Practitioners

All the practitioners at Sandhurst Counselling Service are volunteers who are looking to broaden their skills. Some have already qualified as Counsellors or Psychotherapists, and some are in training. We encourage those training with us to continue to grow in confidence and experience by offering their service once qualified.

We provide all counsellors with a full DBS check, a thorough induction programme, ample training opportunities, insurance and the use of our library. We provide and fund two hours of group supervision fortnightly.

The style of counselling used at Sandhurst Counselling Service is active client-centred – in other words, the counsellor helps the client to work out what they want and how to get it. They do this in a non-judgemental and supportive way, always accepting what the client decides.

All our work is undertaken in line with our Core Values as expressed in our Charter.

Sandhurst Counselling Service accepts trainee placements from local colleges but asks that all counsellors are based within a 30-minute travel radius due to the demanding commitments required. Typically, a trainee may enquire with us as they approach gaining their certificate of competence at college, but enquiries are welcome before they have gained the certificate of competence. If you are interested in volunteering with us, whilst you are still in training, please drop us a line to discuss this, as we always welcome volunteers to help run our service. 

We recruit on a rolling basis and will be in touch once we have received your application, when we have placement spaces available. If successful at the interview, references will be taken up and a DBS check conducted.

Our trainees come from a number of sources, including: 

• Basingstoke college of technology
• Guildford college
• Mindspace foundation
• Metanoia Institute
• Farnborough College of Technology
• Counselling & Psychotherapy Training Academy (CPTA) 
• The Albany Centre

We encourage all our practitioners the opportunity to continue to develop their skills and capabilities through their work.

We offer two half day training sessions per year to our practitioners. Courses over the past few years have included: Assessing and Managing Suicide and Risk, Cut It Out – Working with Self-harm, Creative Approaches to Counselling, Introduction to Working with the Inner Child, The Web of Shame in the Therapeutic Space, and Exploring the Shoreline – Where are we as Practitioners Post Pandemic?.

“Volunteering with SCS has been a truly welcoming, inclusive and supportive experience.The sense of care and encouragement is felt throughout the organisation, and the training providedhas been both valuable and impactful. My SCS affiliated supervisor has been exceptionally knowledgeable and supportive. which has greatly contributed to my growth – and in turn to the progress of my clients. I believe SCS offers an essential and remarkable service to the community, and I’m proud to be part of an organisation whose values and mission I deeply respect.”

“I have felt held and supported. Supervision has been invaluable and has helped me develop as a counsellor. The service is well organised with robust policies and procedures.”

“Group supervision was thorough and effective.”