About placements at Help
Help Counselling offers fully supervised volunteer placements for trainee counsellors and psychotherapists on approved training courses in the London area.
Autumn 2023: We currently have a limited number of placement vacancies for which we are accepting new applications. Please only apply if you are able to see clients online to avoid disappointment as all our face-to-face spaces are currently fully allocated although we anticipate a number coming free again early in the new year.
Supervision is online and our current available supervision spaces are on the following days and times: Mon 3:30 – 5:00pm & 6:00 – 7:30pm, Wed 9:00 – 10:30am, Thurs 7:00 – 8:30pm, Fri 10:00 – 11:30am
Spaces are limited and offered on a first-come-first-served basis.
Important: You must also meet the other criteria listed here.
Find out how to apply here.
Who we place at Help Counselling:
We want to work with trainee counsellors who are committed to a professional career in counselling. We are always looking for trainees who are empathetic and professional and who want to make a positive difference to people’s lives. A full list of the criteria we look for can be found here.
What we give you:
We will provide you with a supportive, structured and caring environment including fortnightly group supervision. Supervision groups run for 90 minutes with a maximum of 4 supervisees to support your client work. We have a duty of care to you and will not give you clients that we do not think you are ready for. We do not take on cases that we feel could put you at risk, nor do we take on cases where clients have recently put themselves at risk. The majority of our clients suffer from anxiety and depression though some may have substance abuse issues, or personality disorders.
We also provide a facility for individual supervision if required as well as mentoring with a placement manager.
You will be expected to take on an average caseload of 3 clients.
Our approach:
We encourage an integrative approach so that the care we give meets the needs of our clients. We work with both the personal and social factors that cause human distress. We are not prescriptive but let you explore different methods that you and your supervisor feel will be most beneficial to the client.
Our therapy:
Our therapy is provided both online and face-to-face and you will be able to choose to do either or a mixture of both.
What makes us different:
Unlike many placements we can provide long-term work for some of our clients with higher needs, giving you the opportunity to develop the therapeutic relationship. This option of long-term working allows you the scope to address long standing and complex issues at a deeper level than is possible in short-term work.
Our clients value our work and our their feedback speak for itself: