ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses two aspects of counselling practice in primary care: placements and mentoring for trainee and newly qualified counselors. It focuses on systems that promote working practices to develop and support counsellors and therefore safe counselling practice. Counselling is part of a managed service within the National Health Service as a provider organization. This provides opportunities for counselling services to work in line with the same organisational and employment practices that support health care professionals. The need for counselling is greater than the resources allocated for counselling services. Commonly all aspects of counselling practice are underpinned by a code of ethics and code of conduct. Issues affecting the human resource element of counselling practice, such as employment practice, placements in voluntary organisations, training placements, pay, supervision and ongoing professional development, have been handled differently for counsellors in each setting.
