Counselling is an established and recognised profession in which a trained counsellor seeks to help a client to understand and learn to deal with a wide variety of issues in their life. It is different from teaching, caring and advice-giving, and requires a particular kind of training. It is usually established in initial assessment meetings whether counselling will take place over a short or long term contracts and also by the resources any given service has to offer. Counsellors have a very diverse range of theoretical interpretations (some of which are described in our on line resource room under 'Models of Psychotherapy & Counselling). Most qualified counsellors will have spent a year getting a Counselling Certificate before spending a further two years getting a counselling Diploma. All Counsellors and Psychotherapists are required to demonstrate evidence of ongoing continuing professional development in order to maintain their registration. All counselling professionals working at Leeds University's Student Counselling Centre are either registered members of BACP or UKCP (See Below).
BACP stands for British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. The BACP seeks to promote and develop the profession by evolving standards for practice and training. Its Its Ethical Framework for Good Practice is widely regarded as the essential guidelines for responsible practitioners. Its Accreditation scheme for professional counsellors is now well established, and employers of counsellors increasingly require BACP Accreditation as a benchmark of competence.
UKRCP stands for the United Kingdom of Counsellors and Psychotherapists. BACP Accredited Counsellors may be listed on the Register, which has been established to protect and inform the public, to promote high standards of practice and to answer the criticism that counselling is an unregulated profession. It is likely in the medium term that a state or statutory register of therapeutic professionals will be established; extensive work is currently being put into this project in a number of organisations.
Psychotherapists sometimes have an advanced qualification in one of the mental-health professions - psychiatry, psychology, nursing - and additional training in psychotherapy but it is equally common for them to have undertaken a post graduate training in psychotherapy. As the culture of psychotherapy and counselling training has moved towards being academically accredited by universities, some psychotherapists will hold MA or Msc awards while others will hold Diplomas, however the courses they have undertaken will be similar. Typically psychotherapy training takes a minimum of four years but it is usual for psychotherapists to take longer than this to complete all aspects of their training.
UKCP stands for the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy. The Council exists to promote and maintain the profession of psychotherapy and publishes a National Register of Psychotherapists annually. Only therapists who have completed a rigorous post graduate, training programme that meets UKCP standards, and who abide by its ethical codes are included on the register. The UKCP is an umbrella organisation with a number of different sections representing the different theoretical orientations of the practitioners. Psychotherapists are accountable to both their training organisations as well as to UKCP.
In terms of clinical practice, there is often very little difference between these professionals and there are some workers who identify themselves through both terms. So, someone going to see a Person Centred counsellor would most likely have a very similar experience to someone going to see a Person Centred psychotherapist. In the UK the perceived difference between Counselling and Psychotherapy largely originated from the different 'cultures' of Person Centred and Psychodynamic therapy which remain the most dominant traditions. Counselling tended to be more associated with the former and psychotherapy, the latter. However, this distinction no longer holds and it is more typical for professionals who describe themselves by either term to integrate their learning from a variety of therapeutic traditions over the course of their careers. Indeed as the idea of 'theoretical purity' is untenable within either tradition, one should be duly suspicious of anyone making excessive claims in the name of any particular practice or orientation. Sometimes Psychotherapists will appear in Yellow pages under 'Counselling and Advice', simply because 'c' occurs earlier in the alphabet than 'p'! Equally they may describe themselves as counsellors as many people regards this as a less threatening or medical-sounding term than 'psychotherapist'. People with either label work in the health service, the voluntary sector, in schools and universities and in independent practice, so no meaningful distinction can be made along these lines nor down those of gender though it is true to say more women workers exist in the professions of counselling and psychotherapy than men. So, in short, there is very little difference between a counsellor and a psychotherapist and what is more important is their practice, registration and accountability.
Psychiatry is the branch of medicine that deals with mental and emotional disorders. Psychiatrists are doctors who have a specialised training and are able to diagnose and treat patients classified as having mental illness. Although some psychiatrists have also received some training in psychotherapy and counselling skills, the way they understand and approach their patients is likely to be very different from how a counsellor relates to a client. Psychiatrists most commonly use psychiatric medication to treat their patients but may also prescribe Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT) and in rare situations, psycho-surgery. Psychiatrists are also amongst the group of professionals (which also include GPs, Approved Social Workers (ASWs) and the Police), who have the legal power to detain people under sections of the Mental Health Act. Counsellors, Psychotherapists and Psychologists do not have these powers unless they are also in the above named professions too.
Psychology is the science that deals with mental processes and behaviour. A psychologist usually means someone who has a degree in psychology. Clinical psychologists have a degree in psychology and a postgraduate qualification in clinical psychology and they are able to assess and treat patients. They may also received some training in counselling skills and their most common theoretical orientation is that of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). The way they understand and approach their patients may or may not be very different from how most counsellors relate to their clients but this depends on their theoretical orientation. A counselling psychologist is a counsellor who has an initial training in psychology and who uses methods and models drawn from the science of psychology in their clinical work. Clinical psychologists are not medical doctors and do not prescribe drugs. They can help with a variety of problems connected with health and well-being, including depression, sexual or relationship difficulties, eating problems, the effects of trauma and problems with alcohol or drugs. They normally offer psychological talking treatments.
These are psychiatric nurses who work in the community rather than in hospitals. They may be attached to GPs' surgeries, community mental health teams, mental health centres or psychiatric units. They may also visit you in your home. Their role includes offering emotional support and helping you explore ways of living with your problem and anxiety management techniques, and administering psychiatric drugs. Some of these workers offer Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, but as with Counsellors and Psychotherapists, this is more reliable where the worker is registered as a therapist which means they will have undertaken a recognised clinical training.
Nurses who have specialist training in mental health, they work with hospital inpatients on psychiatric wards and with patients attending day hospitals and psychiatric units.
Registered mental nurses have taken a three-year course. If they qualified in the last ten years, the training was probably at a university with some general nursing included. Before this, the RMN qualification was obtained by a three-year course at a mental health unit and was mostly practical. An RMN qualification doesn't make someone a psychotherapist or counsellor, but it's considered to be a good basis from which to take further training - which is what many nurses now do.
The GP is many people's first point of contact when seeking help. Everyone has the right to the services of a GP and a sizeable proportion of their work is related to emotional or psychological problems. GPs all have different expertise and ideas when it comes to mental distress, but in general they can:
These workers can carry out mental health 'needs assessments', and they're involved in the management and planning of care. They may help with benefits problems or arrange day-care services, supported housing and residential care. They can also arrange breaks for carers. Approved social workers have undergone additional training and, along with mental health professionals, help to assess whether a person should be compulsorily admitted to hospital, and to consider the alternatives.