ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an outline of the necessary training for the professional National Health Service (NHS) counsellor. It provides details on the components and competencies required, the requirements for clinical placements, the distinctions of management, mentoring, and supervision and how to implement and maintain continuing professional development for counsellors and managers. Counselling, psychotherapy, and counselling psychology are all professions of psychological therapy in their own right and there is considerable overlap between them. For the commissioning NHS Trust and newly appointed counselling service manager the process of recruitment to counselling posts can be fairly straightforward as long as recruit counsellors against agreed training and qualification criteria in terms of: professional training and clinical placement. Counselling bodies require at least 450 hours of theory and skills learning and training on a post graduate diploma level course. The clinical placement is an essential part of counselling or psychotherapy training.
