Authentic Counselling Training
Counselling in Independent Practice
[Under development: 28 June 2005 ]
Counselling in independent practice, often referred to as ‘private practice’, offers the counsellor potential advantages over counselling within the context of an organisation. For instance, the independent counsellor is more likely to use their own accommodation rather than that of the organisation, can work hours that better suit the counsellor, can make their own charging arrangements with clients, and can fashion their own counselling contract rather than having to adhere to that of an organisation. What other potential advantages occur to you?
However, there are also many issues to consider, some of which it may be possible to resolve with ease, whereas other issues may prove more intractably problematic. These issues can be listed under several subheadings:
1. Competence
a. How adequately has my training (skills, theory, personal development), in fact, prepared me to work with the broadest range of clients?
b. How adequately has my post-training experience (variety of issues, length of relationships and depth of work) prepared me to work with the broadest range of clients?
c. How competent a counsellor am I? How do I measure my competence? What would be the implications/consequences were I to find that I am insufficiently competent to counsel outside the protection of an organisation?
d. Is my BACP Counsellor Accreditation up to date?
e. Has the amount, depth and comprehensiveness of my own therapy been sufficient to justify me feeling confident that client issues will not impact on me personally in such a way as to rebound on the client?
f. How adequate are my arrangements for attending and paying for:
i. counselling supervision?
ii. ‘medical/psychiatric back-up’?
iii. informal counselling support, for instance with other counsellors in the area?
iv. ongoing professional development (courses and conferences)?
2. Practical
a. Accommodation: Does my freehold, leasehold or tenancy agreement permit me to carry out my business at home? Were I to counsel clients in my own home, do I have appropriate accommodation/furniture? What arrangements have I for access by people with disabilities (visual impairment, wheelchair access)? Would working at home be feasible both in terms of (confidence in) total privacy for the client, and in terms of restrictions (noise, moving about the house) imposed on family members? What is likely to be the impact on the counselling relationship of requiring the client to enter the personal domain of the counsellor? To what extent would counselling at the home of the counsellor promote/compromise the client’s sense of their physical safety? To what extent would working at home promote/compromise the counsellor’s sense of their physical vulnerability? How much is the premium on appropriate third party insurance?
b. Accommodation: Were I to hire some premises, how much would this cost in terms of room hire, travel, incidentals? How close-by are there suitable premises? How convenient is travel/parking? What are the arrangements for access by people with disabilities (visual impairment, wheelchair access)? Is existing furniture suitable? If not, would I be permitted to use my own furniture, have to buy suitable furniture, and would the furniture remain permanently in the room? What implications are there about other people using the premises? To what extent would working alone in hired premises promote/compromise the counsellor’s sense of their physical vulnerability? How much is the premium on appropriate third party insurance?
c. Telephone: advantages/disadvantages of having a separate telephone line for confidentiality.
d. How much is the premium on appropriate professional indemnity insurance? The BACP strongly advises counsellors in independent practice to take out professional indemnity insurance.
e. What arrangements have I for legal protection?
f. How clear am I about what my preferred Code of Ethics/Ethical Framework requires of counsellors in independent practice?
g. By what means can I let people know that I am available for counselling? The BACP insists that advertising should be confined to factual (not evaluative) statements about what counselling is offered, and about the qualifications of the counsellor. As advertising introduces the possibility of an approach by a person whose mental health problems may be such that counselling could be inappropriate, an assessment session in which there is no commitment to further counselling becomes desirable.
h. What fee should I charge clients? Should I have a sliding scale of charges for clients on low or no income? What should I do if a client fails, or refuses, to pay the fee? Many clients ask if it is known whether cheaper or free counselling can be obtained elsewhere – what would be your response?
i. Have I taken into account all the costs, including income tax and national insurance? What is my projection regarding the number of clients I am likely counsel in a week, a month, a year? On what information is my projection based? Can I afford to live on this income? Should I take on additional work in order to make ends meet?
j. How competent am I at book-keeping? How much would it cost to retain the services of an accountant?
3. Personality
a. How able am I cope with the loneliness of working alone? On how much experience is this based?
b. To what extent am I someone who can constantly fire myself with energy and enthusiasm, because there is no-one else to spark off?
c. How business-minded am I? To what extent do I really want to give attention to the mechanics of winning business? On how much experience is this based?
d. How resilient am I to sustain the gluts and famines, both in terms of work flow and wages, inevitable in working for oneself?
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