The counselling that PACE offers is provided by volunteer counsellors. Our general counselling service has capacity for 26 counselling volunteers and 3 sexual health volunteers. Counsellors come from a range of theoretical models and have varying skills and experience. They commit to offering 2 sessions a week and attend fortnightly supervision in a group of three, provided by PACE.
We ask counsellors to commit to at least a year with us but usually they stay longer. The average is 3 years.
What we offer
- Induction
- Training – usually 3 workshops a year and various access to free or reduced fee training.
- Ongoing support from counselling team.
- Regular fortnightly supervision in line with BACP guidelines
- Administration support
- Input into decision-making processes.
- Appraisals
- Further training and experience in assessments
Criteria
- Counselling volunteers should:
- Positively identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual
- Be in at least the second year of a BACP recognised Diploma course
- Have at least 30 client hours’ experience
Recruitment
We recruit throughout the year and usually have a waiting list. There is an interview and then volunteers who are accepted are given an induction, are allocated to a supervisor and fitted into a 2 hour counselling time slot. Occasionally it is not possible to find a time slot that suits a volunteer’s availability and there may be a waiting period until one becomes available.
We aim to have a diverse volunteer base in order to give clients as much choice as possible in terms of gender, ethnic background and experience.
We therefore encourage applications from volunteers who have more experience as counsellors as well as people who are still in training. We also need volunteers who have experience in working with people who have more complex mental health needs or particular specialist skills.
For more information or to apply, please call 020 7700 1323 or email Wendy Conner and we will send you an application pack.
