Working for free: A fundamental value of counselling

Abstract

This paper challenges two myths about voluntary sector counselling, namely (a) that volunteer counsellors and voluntary sector counselling are the same thing, and (b) that standards of practice in the voluntary sector are significantly different from those elsewhere. The paper also argues that voluntary sector counselling nurtures a deeply felt commitment to respond to human need without monetary recompense. Drawing on evidence from a study of voluntary sector counselling in Scotland, we show that a substantial proportion of voluntary sector counselling is undertaken by paid workers, and that many counsellors who volunteer in one setting undertake paid counselling work in another setting. We demonstrate that the majority of voluntary sector counselling agencies in Scotland work within ethical frameworks developed by the professional bodies for counselling, and we argue that these agencies have been at the forefront of efforts to enhance the quality and safety of counselling services available to the public. We identify and illustrate three overlapping reasons why large numbers of highly qualified counsellors give their time and expertise for free: because of their desire to support the work of agencies through which the accessibility of counselling is extended; because volunteer counselling constitutes personally rewarding and meaningful work; and as an expression of their commitment to give freely of themselves. In conclusion we argue that voluntarism is central to counselling, but that parts of the counselling world are at risk of forgetting this core value.

Client perspectives on counselling: Before, during and after

“…What is clear is that the client participants all experienced some level of positive change (Jinks, ) which they perceived as a result of being listened to in counselling, being believed and having someone interested in them (Howe, , ). As clients gained confidence in their counsellors and experienced perspective change, there was evidence of a developed sense of being part of a wider social community (Bondi, ) and, in some instances, a desire to contribute more directly to helping others. All were of the view that low cost counselling should be more widely available (Netto et al, ).…”

Getting personal: A feminist argument for research aligned to therapeutic practice

“…We have been careful to describe this model as a popular view of science. This is important because we are not seeking to criticise science in general and because this popular view is also strongly criticised from within the natural and medical sciences (for a fuller account see Bondi & Fewell, ). Scientific researchers in these fields are often very far from certain in the claims to knowledge that they make and very often think in terms of stories that can be told.…”

“…At an institutional level, my trainers became my colleagues. As my training came to an end, I approached them about a possible new research project for which, after I had graduated, we were successful in securing funding (Bondi, 2006;Bondi, Fewell & Kirkwood, 2003). That could have happened without the institutional transfer but working together as research colleagues also drew me into a new relationship with the teaching programme.…”

“…There are many ways of making the case for research that values the particular, or the example, or the case study, and that embraces wholeheartedly the personal investment of the researcher. In the opening chapters of a recently released book that showcases the work of some of our students, we lay out one such argument (Bondi & Fewell, ). In this paper, we offer something different but complementary.…”

Working the Spaces of Neoliberal Subjectivity: Psychotherapeutic Technologies, Professionalisation and Counselling

“…But by the fourth quarter of the twentieth century, counselling was itself caught up with processes of professionalisation. These processes have been evident in three main ways, namely (1) the development of systems of voluntary self-regulation into which the bulk of practitioners have been assimilated (Bondi, Fewell and Kirkwood 2003); (2) the ''academicisation'' of training programmes through either the external academic validation of training qualifications by universities, or the wholesale transfer of training programmes into institutions of higher education; and (3) the growth of labour market opportunities for counsellors, signalling the institutionalisation of the specific occupation of ''counsellor'' within the paid workforce. Debate about professionalisation has further intensified in recent years because of the possibility of statutory regulation, which would give legal underpinning to (a unified system of) self-regulation and legally enforceable protection of title for practitioners.…”