Career Focus of the Month: Becoming a Counsellor

Good mental health is essential for our wellbeing, yet more and more people are suffering with stress, anxiety, depression and other disorders. As a counsellor, you would help your clients identify and understand their problems, and explore ways they can move forward. 

Your clients may, for example, be having relationship difficulties, be living with medical conditions, have experienced trauma, bereavement or abuse, or be trying to cope with work overload, a major change or an important decision.

We’ll look at the essential role counsellors play in helping to improve their client’s mental wellbeing, the skills they need and the training involved.

Julia Nowak is a private practice counsellor. “I run my own counselling business with a private caseload of clients – see www.julianowakcounselling.co.uk. Adults with a myriad of ‘life issues’ of varying degrees seek my support. Before becoming self-employed I worked as a counsellor in the NHS, for Youthline, and within a school and a university.” 

In this article, Julia kindly tells us a little about her training route and provides some essential advice to those considering counselling as a career.

What does a counsellor do?

Counsellors provide face-to-face, telephone or online counselling. They may work with individual clients, small groups, couples or families. 

A counsellor will normally start by agreeing a counselling contract to establish what the client wants to achieve. A number of sessions are normally needed. Counsellors give their clients time to discuss their issues in a safe and confidential environment. They actively listen, ask questions and may challenge their clients’ responses. 

Counsellors don’t give advice or make judgements, rather they help their clients see their problems and reactions to them differently in order to establish a way forward. This might mean helping a client to see things more clearly, come to terms with their problems or resolve issues. 

Sometimes counsellors liaise with other professionals. If necessary, they refer clients to specialists for information and support. 

Where could I work as a counsellor?

Counsellors are often self-employed offering their services to private clients and/or contracting with different organisations. 

Paid employment opportunities exist with a range of employers including:

• schools, colleges and universities – providing counselling for students and staff
• charities and voluntary bodies – some help people with particular problems, such as bereavement or eating disorders
• the NHS and organisations that provide NHS services, e.g. within Talking Therapies services, general practices, and in areas such as cancer care
• companies that offer employee assistance programmes (EAPs) – advising people whose employers have contracted with the EAP to provide telephone/online counselling
• large public- and private-sector bodies that are major employers

Contracts are sometimes part time or sessional (i.e. you are paid for the hours you do) and counsellors often combine private practice work with paid/voluntary work. 

TIP: To get an idea about the range of counselling roles, have a look at vacancies online, such as through CharityJob, FEjobs (for careers in colleges), jobs.ac.uk (for roles in universities), NHS Jobs or NHS Scotland Jobs.

Would I suit a career in counselling?

To be a counsellor you need excellent listening and observational skills. You gain the trust of your clients by giving them time to talk, and being patient and understanding. 

Counselling is emotionally demanding, so you must be resilient and able to think clearly under pressure. ‘Professional supervision’ gives you the chance to discuss your work with an experienced counsellor, and to understand your own responses and limitations.

In roles where you work closely with other professionals, the ability to work in a team is important.

When asked about the qualities that are most important for someone interested in training as a counsellor, Julia said, “A natural curiosity in people and the human condition along with empathy and an ability to consider your own psychology.”

Note that you will need to undergo background checks through the Disclosure and Barring Service in England/Wales or Disclosure Scotland.

How can I get into counselling?

It’s common to enter counselling after working in a related career, such as in social work, teaching or healthcare. And it’s useful – sometimes essential – to have a particular background for certain types of work – experience in education for counselling at a school, for example. People also train in counselling after working in a relevant volunteering role. Such experience is very useful and may actually be necessary to start training.

No particular qualifications are required to work as a counsellor and the profession is not regulated by law, but most clients and employers look for counsellors who are listed on a register accredited by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care such as those held by the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP), UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP), National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society (NCPS) or COSCA (Counselling & Psychotherapy in Scotland). 

Julia’s TIP: “Joining a professional register will show that you have met the organisation’s educational, competence and other standards and that you follow their code of ethics.”

Qualifications at different levels in counselling are awarded by a number of organisations including the Counselling & Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body (CPCAB). Various colleges and private learning providers offer courses leading to these qualifications on a part-time basis, but there are some more intensive full-time programmes.

You can start by doing a level 2 certificate in counselling skills followed by a level 3 certificate/diploma. A level 3 programme generally takes a year and is a stepping stone to a higher-level course. 

TIP: A short counselling course will give you a basic introduction and can provide a taster so that you can decide whether counselling is the right career for you.

In order to register with a professional body you should aim for a level 4 qualification (at least) in therapeutic counselling or similar title. These programmes – which are sometimes referred to as ‘core practitioner training’ – usually take at least two years and include supervised clinical experience. Check the course entry requirements carefully – you are likely to need particular qualifications and counselling experience. 

There are also full-time higher education courses in counselling leading to, for example, foundation degrees, HNDs, DipHEs and degrees. For entry you normally need A levels/Highers or equivalent. It’s also possible to study counselling at postgraduate level. 

Julia explained, “My first degree in fine art included a lot of philosophy and required a certain level of self-discovery. When my eldest daughter suffered from declining mental health I developed my interest in counselling and completed an Access to Higher Education course in counselling. I felt I had found my vocation so went on to take a foundation degree in humanistic counselling.” 

Training is available in counselling people with specific problems. This might be useful for those who want to specialise after more general counselling training or for staff/volunteers who work for organisations that focus on these issues (in fact, some offer their own training). If you want to work with children, it’s important to take a specialist course, such as a level 5 or 6 diploma in counselling children and young people.

TIP: Research the content of courses carefully as they vary in content and focus. Some cover specific therapeutic techniques. Find out how well recognised your qualification will be and what previous students have gone on to do. Julia advises, “Choose a robust, accredited course”. Programmes are accredited/approved by professional bodies, e.g. BACP, UKCP and NCPS. 

Once you are qualified and registered, you have to keep your skills and knowledge up to date through continuing professional development. This may include attending courses on specific topics or taking higher-level qualifications. As already mentioned, you should also receive professional supervision; not only does this allow you to work through any issues you experience, but it helps you reflect on and improve your practice.

Julia’s TIP: “The main challenge for most counsellors is around maintaining good boundaries and self-care. It’s vital to engage fully in therapy whilst training and beyond as this uncovers and deepens the understanding of what you will ask your clients to do. Therapy will also help you establish the area in which you are most suited to work and why.”

What opportunities are there to progress in a counselling career?

As described earlier in this article, self-employment is an option, especially for experienced counsellors. 

Counsellors often decide to specialise in a particular area of work, such as relationship counselling or supporting people with substance misuse issues, or working with a particular age group.

Julia’s TIP: “Throughout your career you will continue to evolve. Choose continuing professional development activities that align with the type of counsellor you want to be.”

If you work for a large employer – the NHS or a university, for instance – there may be opportunities to gain promotion to a management-level role, although this may mean spending less time with clients.

With experience it’s possible to work overseas or to move into research or teaching counselling. Some counsellors train to be professional supervisors.

How can I find out more about careers in counselling?

The professional bodies mentioned in this article have information about training on their websites. Profiles on national careers sites (including Prospects, the National Careers Service and My World of Work) will also help you to explore careers in counselling. If you are interested in working in the health service, you can find out more through NHS Health Careers.

Finally…

Helping other people with their problems is clearly a demanding but rewarding career. As Julia says, “Don’t expect the training to be easy. An effective counsellor is not made through reading textbooks but by experience. An integral part of being an ethical practitioner is to understand yourself.” She went on to say, “I love working with people on a deep level. I see it as an honour to walk alongside them and to witness their journeys to self-awareness.”

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Debbie Steel, May 2024

With a background working with apprentices and teaching in further education, Debbie was employed as an in-house careers author before establishing herself as a freelancer. As well as co-authoring numerous careers books, Debbie has produced resources and web content for a range of high-profile clients. She is an enthusiastic proponent of impartial and reliable careers information, and a member of the Careers Writers Association and Career Development Institute.