling/psychotherapy level. Accreditation as a counsellors/psychotherapists with COSCA demands that you have completed a COSCA validated diploma in counselling/psychotherapy, or can produce a portfolio of evidence showing that your training and practice are equivalent to a diploma, have at least two years post qualifying experience and have completed 90 hours personal therapy or equivalent. Further information on accreditation as a counsellors/psychotherapists is available from the COSCA Office. A recognition option available to psychology graduates is to become a chartered counselling psychologist with the British Psychological Society (BPS). Full details of this are available from the BPS (see contact list at the end). 2
While employment opportunities for counsellors/psychotherapistss are increasing, there are more trained counsellors/psychotherapistss than there are posts available. Counsellors/psychotherapistss trained to diploma level typically find employment in: Voluntary sector projects The healthcare sector, increasingly in primary care Higher and further education particularly in student counselling/psychotherapy Community education especially youth work Projects involved with counselling young people of school age Social work projects such as drug and alcohol projects Independent counselling/psychotherapy organisations Industrial settings through employee assistance programmes Job vacancies are advertised every Friday and Sunday in the Scotsman and Herald newspapers. The SCVO weekly publication Third Force News also carries an appointments section advertising posts available in the voluntary sector. Ethical practice and counsellor supervision All counsellors/psychotherapists who are members of COSCA have an ethical requirement to ensure that their client work is adequately supervised. Client work supervision is a formal process which provides the counsellor/psychotherapist with the support of a more experienced colleague. The aim of supervision is to protect the client through monitoring the practice and development needs of the counsellor/psychotherapist. At present there are no statutory requirements to be trained or accredited to offer a counselling/psychotherapy service. However, COSCA members are bound by the COSCA Statement of Ethics and Code or Practice and have agreed: To abide by a code of practice, which maintains that all counsellors/psychotherapists should not work beyond their training and experience capabilities. That counsellors/psychotherapists trained and supervised to work within an organisation offering a specific service should not work outside that service as independent counsellors/psychotherapists without additional training and supervision. That workers in careers using counselling skills or a counselling approach should be trained at least to COSCA certificate in counselling skills level and should not assume the title of counsellor/psychotherapist nor claim to be offering counselling/psychotherapy either in an organisational setting or as an independent practitioner. That COSCA accredited counsellors/psychotherapists offering independent counselling/psychotherapy services will have appropriate training, experience and supervision to maximise safe practice and will carry indemnity insurance. Funding Counselling/psychotherapy Training At present governmental funding is not generally available for counselling/psychotherapy training and the cost of training is a considerable commitment. Some students have 3
employers or charitable organisations willing to award a training grant to meet or help toward the cost of training. Potential sources of funding are: Access or hardship loans available from training organisations Bursaries from colleges or local councils Educational trusts and endowments check the following publications normally available at libraries: The Directory of Grant Making Trusts Charities Digest The Grants Register Scholarships Abroad Or contact the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) where a register of Scottish Trusts is maintained and they will search the register for you if you fill in form REE1. Sponsorships and scholarships from industrial organisations and government details form the Job Centre Career development loans managed by the government through high street banks. Apply through your local enterprise company Benefits Agency if you have dependent children or are disabled you or your partner may be able to claim income support and housing benefit check with the Benefits Agency Useful contacts Alcohol Focus Scotland 0141 572 6700 British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) 01788 550899 British Psychological Society 0116 254 9568 Childline Scotland 0141 552 1123 COSCA 01786 475140 Couple Counselling Scotland, 0131 225 5006 Cruse Bereavement Care, 0131 551 1511 Learn Direct Scotland 0808 100 9000 Scottish Marriage Care 0141 222 2166 Scottish Women s Aid 0131 475 2384 Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, 0131 556 3882 Student Awards Agency Scotland 0131 476 8212 Volunteer Development Scotland 01786 446071 Other leaflets available from COSCA or via www.cosca.org.uk COSCA validated Certificate in counselling skills courses in Scotland COSCA validated diploma in counselling courses in Scotland Accreditation as an individual practitioner COSCA Statement of Ethics and Code of Practice 4
COSCA June 2002 5