Voluntary sector counselling: Has inadequate research resulted in a misunderstood and underutilised resource?

Abstract

Although much counselling already takes place in the voluntary sector, little is known about the nature of the work being done or about its effectiveness or the training and experience of its practitioners. Given the gap between the demand for and supply of psychological therapies in Britain today, lack of research into the effectiveness of this work could mean that a valuable resource is being under-utilised. This paper describes a study of a large, generic counselling centre and, using the CORE monitoring and evaluation system, makes comparisons between its work and that of a number of NHS psychological therapy services. It shows; that it is of at least as complex or severe a nature; and that it is as effective. It also shows that the therapy carried out in this agency is done by appropriately qualified and experienced practitioners.

Keywords:

• Voluntary sector
• counselling
• outcomes
• service provision
• mental health policy

Notes

¹The clinical cut-off score was revised to 10 for males and females.

² The percentage of completed pre- and post-therapy forms across the 40+ NDB services ranged from 15 to just over 80. As services collect and display their data in different ways, simple comparisons are of questionable value. However, it is still possible to make broad comparisons: the attrition level between assessment and discharge at TLCC during the study period was 69.8%; at the SCS, 68.5%; and for the 2005 NRD, 62.5%.