Retraining as a counsellor

[MotherDanger]

I've wanted to retrain as a counsellor for a long time - did basic course as an intro about 15 years ago but the time has never been right to make the change. Now I can afford to financially and am in a position to commit to the training. It makes sense as a progression from work that I've done since the start of my career. It's undoubtedly the work I would like to see myself doing until retirement.

Reading back over old threads on here has put doubts into my mind though about the amount of work available. That it'll be difficult, near impossible, to find a placement let alone work once I qualify.

Does anyone have current knowledge about what the picture is like for people looking to establish themselves in this profession?

My past experiences lend themselves most closely to working with teenagers though I find myself interested in working with adults.

Bump 😊

I think many people would say there are too many counsellors around for them to make a living. Although maybe things will be different when the pandemic ends.

Why not do some research online by seeing how many are within 1 mile of your house? Look at their experience. You could even find out how much some of them charge.

Just tried to book a CBT counsellor for my daughter ( privately) and there is a 5 week waiting list. If there are too many then why is this the case?

Thank you for your replies. I wouldn't necessarily be looking at working privately within my home area but looking for work within organisations that provide support for young people and families probably through school contacts and suchlike. These jobs aren't always easy to find advertised. I've had a look but there understandably aren't many being advertised right now. The demand may increase as the situation with Covid improves but then I wouldn't qualify for two years so there are a lot of unknown quantities. I guess any big life decision is going to involve a gamble of sorts.

Would you consider working for an organisation like your local Mind? That's worth looking into as a more workable route.

I'll have a look into that. I'd consider most things. I just want to find some assurances that I'm not going to be wasting my time and money on a dream that won't lead to anything sensible. I feel like there's such a wide range of places where such work may be advertised, even in our local area, from private practitioners to charitable agencies working with young people. Hard to get a view across it all. Thanks

MotherDanger I would say go for it! You can always get another job to make up the difference whilst building your client base. No counsellor starts with fully booked hours and it will take time to build reputation. Get yourself a good looking website, social media presence, offer discounts when you're getting started etc etc. Canvas schools and offer competitive rates. You may even pick clients up from your placement that you continue sessions with. Also, sign up with some agencies that provide counselling to businesses as part of their OCC Health packages - OH assist, Strictly Education Help etc etc. When you provide limited sessions - eg a series of 6 to employees who then want to continue they might then decide to pay you privately. If your training course is worth it's salt they will give you lots of ideas. Can you continue your current job whilst training? You could also apply for a job in a school and offer counselling as part of your skills?

Finding work in an organisation is hard, really hard and the pay tends to be crap!
Theres not many being advertised now because there never has been TBH, the work is there but no one wants to fund it sadly.
All the banging on about what we need (which we really do) verses what is on offer is a disgrace.
So that being said if you can afford to study, have an interest and can support yourself on a low wage if employed then go for it.
I have just stopped working for a charity( that undervalues our work whilst paying £££ for people who are no way near as qualified or in such a responsible job) as they wanted us to jump through hoops all for the princely sum of 14:50 ph, I know I am worth more than that and I do have another job that pays a huge amount more.
I do love counselling/therapy it is so rewarding but it is hard, very hard.

Watching with interest; this is sort of my semi-retirement plan. I'm considering doing an MSC (takes three years) then moving away from my boring office job to something where I can use those skills instead.

Some great mixed responses so I feel like I'm getting a balanced view. I'm working in a low paid role currently that isn't related to my original professional training so I'm not dependent on earning a great amount from a new career though I do hope to be able to reach a reasonable salary after a while. I feel that I'll regret not taking the opportunity now while there's still time for me to build a career back up. I'll also be able to continue my current role - at least through training and to begin with.

