Fast Developing
One of the Faculty’s largest resources is the Counselling Unit which currently carries approximately sixteen training staff and twenty-nine counsellors.
Relevant Professional Training
In maintaining the Counselling Unit, the University is aware of the increasing attention being paid to professional training within counselling and the growing awareness that counselling skills can enhance performance in various inter-personal contexts including personnel work, welfare services, staff development and appraisal, management relations, residential and non-residential care, and numerous nursing contexts.
High Quality and Integrity
The Counselling unit has two central aims. The first is that the training and counselling services it provides should be of high quality and integrity. In this regard, careful attention is paid to the quality of staff on the various courses and counselling services. For example, the Diploma Course staff are all Accredited Counsellors with the British Association for Counselling Psychotherapy (or registered with UKCP) and/or have completed a BACP ‘Accredited’ training. This ensures that the staff are thoroughly experienced practitioners as well as trainers. Similarly, the Certificate Course staff are all involved in counselling but also have expertise in applying counselling skills in a wide variety of work settings. This strong practice base among the Counselling Unit staff ensures that the courses offer a thoroughly practical training rather than simply being superficial courses ‘about’ counselling. A similar emphasis on quality is maintained among the Unit's counselling staff, all of whom are BACP Accredited and/or have completed a BACP Accredited Training.
Accessibility
The second aim of the Counselling Unit is to make training and counselling provision as accessible as possible. The part-time Diploma Course introduced full-scale counselling training to Scotland, while the full-time course seeks to recruit internationally. Accessibility is also an emphasis in the counselling services resourced by the Unit. Our aim is to advance the provision of professional counselling, free at the point of service. In this regard we contribute significantly through the work of our counselling staff working across the local region.