As a trainee counsellor, your course will require you to secure a professional placement so that you can accrue a number of counselling contact hours with clients (we call this our professional clinical trainee placement).

If you are interested in working in the HE sector, counselling students of all ages and stages - with Undergraduates, Masters and PhD students, from a range of backgrounds with a variety of presenting issues, this could be an excellent placement opportunity.

Key Facts

•  (It is essential to phone and check you meet the relevant criteria before you complete and submit an
  application form for the professional clinical trainee placement).
• All placements commence at the beginning of the academic year, ie early October.
• You can phone any time and speak with Monique Wearden (placement co-ordinator) to discuss the criteria for placements.

• You can request an application form from end May to early June (It is essential to phone and check you meet the relevant criteria before you complete and submit an application form for the professional clinical trainee placement). NB application forms are not shortlisted until after the closing date.

• At other times of the year you can complete the register your interest form.

 

FAQs:

Q: How many placements do you offer each academic year?

A: Usually we only take one trainee placement per academic year

Q: Is there any reimbursement for expenses for placements?

A: Unfortunately we cannot offer any out-of pocket expenses such as reimbursement of parking fees (£4 per day to park in the University car parks - NB paid staff also have to pay their own parking expenses).

 Q: Do you ever recruit at other times of the year?

A: Occasionally we may have an opening for a trainee placement during the academic year. There will be an alert on the Counselling Service web site when this is the case. If you have contacted the Counselling Service during the academic year and expressed an interest, we may contact you directly to see if you are eligible and still seeking a placement.

Q: If I have a connection with the University of Warwick, am I eligible to apply for a placement?

A: Any boundary issues have to be carefully considered. For example, if you are employed by the University of Warwick in a different capacity, or are a student with the university, a counselling placement with the Counselling Service may not be appropriate. The Counselling Service is keen to sustain its current 100% satisfaction rating from clients regarding confidenitiality (monitored through the Service Evaluation Questionnaires sent to all clients).

Q: How do I know if working as a trainee in HE is right for me?

A: Read through the personal reflections of other trainees to get a clearer understanding of what to expect. The HE context is unique in that it means you will be required to 'think university support' rather than solely 'think individual client' and you may have to liaise with other support services across the university. You will be asked to consider your suitability in the application form and also at the interview which we see as a mutual process of assessing that the placement is right for you. We strongly recommend an informal discussion with Monique, the Deputy Head of Counselling who is responsible for the placement programme, before submitting an application. You will also need to ensure the placement matches your course requirements.

Q: Is there anything I can do to understand the context of the work at the Counselling Service?

A: Short-term Counselling in Higher Education: Context, Theory and Practice edited by David Mair (Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd; ISBN: 9781138794139) published November 2015 is recommended by current associates/placements.

Q: What does a typical day's schedule look like for a trainee on placement?

A: The day is very structured which helps the containment of the varied and full client contact. Each day everyone will be scheduled with one new client, so case management skills are developed quickly, but there's plenty of support with this from the whole team. As a trainee you will build up to this schedule:

9.00am Arrive
9.15am Client 1
10.15am Client 2
11.15am team time
11.30am Client 3
12.30pm Lunch
1.30pm Client 4
2.30pm team time
2.45pm Admin
3.45pm Supervision