Career change - becoming a counsellor

tepamt

Hallo everybody!

I am in need of your precious advice.:D

I have been thinking for last couple of years about changing my career and I finally realized what I want to do next: I would like to be a counsellor! :j

I'm really excited about it and I'm certain I'd do really well.
However, my background is completely different.

I'm 33 and have a BA in Translating and Interpreting obtained in my home country (Italy) in 2003. Since then, I have being working in Italy, New Zealand and England in the Import/Export thanks to my languages skills.
I'm currently working full time in an International company manufacturing and selling chemical compounds all around the world.

At the moment I can not afford to drop my current job and start studying again full time (mortgage and other expenses).
I have done some research online and found a few evening and/or distant learning courses which would be ideal, however I am not sure they will be enough to become a professional counsellor or if I would need a degree in psychology and the likes as a base before getting a certificate or a diploma in counselling.

I'm willing to study again and do whatever it takes to reach my goal, but I was wondering if there is any fast track or part-time option I could consider that would not drag for too long before I can work as a professional counsellor and if my BA could be taken into account for my further studies, so that I don't have to get another BA.

I am based in Greater Manchester and the courses I looked at were mainly at The Manchester College as per below:

Course title: Qualification: Level:
Counselling Skills Certificate 3
Therapeutic Counselling Professional Diploma 5
Counselling Concepts Certificate 2


Please let me know what you think. Any suggestion will be much appreciated.

Thank you.

meanbean

Hi, maybe one option would be getting related paid work experience and potentially lucking out by having an employer putting you through further academic certification. Initial voluntary work with a counselling element/working with varied groups could help get such a role.

There are conversion courses for students who have not studied a degree accredited by the British Psychology Society (BSP) - namely the Graduate Diploma in Psychology (GDP). This apparently gives Psychology (GDP) gives students access to a professional psychology course.

GL

National_Careers_Service

Hi tepamt

It looks like you’ve been thinking about this for a long time is that right? It sounds like you’re really keen to get the ball rolling and it’s evident that you have the enthusiasm needed to drive things forward!

There are a number of careers where counselling skills are used and where a having good understanding of counselling techniques is a distinct advantage but in order to offer a counselling service ie to become a trained practitioner there’s a 3 stage process recommended by the The British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP):

• An Introduction to Counselling; a short course that’s usually part time between 8-12 weeks
• A Certificate in Counselling Skills; generally found to be 1 year part time
• The Diploma or Advanced Diploma; minimum of 400 hours of study and is normally completed over two to three years.

It's important to note that at this stage there aren’t any statutory regulations but a new system to accredit registers of Counselling and psychotherapy practitioners is being developed.

There’s no quick fix solution to becoming a Counsellor but whilst you’re in the latter stages of your training you’ll be expected to put your new skills into practice. This means you’ll be offering counselling sessions to real people under the supervision of an experienced Counsellor. How does that sound? Hopefully that will mean it won’t feel like it’s too long a process for you!

I see you’ve already done some research online and wonder if you’ve come across the BACP website yet? There’s some useful information for people like you who are at the beginning of the process. In addition to giving a good explanation of what the three different stages involve there’s a list of frequently asked questions including:

• Do I have to do a Degree?
• Can I train via online or distance learning?

Have a look at the careers section there’s a tab on the toolbar on home page of their website:
http://www.bacp.co.uk/

I’m curious to know more about the type of counselling you’d like to offer. Any ideas about who you’d like to help at this stage? Of course it’s early days yet and decisions like that can be made further down the line.


Best of luck

Tracey

dandelionclock30

You need the diploma in counselling and its usually done part time over a couple of years. It costs around £2-3 thousand per year plus when you do your practice you have to pay for your own supervisor etc.
Its very, very hard to get a job doing it as theres loads of people with that diploma who are volunteering or who have experience and are trying to get their foot in the door.
If you go into private practice its hard to build up your own client base and again its expensive. You have to rent a room, pay for your supervisor, pay for your own insurances, membership of the BACP etc.
Lots of places that offer counselling have also had their budgets cut. I would say try and find people who've done it and they will tell you how is it.

FBaby

I was in the exact same position than you, except my first degree is in Psychology and I did have some experience at the start of my working life working with children and adults in care. I looked into it and found a Master's in Counselling that I could do. I could have done the diploma only, but as dandelionclock stated, many people have such diploma and competition is fierce.

