Information and Support Service
GUIDELINES FOR PRACTICE
VOLUNTEER COUNSELLING PLACEMENTS
FOR TRAINEES AND RECENTLY QUALIFIED COUNSELLORS
Recruitment
Information about availability of trainee placements is circulated to all training organisations in the local area. We do not actively recruit recently qualified volunteers but are always keen to receive applications from those who wish to develop their skills in this area.
The Linden Centre recruits counsellors who have a particular professional interest in Supportive and Palliative Care (Please refer to NICE Guidance 2004) and bereavement. Those that demonstrate an awareness of this area of work at application and interview will be given preference.
All team members, both qualified and trainee, would be supported if they wish to carry an additional counselling caseload elsewhere. However, due to the holistic nature of our work it is not considered necessary to do this for the sake of gaining varied experience with clients but rather because this is a demanding area of work and could be considered draining if it were to make up a counsellor’s entire workload.
Counsellors are asked to consider their personal circumstances, support systems and professional commitments carefully before undertaking a placement here. Those who have recently experienced major life change or loss and particularly a bereavement following the death of a loved one may find the work here to be overwhelming.
All counsellors are courteously reminded that we are here to provide a service to our clients and that accrual of hours for the purposes of training or accreditation is not our first priority. However, we are committed to supporting all our counsellors in their personal and professional development and to this end we regard all our volunteers as service users as well as valuing them as if they were paid staff. We would welcome any feedback at any stage about improving the service for you.
Application
Counsellors who contact the service and wish to apply for a placement will be encouraged to access the appropriate application form from the Linden Centre website. www.lindencentre.org.uk
Trainee counsellors
Trainee counsellors will be required to provide a letter from their training organisation, confirming both their presence on the course and later their readiness to commence their counselling hours. We do not usually request references as it is assumed that recognised courses have completed appropriate checks at the point of selection for the course.Recently Qualified Counsellors
Counsellors who have completed a work placement at the Linden Centre need only complete a volunteer application form obtainable from the Volunteer Co-ordinators. No further interview will be necessary assuming the end of placement review was satisfactory.Counsellors joining the team having completed a work placement elsewhere will be required to fill in both a counselling placement application form and a general volunteer application form (this form is not available on the website and must be obtained from the Volunteer Co-ordinators).
Interview
Following receipt of application forms those applicants who are deemed suitable will be offered an interview with the Counselling Co-ordinator and Information and Support Service Manager. Qualified counsellors who are new to the service may be asked to attend an initial meeting with the volunteer co-ordinators prior to their interview, although we will always attempt to arrange this on the same day.
Following interview and offer of a placement, all applicants will be required to complete a CRB form before the offer of a placement is confirmed. Applicants are not entitled to withhold information about convictions which for the purpose are ‘spent’ under the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. Please refer to Trinity’s policy statement on the recruitment of ex-offenders. If this is satisfactory placements may commence as soon as supervision and insurance is in place and the contract has been signed and agreed by the trainee, the college, the trainee’s supervisor and the Linden Centre.
Induction
All new members of the team will be offered an induction session with the Information and Support Service Administrator to familiarise them with all the relevant paperwork and make arrangements for their counselling sessions and room bookings.
New team members are encouraged to make an appointment with the Counselling Co-ordinator as part of their induction or they may wish to sit in on an initial assessment appointment with a service user to gain insight into the workings of the service.
Each new member of the team is required to sign a contract with the Linden Centre in addition to any contract with his or her training organisation and this must be completed before client work commences.
Placement monitoringAll counsellors are allocated to a supervision or mentoring group, which they are required to attend on a monthly basis; please refer to our guidelines for practice concerning supervision. Supervision and mentoring is seen as an essential part of our monitoring and support particularly of trainees. It is seen as separate to the line management from the Counselling Co-ordinator who will be responsible for informally reviewing the work of trainees on an ongoing basis.
Trainees
Different colleges have different procedures for monitoring and reporting on placements.
All Trainees at the Linden Centre will be required to have a formal review and feedback from their mentor/ supervisor and supervision group members both halfway through and at the end of their placement. Completion of any written reports will be by the Counselling Co-ordinator with reference to the placement review documentation.
Qualified counsellors
Qualified counsellors are entitled to make an annual appointment with the Counselling Co-ordinator or the Information and Support Service Manager to discuss their professional development.Caseloads
Each counsellor’s caseload is considered on a regular basis according to their personal circumstances and other professional commitments.
Trainees are encouraged to consider the Guidance on good practice for the management of counselling placements in healthcare settings and will not be allocated more than 3 clients on commencement of their placement, particularly if they have an additional placement elsewhere. The size of their caseload can be renegotiated following their interim review.
Trainee Counsellors should inform the Counselling Co-ordinator when they have completed 75-hour client hours. No new clients will be offered to the counsellor once they are nearing the end of their placement unless the counsellor is prepared to offer the new client an open-ended contract.
Client Work Assessment
The Linden Centre understands that trainees will have their client work assessed and will need to complete case studies relating to their client work here.
The Counselling Co-ordinator or her deputy or manager must sign off client hours on the student’s log. This paperwork should not be signed by administrative staff as it is not seen as a record of attendance but rather confirmation that their practice has been overseen by a qualified member of the team.
All trainees should make their clients aware of the boundaries of their assessment for their qualification at the point of contracting. Trainees may not remove their case notes from the Linden Centre but are welcome to take copies, which should be destroyed after use. Copies of case notes should not be stored with the client assessment sheet as these contain identifying details. Clients should be made aware of the provision counsellors make at home for storing any copies of records/ notes. Permission to use a client’s case material in a case study should not be sought retrospectively.
The Linden Centre is also aware of the fact that some training organisations assess taped client work. Whilst trainees will be supported in this form of assessment it must be considered carefully in relation to individual clients. Ideally the trainee should discuss the appropriateness of taping work with a particular client with the counsellor who completed the initial appointment with that client.
Trainees should provide all taping equipment and ensure that it is in good working order. It is considered disrespectful to clients if their session is interrupted because of technical problems. Tapes, like client case notes, are considered the property of the Linden Centre and in the long term should be stored with the case notes. On client discharge the envelope containing notes and the tape(s) will be sealed and stored in the same way as client case notes. Unlike case notes, counsellors are permitted to take the tape away for assessment as long as it is returned following completion of assessment. Before removing tapes from the Linden Centre the trainee should document in the client records that tape(s) have been removed for assessment purposes and a date of return should be specified. Again, clients should be clear as to the boundaries of assessment and give their explicit consent at the point of contracting.
Practical Issues
All trainee counsellors are required to complete at least some of their placement time within office hours.
All counsellors are strongly encouraged to attend bi-monthly meetings; these have a training element as well as the opportunity for the team to air and share and mutually support one another.
Counsellors are asked to work to the same appointment times each week for ease of room bookings. Changes to working times should be agreed with the Information and Support Service administrator.
Resignation
Should be in writing to the Counselling Co-ordinator with ample notice given in order to be able to offer all current clients a minimum of eight sessions. Where all current clients have had in excess of eight sessions, counsellors will be required to give one-month’s notice. No new clients will be offered once a letter of notice is received.
Placement counsellors will be asked to complete a placement evaluation form, to support us in developing support for Trainees on placement.
Further reading:
*NICE Guidance Improving Supportive and Palliative Care for Adults with Cancer 2004
*BACP Guidance on good practice for the management of counselling placements in healthcare settings.
Kath Sharman
Counselling Placements Application Form
