ABSTRACT
Counselling is an integral part of the delivery of psychological therapies. In many places in the country counselling service managers are leaders in the development of high standard and effective therapeutic interventions in primary care that meet the mental health needs of large numbers of patient populations. It is necessary to recruit counsellors into the National Health Service who are able to retain a certain creativity and autonomy while working within the statutory requirements of the health service. Basically personal therapy is the core ingredient to counselling and psychotherapy training because it is by this means that practitioners are able to allow themselves to be available in the transference without contaminating the process. Selection for the characteristics of self-discipline, rigour and integrity is required alongside selection for academic and intellectual abilities, so that the individual ability of the practitioner can develop safely and thoughtfully.
