Special Edition - Q&A with the National Counselling Society

In this special edition of the Counselling Tutor Podcast, Rory Lees-Oakes interviews two members of the National Counselling Society's Council - Freya Bottomley (Interim Chief Executive during Chief Executive Meg Moss's maternity leave) and Jyles Robillard Day (Head of Engagement and Development).

Rory asks questions posed by members of the Counselling Tutor Facebook group. If you aren't already a member of our Facebook group, do come along and join over 38,000 students, qualified practitioners, tutors and supervisors interested in the world of counselling and psychotherapy.

Could you update us on NCS's involvement with the SCoPEd project?

At the end of 2020, the SCoPEd group was expanded from the three original bodies that it comprised to the current seven; NCS is now directly involved in this in two key ways:

sitting on a group that is mapping training and competences to the SCoPEd framework

being part of the SCoPEd Oversight Committee (SOC), to which NCS is putting forward members' queries and concerns, in particular regarding the impact assessment (looking at the effect of SCoPEd on the counselling and psychotherapy profession).

Key issues that have arisen so far from NCS members are:

how SCoPEd will be implemented

whether the columns in it will have titles or simply letters

how the pathways will work in terms of movement between columns

how it will fit with the current Accredited Registers Programme of the Professional Standards Authority(PSA).

NCS is aware that many skills in our profession come from experience, continuing professional development (CPD) or peer discussions rather than from formal training. Work is being done to look at how these competences can be evidenced.

Is it harder to find a student placement if you are a member of NCS rather than the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)?

NCS is working hard to ensure that it is as widely recognised as BACP. As NCS holds a register that is accredited by the PSA, there is no reason why it should be seen less favourably than BACP. If you encounter a difficulty of this type, please contact NCS's Membership Services for assistance.

NCS offers student members access to a placement provider listing, and believes it is important that placements should be awarded based on skills and abilities rather than your choice of the membership body.

What makes NCS different from other professional bodies?

It's important to be able to choose between different bodies, as counsellors and psychotherapists themselves are a naturally diverse group, with a wide range of perspectives, modalities, personal politics and spiritual beliefs.

As a member-led organisation, NCS includes its members in key decisions: it believes that its members are its expertise. NCS also prides itself on the quality of service provided by Membership Services, its range of member benefits, the reasonable fees (with no joining fee), and the extensive range of CPD opportunities available.

Do remember, too that you can join more than one membership body if you wish.

If a counsellor is accredited by another membership body, do they need to go through the professional accreditation process again if they wish to transfer NCS?

So long as the accreditation is with a body that holds a PSA Accredited Register - such as the Association of Christian Counsellors (ACC), BACP, Counselling & Psychotherapy in Scotland (COSCA), or UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) - then the transfer is straightforward.

You can find out more about this process on NCS's website or by contacting Membership Services.

Will NCS opt-out of SCoPEd if that is what members want?

NCS believes it is important to be involved in the SCoPEd discussions at this stage, to ensure that it has a say on impact assessment, how it will be implemented, and how the pathways will work.