Supporting children and young people

The National Counselling Society supports the comments by Jim Shannon MP in relation to counselling for children and young people:

He asked the Secretary of State for Health, what steps are being taken to widen the availability of counsellors for young people on the NHS.

Nicola Blackwood MP (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health and Innovation) responded:

The Five Year Forward View – One Year on was published on 1 March 2017. The report states that ‘the expansion of services anticipated by 2020/21 requires a parallel increase in the number of skilled staff able to provide care and treatment. National investment has begun in 2016/17 to deliver the 1,700 new therapists who are estimated to be required within five years. In line with the new all-age workforce strategy for mental health, the first 150 training places have been made available this year for newly-recruited therapists. Most of these courses will complete within 12 months’.

Source: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answersstatements/written-question/Commons/2017-02-23/65440

The NCS acknowledges that counselling children and young people is different in many ways from counselling adults. We believe that those who undertake counselling work with children and young people need specialist knowledge, skills, and abilities; and we also maintain that they should be supported by appropriately competent and experienced supervisors. To support our members who currently work with children and young people (aged 11-18), and for those who aspire to in the future, we have developed a suite of relevant Good Practice Guidance documents which are published in the members area of our website.