I was accepted on the Master's programme, but needed to take a basic counselling class first. I'm glad I did as I didn't like it much. I found it extremely limited in its structure in terms of skills and I just didn't feel like it was what I wanted to do. I did well, but it made me wonder whether it was really what I wanted to do. The Master's was intensive and demanding, requiring a placement, with limited places. Doing that introduction made me realise that I had fantasized the job a bit. As dandelionclock said, the jobs are few and previous experience is key. The pay is usually low and private work would require an investment with no guarantee of success.

I earned a good wage and giving this up was harder than imagined it would be. In the end, I still feel incline towards that career, but in the end, I am not prepared to take the financial risk and to be disappointed in the end.

Age does make a difference though and I think you are much younger than I so I wish you good luck!

tepamt

First of all a big thank you to everybody!

All your comments are really useful and are giving me a lot to think about which is what I needed! Thank you

Meanbean: Thank for your tip. I will look into it and see if there is any voluntary position available. This would help me understand even better if this is truly what I want to do and if I'm lucky enough I could find somebody believing in me and my potential to invest in my further education. I will do some research on the courses you suggested.

NCSR: Thank you for your advice. I am reading all info on BACP website you suggested. This is really helpful.
There are 2 main reasons why I decided that this is the right role for me: 1. My dad suffers from depression. Although I have been trying to help me out over the years, I realized I need to study counselling in depths to be able to make a difference. If I really want to help him getting out of it, I need to be competent and study more. I feel I could be really good at it and helping my dad would be a great success for me. 2. While I was in NZ, I volunteered for Refugees Services and helped a family from Burundi, Africa settle in the new country. Although it was not proper counselling, but more hands on work in furnishing their place, enrolling them with the GP, School, help with the grocery shopping, etc., there were a lot of times where we would just sit and talk about their past, what they wanted from the future and how they could achieve it. They were so grateful for the help my team and I provided and this was so rewarding! We are still in touch through social media sites and it's hard to put in words how I feel when I see their progress with English and with their lives!
So ideally I could see myself counselling for people suffering from depression or who need some life coaching, but also work for communities or minorities - if there is such a thing - where I could potentially use my language skills as well as I did in the past!

Dandelionclock30: Thank you for your honesty. I need to consider my competition for sure and I guess there are loads of experienced and qualified people out there who are still struggling to find a job or making a living by working privately. I'm happy to invest some more money in further education, as I want to be qualified to provide a good service and make a difference. I will certainly contact some counsellors and ask them more details about their situation as you suggest. Very wise! This will give me the whole true picture.

Fbaby: Thank you for sharing your experience! It did actually cross my mind that I am idealizing this job a bit, as you say. I will probably start with a 10-15 week course to make sure that what what I get is what I expected. As you say, it might be limiting and I may not like the role in the end. Not to mention that although I'm relatively young, a big salary cut could be an issue for me as well.
My family and friends live all around the world and I do enjoy travelling and visiting them. A salary cut could be a short term sacrifice, but it could compromise my lifestyle for longer than I think!

A big thank you again! Very useful. Lots of food for thoughts. I'll start my homework now
I'll definitely suggest this forum to family and friends. Very honest and competent feedbacks indeed!

[Deleted User]

I used to be a counsellors - gave up 10 years ago. You can't fast-track your training because it actually takes a long time to acquire the skills necessary to be able to help vulnerable people. Willingness and a good heart isn't enough, I'm afraid. Start with a listening skills course; then the certificate, then the diploma (others then go on to do an MA). All these courses will need to be paid for - and they're not cheap, and that's not counting any residential elements, plus books, continued professional development (workshops, courses, etc). It's not entirely a myth that counselling is dominated by middle class women married to husbands with good jobs (or who have themselves had very well paid jobs in the past). Its often a second or even a third career. You can begin your training at nightschool; some courses run at weekends.

if you want to work for GP surgeries, schools, etc then you will need to be accredited - yet more training and hours (and they keep increasing this, I understand). These jobs are like gold dust and there are usually dozens of applications if one comes up (they are all part-time). To earn a decent living as a counsellor is extremely difficult - mainly because you simply cannot do this job full-time; it is too exhausting. Most professional counsellors do a mix of counselling (sometimes for a paid employer and/or in their own homes), supervision, teaching, running workshops, etc. Many do other part-time "bread and butter" jobs to supplement their counselling income.

I hope I don't sound too negative - but you MUST understand how long (and expensive) the path will be to earn a decent living as a counsellor (if you ever do).

What i would urge you to do is to seek career counselling and explore all the options available to you to help those with mental health problems - it may not have to be counselling; there may be some other option that you may enjoy just as much (as perhaps even more ?) e.g. many charities employ support workers.

You also might be able to continue in your paid job and volunteer for a mental health charity, in your spare time, and help in that way ?

Good luck.