Standards in Counselling and Counselling Services

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Standards in Counselling and Counselling Services

• Colin McCormack
• Primary Care Mental Health Development Manager
• SDF - 20th October 2005

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Counselling

• What does it mean to you?
• What does it mean to your client/patient?
• What does it mean to the general public?
• What does it mean to counsellors?

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how will we know?

• you we want to help people
• clients I want to feel better
• public safety, quality, vfm
• counsellors recognition, status, support

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Counselling - what is it?

• A recognised psychosocial therapy
• Different orientations person centred,
  psychodynamic
• Evidence based (some caveats)
• Structured and delivered by a qualified
  practitioner (who is also supervised)
• Effective for a range of problems generic
• Popular

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And what its not

• Just talking and/or listening
• Tea and sympathy
• Directive
• Easy
• About diagnosis and cure
• For everyone and everything
• Regulated

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• If counselling is to be one of the recognised
  interventions for promoting mental health and
  well-being to the public, then regulation,
  standardisation and consistency in practice are
  required.
• (FHCP, January 2004)

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Background

• Counselling services have a significant role to
  play across a range of services mental health,
  youth health, sexual health, occupational health,
  oncology
• Counselling not regulated by statute no
  statutory governance over the term counsellor
• Multi-professional Working Group set up
• Support of professional bodies (BACP, COSCA)
• Support of the counsellors in the NHS
• Intended to benefit the NHS, counsellors and
  clients by providing a structured, consistent and
  quality assured framework

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The Framework

• 16 Standards
• Based on standards of professional bodies (BACP,
  COSCA)
• Reflect Division standards for good practice
• 11 Guidelines
• Underpin the Standards
• Reflect operational issues
• Reflect Division policies and procedures

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The 16 Standards

• A counsellor in the Primary Care Division is a
  prescribed role with a protected title which
  should only be used by people with appropriate
  training and qualifications.
• People employed by the Division who hold only a
  counselling skills qualification may not call
  themselves counsellors.
• All counsellors employed in the Division must
  have a postgraduate diploma in counselling
  accredited by the BACP or COSCA.
• All newly appointed counsellors in the Division
  to work towards accreditation within five years
  of qualifying.
• all current counsellors not accredited are to
  agree a timescale
• should be no longer than three years from the
  date of the discussion record progress in annual
  Personal Development Plan.

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The Standards

• All counsellors in the Division to have access to
  appropriate Continuing Professional Development
  opportunities which are recorded in an annual
  Personal Development Plan.
• Identified time for supervision to be part of the
  terms and conditions of all counsellors in the
  Division.
• minimum one and a half hours of individual
  supervision per month, within working hours
• supervisor should have a qualification in
  counselling supervision, or be accredited as a
  supervisor, and have experience of working in the
  NHS.
• Counsellors within the Division to have an
  identified operational line manager. Ideally
  counsellors will also have access to professional
  support.

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The Standards

• There should be defined competencies for all
  levels of counsellors working within the
  Division develop competencies based on Agenda
  for Change.
• The Division to adopt an agreed structure (one is
  proposed) for professional development and career
  progression for counsellors employed in the
  Division.
• Counsellors to adhere to standards of record
  keeping as prescribed by the Division. These will
  be appropriate to the needs of the service
  setting and consistent with records kept by
  similar professions in that setting, including
  matters of access to these records.
• Counsellors to be bound by the NHS standards and
  guidelines on confidentiality, in addition to the
  codes of good practice produced by the
  counselling professional bodies.

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The Standards

• Suitably qualified counsellors should be given
  opportunities to develop their skills as
  supervisors, advisers and trainers.
• The Division to have a structured and
  standardised approach to placements.
• The Division to apply the standards in this
  framework when commissioning counselling services
  both from within the NHS and from external
  organisations.
• There should be consistency in the information
  provided about counselling services within the
  Division.
• The Division to recognise the BACP and COSCA
  ethical frameworks and codes of practice.
• counsellors to adhere to those codes and
  frameworks and to Divisional procedures for
  ethical practice.

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The 11 Guidelines

• It is the responsibility of the counsellor and
  the operational line manager to address CPD
  requests within the context of the counsellors
  accreditation requirements, their contracted
  hours and service delivery needs.
• It is the responsibility of the counsellor and
  the operational line manager to address
  supervision requirements within the context of
  the counsellors workload, their contracted hours
  and service delivery needs.
• Counsellors within the Division to have both an
  operational line manager and a professional
  manager. A working group to be set up to
  investigate how the professional links can be
  structured in the Division.

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The Guidelines

• All referral processes should note a reason for
  referral and an anticipated benefit of referral.
• The caseload for a counsellor to be split 6040,
  with direct, face to face counselling hours as 60
  per cent of the counsellors time and other
  activities as 40 per cent.
• caseload should not exceed 20 clients per week.
• caseloads to be monitored through the guideline
  on supervision.
• responsibility of local managers to work with
  counsellors to ensure this is achievable for both
  counsellors and their clients.
• The Division to carry out further work with both
  the professional bodies and the training
  providers to agree a standardised approach to
  student placements.

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The Guidelines

• All counsellors to work within the principles and
  guidelines for working in multi-disciplinary
  teams as set out by both the professional bodies
  and the Division.
• A guidance note, based on the standards, to be
  produced to share with the organisations from
  which the Division is considering commissioning
  counselling services.
• To set up a working group to develop and produce
  a common set of materials to ensure consistency
  in the information provided about counselling
  services within the Division.
• The Division to explore the implications of
  becoming part of the COSCA Recognition Scheme for
  Organisations.

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Summary what does it mean?

• You focused and effective help, accountability
• Client choice and accountability
• Public safety, accountability
• Counsellors recognition, accountability

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• Comments or further information
• Colin McCormack
• Primary Care Mental Health Services Development
  Manager
• NHS Greater Glasgow
• Clutha House (2nd Floor)
• 120 Cornwall Street South
• GLASGOW G41 1AD
• Colin.McCormack_at_glacomen.scot.nhs.uk