Hi Op. I'm currently coming to the end of a first year level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic counselling. It was hard to get onto the course as there was only 15 places available and we're all trying to get placement at the moment though there are different places around here that will take students which is great. Hopefully will be able to stay on with placement part time when we qualify and this means we will be on the BACP register when we pass but our tutor has told us it's really not a great idea to go straight out and work in your own practice because you just wont have enough experience - you need 100 hours of client time and 30 hours personal therapy as well to pass. That being said - I absolutely love it and know for a fact I'm doing the right thing. You also will need to take a separate CBT qualification in order to practice this and the NHS are very rarely looking despite always having extremely long waiting lists. My student placement told me they suggest we keep a second job and they recommend it because client work full time is really hard especially when just starting out. Depending where you are there should be services you'd be able to work at though - I'm only in a tiny part of northern Ireland and there's plenty near me! Happy to help you if you have any other questions. Xx

I considered this but was out off by the expense and severe lack of jobs. Therefore I trained as another type of therapist in the NHS and still get to use counselling skills and there is an abundance of jobs.

Do you mind if I asked what training you decided to do @jellybeans ?

I think what you have to remember is that the NHS employs psychologists and mental health nurse practitioners who provide therapeutic interventions. The essential criteria for these posts always include previous mental health experience which you will not get through counselling training alone. I’d say that it would be worthwhile to work/ volunteer in the area that you want to work in to gain this experience. It is highly unlikely that you would be a successful candidate for a school counsellor on the back of the diploma alone.
Just to make you aware that any of the NHS trusts that I have worked in have very few stand alone counselling jobs and they only tend to be in Occupation health as I said before there is a preference for a more rounded initial training.
Listening to other people’s problems is actually much harder than many people imagine that’s why dipping your toe in with some volunteer or work experience is recommended.
To the previous poster who was told of a 5 week waiting list, that is ridiculously short.
I’d recommend seeking a job with a mental health charity first and sometimes organisations will pay for your training.

I'm not sure how disheartening you meant that to be @giggly? I can't speak for others on this thread but I have a number of years in a fairly relevant field of employment, along with professional qualifications at degree and post-grad level. I wasn't personally expecting to look for employment with the NHS nor did I think that counselling was about sitting having a cosy chat listening to people's problems. I feel that perhaps my starting point is different to what you think it is.

Paid jobs for counsellors are very thin on the ground as even the big organisations like Place2Be, Mind, Cruise and hospices rely on a supply of students and newly trained counsellors to work for free. They have student counsellors needing 100 hours for placements plus newly qualified counsellors needing 240 hours for BACP Accredited status and most paid jobs require this higher level of qualification.

It is very possible to make a good living from private practice though, again you would need BACP accreditation to get work from employee assistance programmes but there are a lot of private clients prepared to pay.

There are some training courses on the NHS for qualified counsellors where they will pay for your training and then you have a job. It depends on what part of the country you are in but in Edinburgh the NHS went into colleges to actively seek out recruits.

I would recommend joining groups like counselling tutor and counsellors together on Facebook to ask more questions, there will be people there who will have a better idea of how things are in your part of the country.

Thank you @Gingerkittykat that's really helpful. I'll go and have a look on Facebook.

I’m training as a psychotherapist and haven’t had any issues finding placement work. I’ll do pt private practice and part-time other work when I’m qualified due to UKCP guidance but a lot of jobs I’ve seen will take counsellors or psychotherapists so I imagine there is enough if you’re willing to do a portfolio career.

@MotherDanger sorry wasn’t meant to be disheartening but you did say you were looking for work within an organisation. I was simply advising of the current employment situation as you had already mentioned that these post are rarely advertised.
I wasn’t suggesting that you thought counselling was sitting about having a chat, I was giving an informed experienced opinion of the hard and often traumatic listening involved.
I have encountered many counsellors in my line of work who do not have sufficient experience or knowledge of mental health and actually cause more harm than good as often they reach the extent of their ability and capabilities with the “client “ having to be referred into a specialist service.
Can you imagine the impact on a young person who this happens too?
I stand by my advice of seeking employment in a direct field as oppose to a related field to see if this is a good career choice.