What is a counselling placement?
A counselling placement is where you see real clients, under supervision, while you are still training. Your course sets the number of hours you need, and a placement is where those hours come from.
The number depends on your route. BACP says a core practitioner course must include a supervised placement of at least 100 client hours. UKCP says psychotherapy training normally takes four years part time and includes 450 hours of supervised clinical practice. Your own course may ask for more than either, so check your handbook rather than a website, including this one.
Why are placements so hard to find?
Because there are more trainees than places. BACP says so itself: demand is usually far greater than the number available.
It helps to know that this is not about you. A service can only take as many trainees as it can properly assess clients for, supervise and support. A good placement turning you down because it is full is a better sign than a placement that takes everyone.
When should you start looking?
Earlier than your course suggests. Many services recruit once or twice a year, and the gap between applying and seeing your first client is often several months: an application, an interview, references, a DBS check, an induction, and then waiting for a suitable client.
Most placements will also ask for confirmation from your course that you are ready to see clients. You can look, ask questions and apply before you have that. You cannot start without it.
Where do you find one?
There is no single list. These are the places trainees actually find them.
| Where to look | Worth knowing |
|---|---|
| Your training organisation | Ask for the list of placements previous students used, and which of them the course has already approved. This is the quickest route. |
| Charity and community counselling services | The largest group. Bereavement, carers, young people, domestic abuse, addiction, general low-cost counselling. Many have a set intake each year. |
| Schools, colleges and universities | Often term-time only, which affects how fast your hours build. |
| NHS and GP-linked services | Fewer places, and usually for trainees further on. |
| Hospices | Bereavement and end-of-life work. Often well supported, and often a waiting list to join. |
| Online and private low-cost services | A growing part of the picture. Some are charities and some are businesses. It is fair to ask which. |
| Professional body listings | BACP student members can search its jobs board for placements. |
| Asking directly | Plenty of services never advertise. A short, specific email to a service you would like to work for is normal and often works. |
Do you need a placement near you?
Not always. Online placements mean you can work for a service anywhere in the UK, which matters if you live somewhere with few local options.
Check one thing first. Courses and professional bodies set limits on how many of your hours can be online or by phone. BACP, for example, says the majority of the 100 hours on its core training route need to be face to face. An online placement that your course will not count is not a placement. Ask your tutor before you apply, not after.
Are counselling placements paid?
Mostly not. Most placements in this country are unpaid volunteer roles, and that has been the norm for a long time.
Some cost you money on top. You may be asked to pay for your own supervision, for a DBS check, for an induction or training course, or for a membership fee to the service. None of that is automatically wrong, but you should know the full figure before you say yes, because an unpaid placement with paid supervision can cost more each month than you expect.
It is also worth asking who is being paid. A charity running on volunteers is not profiting from you. A business that charges clients for your sessions and pays you nothing is a different arrangement, and you are entitled to know which one you are joining.
A small number of placements do pay. Ours is one: Hora employs its trainees as workers on the Real Living Wage, with holiday and sick pay. It is only open to trainees in advanced UKCP-accredited training, so it will not suit everyone reading this. See who can apply.
What should you ask before you say yes?
Whoever you are considering, and that includes us, these are fair questions. A good placement will be glad you asked.
- Who assesses clients before they reach me? Someone qualified should have met or screened each client and decided they are suitable for a trainee.
- What happens when there is risk? Ask who you call, whether there is a written procedure, and whether someone is always reachable.
- Is supervision provided, or do I arrange my own? Either can work. Ask who pays, how often it happens, and whether your course accepts the arrangement. BACP recommends one hour of supervision for every eight hours of counselling, with a supervisor seen fortnightly. UKCP courses set their own, often tighter, ratios. There is more on what BACP and UKCP require in our guide to supervision for trainees.
- How long will I wait for my first client, and how many will I have? Hours only count once they happen. A placement with no clients for you is not helping you qualify.
- Do clients know they are seeing a trainee? They should.
- What will it cost me, in total? Supervision, checks, fees, travel, insurance.
- What commitment are you asking for? Hours a week, minimum length, and notice. Long notice periods usually exist so clients get a proper ending.
- Will you complete my course’s paperwork? Placement agreements, reports and confirmations of hours. Ask how long they take to return them.
- Does my course approve you? If not yet, ask whether the placement will handle that with your training organisation.
What will you need before you start?
It varies, but most placements ask for some version of the same list.
- Confirmation from your course that you are ready to see clients
- Student membership of your professional body
- A DBS check, usually enhanced
- Professional indemnity insurance, your own or the placement’s
- A supervisor your course accepts
- Your own personal therapy, if your training requires it
- For online work, a private space, a suitable device and a stable connection
Can you have more than one placement?
Yes, and many trainees do. Two placements can build hours faster and give you a wider range of clients. Check that your course allows it, that your supervision covers the combined caseload, and that you can keep both commitments for as long as each one asks.
Sources
- BACP, Training to become a therapist, and Student membership (placement hours, supervision ratio, availability of placements)
- UKCP, Psychotherapy as a career (training length and supervised clinical practice hours)