Placement Interview Questions - Life Transitions

Episode 191 of the Counselling Tutor Podcast opens with 'Student Check-In' - in which presenters Rory Lees-Oakes and Ken Kelly talk about placement interviews. Next - in the final instalment of 'Digital Counselling Revolution' - Ken and Rory talk about online supervision training for counsellors. Last, in 'Practice Matters', Rory talks to the counsellor and trainer Emma Chapman about working with clients on life transitions.

Placement Interview Questions (starts at 1.10 mins)

As we reach the time of year when many counselling students are preparing to move into placements, the issue of what to expect at placement interviews is uppermost in many listeners' minds - as evidenced by how frequently it is talked about in the Counselling Tutor Facebook group. If you aren't already a member, do come along and join over 37,000 students, qualified practitioners, tutors and supervisors interested in the world of counselling and psychotherapy.

Ken and Rory talk about this important topic, including:

what placement agencies are looking for in trainee counsellors

what you can do to prepare for placement interviews

how to research agencies and the areas of counselling they cover

areas to be aware of when attending placement interviews

importance of online experience and training in the current climate

how to show congruence in your interview

questions for you to ask the agency

You can download a handout on this topic, 'Questions at a Placement interview', here.

Online Supervision Training for Counsellors (starts at 16.05 mins)

If you are already a qualified supervisor, do you need any additional training to be able to supervise counsellors who are working online? Ken and Rory's answer is a resounding 'Yes!' from a professional and ethical standpoint.

There are psychological processes and a number of practical considerations that you need to be aware of when counselling online or supervising others' online counselling work.

Indeed, the Association for Counselling & Therapy Online (ACTO) advises that before beginning to supervise online counsellors, clinical supervisors should have experienced themselves of counselling online, and have completed online supervision training for counsellors.

Currently, it seems that there are many counsellors working online and not many supervisors qualified to support them. Becoming skilled in this important area of clinical supervision may therefore represent an opportunity to develop your practice.

Counselling Tutor has been working hard over the last year - led on this project by Rory - to develop a level 6 certificate in online supervision. This will allow:

qualified counsellors to upgrade to online working

counsellors who are ready to train as supervisors to do so with a specialisation in online working.

The course is mapped to the supervision competencies set by ACTO, the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and National Counselling Society (NCS). You can read more about it on the Counselling Tutor website.

From the next episode, supervision will be the theme for this slot of the Counselling Tutor Podcast.

Life Transitions (starts at 28.45 mins)

Rory talks with Emma Chapman - who contributes regularly to Counsellor CPD, our online CPD library - about working with clients who are processing life transitions. These are a theme that occurs frequently in counselling.

Emma explains:

why it is important for counsellors to understand life transitions

major transitions are seen in therapy, including those relating to life stages, relationships and work

expected and unexpected life transitions

expectations and narratives of others regarding life transitions

how to work with life transitions

gender differences in life transitions

Links and Resources

Advanced Certificate in Counselling Supervision