Becoming a Counsellor with Chrysalis Courses
Counselling is a rewarding, interesting and fulfilling career that requires a broad range of skills and attributes. If you’re looking to become a counsellor, at Chrysalis Courses, we offer a range of courses that can support you and help you achieve your goals.
Whether you’re looking for a part-time or full-time counsellor course, our Chrysalis Counsellor courses have been designed to fit around your busy lifestyle and existing commitments, whilst providing a support system that will help ensure that you achieve your qualification.
All of our courses are fully accredited by the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society and adopt a creative, enjoyable and relaxed approach to learning with full accreditation from relevant professional bodies.
What does a counsellor do?
One of the main roles of a counsellor is to help people to identify and overcome problems, issues and barriers in their lives, helping them to alter their thoughts, whilst encouraging them to make positive changes.
With this in mind, you will spend time listening to your clients talk about their issues and concerns, so it’s vital that you have good listening skills and the ability to be patient, show empathy, and offer support and resolutions to a whole host of problems.
Common issues that counsellors help people to address include relationship difficulties, bereavement, anxiety, job uncertainty, and unemployment.
Each session needs to be approached with an open mind and without judgement. This means putting to one side your own personal morals and beliefs and remaining impartial.
It’s also important that you reassure your client that anything they tell you will remain confidential. And remember, it’s not your job to give advice on what they need to do to solve their problems. Instead, you should work with your client to support them and get to the root cause of their issues. This involves looking closely at behaviour patterns and choices.
How to become a counsellor?
Although there is no compulsory qualification or training required to become a counsellor, the vast majority of employers expect their employees to have undertaken professional training with a professional and accredited training company, such as Chrysalis.
This will not only help you to understand more about the roles, responsibilities and key skills that come hand in hand with being a counsellor, but it also ensures that all counsellors meet standards and abide by a code of ethics as set out by the accrediting body.
Finding a counselling training course
If you’re looking for a counsellor training course, you’ve certainly landed in the right place.
Here at Chrysalis Courses, we have a vast choice of counselling training courses available, including an introduction to counselling, core practitioner, as well as courses that provide a Diploma in counselling.
All of our accredited courses aim to provide the basic skills that you need to become a counsellor, as well as an in-depth understanding of the role. The duration of the course you choose will depend on the route you plan to take as a counsellor and how quickly you wish to progress within the industry.
Where will you be working as a counsellor?
Where you will be working depends on the post you are applying for, as there are counselling roles that come up at schools, universities, GP surgeries and charities. So, whether you are based in-house or will be travelling to different locations throughout your working day, you could be working in a variety of different locations.
Most counsellors are office-based, although some work from home. If you work for a private practice, you might be expected to visit the home of your client to carry out your session.
Another option is to set up your own counselling business and choose the hours you would prefer to work. Whilst studying, most training providers will provide guidance and support, on how to go about setting up your own business.
Developing within the industry
Once you’ve completed your accredited training course, there are lots of opportunities to progress within the industry, depending on what route you decide to take.