Practice Matters

BACP Information Sheets

Most of these information sheets are available directly from the BACP website. Additional BACP information sheets which don't bear directly on practice are included in different sections, such as that on Evidence Based Practice, while that on online counselling appears in the section on Online Service Provision.

BAC (1995) Guidelines for the Employment of Counsellors in General Practice. Rugby, England: British Association for Counselling.

Undoubtedly a newer version of this will be available from the organisation now known as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, but even the old library copy I reviewed contained some useful passages. The short little pamphlet outlines the responsibilities of counsellors employed by the United Kingdom's state-run National Health Service and will provide some initial glimpses into NHS work for those considering this career path. It should also be of some interest to UK students undertaking a placement in a doctor's surgery. (Students should also see the information sheet BACP (2001b).) For more general information on employing counsellors, see the information sheet BACP (2002b).

BACP (2001b) Guidance on Good Practice for the Management of Counselling Placements in Healthcare Settings. Rugby, England: British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. [available online]

More up to date than the general practice employment pamphlet BAC (1995), this information sheet provides the BACP's guidelines specifically on professionally and ethically managing placements in healthcare settings; it will be of use not just to students, but also to training institutions and the organisations offering placements. Students even on BACP-accredited courses may sometimes be surprised to find that the practicalities of their own placement arrangements do not live up to the full recommendations of the BACP.

BACP (2002b) Guidelines for the Employment of Counsellors. Rugby, England: British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. [available online]

Although this particular information sheet is perhaps a little more rough around the edges than some others in the BACP's series, it nonetheless provides a very valuable and succinct overview of areas like training, workload, supervision, record keeping, security and more.