Special Edition: The Importance of Human Connection in Counselling Training

In this Special Episode of the Counselling Tutor Podcast, your host Rory Lees-Oakes speaks with Kelly Budd from the Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body (CPCAB), and Meg Moss from the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS) about the integrity of counselling training.

Both the CPCAB and the NCPS are coming together to tackle the increase in digital distance learning and stress the importance of human connection in counselling training through their campaign: Therapeutic Relationships: the Human Connection.

The key takeaways of this week's podcast include:

Certain places online offer 'counselling training' that requires no tutor-led or in-person training. Unfortunately, this training won't qualify you to advance to the next level.

There are also new chatbots and apps being marketed as accessible alternatives to traditional therapy.

Counselling is all about human-to-human connection. It is two people in a room for the benefit of one person, and the training for this should reflect that.

Core counselling training requires tutors, in-person practice, feedback, and peer communication - it's this human connection that forms the foundations of your learning.

By bringing attention to the importance of human connection in counselling training and provision, it's not only protecting clients in need from meeting with an untrained counsellor, but also protecting the individuals who genuinely want to become counsellors from being misled and wasting their time and money.

The CPCAB and NCPS are campaigning for the government to:

Prioritise human practitioners in public funding and policies for mental health support, including policies that increase access to trained therapists and prioritise the therapeutic relationship.

Establish guidelines and transparency for digital tools, ensuring service providers disclose the use of AI or digital tools.

Commit to investing in research and infrastructure to allow for effective, human-centred therapy to be delivered timely.

Improve regulatory scrutiny on the delivery of live guided learning hours in accordance with regulatory definitions.

While AI and digital tools offer potential as supportive resources, they cannot be used as a replacement for face-to-face counselling.

People looking to become counsellors should make sure they do their research before signing on to a course - what is the progression route of this course? Will it allow you to get where you want to be? Does it offer in-person practice sessions and tutor-led teaching with opportunities for feedback?

Join the conversation by taking part in this industry-wide survey here:

Human Connection - Industry Survey

Find out more about the Therapeutic Relations: The Human Connection Campaign below:

Therapeutic Relationships - CPCAB

Therapeutic Relationships: The Human Connection

Links and Resources

Counselling Skills Academy

Advanced Certificate in Counselling Supervision

Basic Counselling Skills: A Student Guide

Counsellor CPD

Counselling Study Resource

Counselling Theory in Practice: A Student Guide

Counselling Tutor Shop

Facebook group

Website

Online and Telephone Counselling: A Practitioner's Guide

Online and Telephone Counselling Course