Sir, - The debate on the question of criteria for counselling (Breda O'Brien, May 6th, Letters May 13th and 19th) is welcomed by all practitioners interested in the development of the profession. Three important points which have so far eluded the commentators need to be made.
A fully accredited counsellor undergoes a comprehensive, generic, training course in counselling which includes theory, methodology, self-awareness/personal therapy and skills development. During training and in addition to the above, there is a requirement of 100 hours of closely supervised work. On completion of the training course, a further 450 hours of supervised practice must be accomplished before an application for accreditation as a counsellor may be made.
A social science degree prepares students for a wide-ranging and extremely valuable response to the users of social services. Counsellor training prepares the student for a very specific specialism. No one doubts Ms O'Brien's "good faith". Is she aware that a very substantial number of social science graduates then go on to take a postgraduate training in counselling to prepare them for work within the counselling profession?
Finally, in order to defuse the unfounded fears which have arisen as a result of the article of May 6th and as evident in the letter of May 19th, the following is the exact wording of the Eastern Health Board Region directive, issued in February 2000. All professionally (my italics) trained staff must be current members of IACT or ICP (Irish Association of Counselling and Therapy/Irish Council of Psychotherapy) [Section 2.3 Assessment of Organisation]. - Yours, etc.,
Patrick Kennedy, PhD,
Irish Association for Counselling and Therapy,
Dun Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.