Discussion Topic: Working for ‘free’ or ‘paying to work’ in mental health provision: counselling and psychotherapy training and placement organisation and experiences across the UK. (60 mins)
While mental health (MH) service provision has been identified as crucial for economic recovery post-Covid-19 and amidst a rising MH epidemic, limited attention has been paid to the conditions of work and training for counsellors and psychotherapists. Counseling’s proud tradition of voluntarism, altruistic caring and compassion (Bondi, Fewell & Kirkwood, 2003), experienced via the unpaid placements, is now also increasingly extended into post-qualification training and accreditation. In times of growing austerity, public and third sector providers rely increasingly on such ‘free’ labour. As the profession develops, expands, and gets standardised and (re-)regulated, questions arise around the economic viability of ‘free’ labour or even ‘paying to work’ as a requirement for obtaining professional qualification.
The current discussion starts by presenting some preliminary findings of a BACP-funded research project on the personal experiences of trainee counsellors of placement, education and career transitions. We discuss the challenges of placement and work especially within public and third sector providers, which carry out the majority of MH provision for those most in need, but - as experienced by our interlocutors - often do so by extracting free labour from volunteers, off-setting costs, outsourcing risk, and substituting paid secure labour positions with a growing and increasingly precarious un(der)paid labour force (Baines, Cunningham, & Shields, 2017).
In the discussion, we will pose the following questions:
What makes a good placement?
What is the currently required and/or reasonably expected amount of ‘volunteering’ (practice hours) that a trainee/early career counsellor should complete, before expecting to be paid for their services?
What is the current model of sponsoring placements and (how) could they be organised to suit better the growing and growingly diverse workforce in the sector?
What is the role of professional bodies like BACP in this conversation?
Audience: We invite trainee counsellors and experienced practitioners, placement and training organisers, and representatives of accrediting bodies, interested in informing and shaping future training practice and influencing debates on counselling labour rights and remuneration.
Equality, Diversity, Inclusion: This conversation strikes at the heart of our sector that seeks to address the complex needs of a broader population, including by providing equal opportunities for training to therapists from diverse backgrounds.