Help Counselling provides structured, supervised placements for trainee counsellors and psychotherapists looking to start working clinically with clients for the first time, or to build their experience of client work alongside collaborative opportunities for experienced counsellors.
With Help, your professional growth directly contributes to the well-being of the community.
Training Placements
We provide a structured and nurturing environment where you can translate academic knowledge into confident therapeutic practice, supported every step of the way.
- Diverse Clinical Experience: Work with a broad range of clients, gaining invaluable competence and confidence in a real-world therapeutic setting.
- Expert Group Supervision: Receive regular, fortnightly supervision in small groups (maximum 4) from our experienced supervisors to guide your clinical growth and ensure ethical practice.
- A Supportive Peer Community: Connect with fellow trainees and our wider professional team in a collaborative, non-judgemental environment.
Placement Requirements
To ensure a high standard of care for our clients and a quality experience for you, applicants must meet the following criteria.
- Enrolment on a UKCP/BACP-accredited postgraduate counselling or psychotherapy course
- Student membership with BACP, UKCP, or an equivalent professional body
- Readiness-to-practice approval from your training institution
- Proof of professional indemnity insurance (minimum £1m coverage)
- A minimum 12-month commitment to see at least three clients per week
- Engagement in your own weekly personal therapy throughout the placement
- Two satisfactory references, including one from your course tutor
- A successful DBS check prior to starting client work
- A monthly contribution of £30 towards your mandatory group supervision and other costs associated with your placement
Apply for a Placement
Want to join us? We would love to hear from you! Use this link to submit a placement application form.
Applications are now closed, please check back later.
If you have any questions, please contact the placements team using this form.
Enquiry Form
Our Counselling Services
To provide ethical, effective, and accessible care, our clinical work is structured across three distinct pathways. This model ensures clients are matched with the appropriate level of support and allows our counsellors to work within a clear, well-defined professional framework.
Help Counselling
The cornerstone of our community mission, this is our low-cost service delivered by our counsellors in training. Trainees work with clients who have been assessed and deemed suitable for this pathway, providing an invaluable opportunity to develop clinical skills in a robustly supported environment. This service is underpinned by mandatory fortnightly supervision from our senior team, ensuring the highest standards of practice and care.
Help Counselling Plus
Our standard-rate service, delivered by our team of experienced, qualified counsellors. This pathway is designed for clients seeking a practitioner with extensive clinical experience or specialist expertise, as well as for those presenting with more complex needs. Our senior practitioners are an integral part of our professional community, contributing their depth of knowledge to our overall clinical excellence.
Coming soon: Help Counselling Together
A specialist service for couples and partners seeking to navigate their relational dynamics. This work requires a distinct skill set focused on systemic patterns, attachment, and conflict resolution. Consequently, this pathway is reserved for counsellors who hold specific, formal training and experience in couples, systemic, or relationship therapy, ensuring the work is held with the necessary expertise.
