'Thousands of counsellors ready to work with children and young people'

The British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy (BACP), registered and accredited child and youth care counselors (CYP), wrote a letter to the Minister for Mental Health, Nadine Dorries and the Health and Social Welfare Committee, to share the latest evidence on the availability and competencies of counselors trained to work with children and young people (CYP). The letter is a reaction to inaccurate comments made by Ms. Dorries in oral evidence to the Committee and on social media.

In their presentation, they stated that the results of their recently completed research showed that about a third of the total number of members, 58,000 of them - approximately 19,000 counselors - received special training for therapeutic work with children and youth. More than half of those trained to work in this field (55.5%) also stated that they would like to be paid more to work with clients and on average have the capacity to accept an additional five clients per week.

In conclusion, this would mean that the members of the association are available to work with about 51,000 children and youth on a weekly basis, if this were done through government action, referrals and client funding.

Further in the letter, they state that the members of the association are competent to easily and efficiently satisfy the current demand and with their work alleviate the pressure on the mental health of children and young people.

Positive impact

There is growing evidence highlighting the significant positive impact that, for example, school counseling can have on the mental health and well-being of children and young people. A recently published ETHOS trial (a randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of school humanities counseling) found that young people randomized to up to 10 counseling sessions showed a significant reduction in psychological stress compared to those who only had access to regular school pastoral care. They also showed significant improvements in their self-esteem and progress toward personal goals compared to those in the control group.

This evidence is extremely important given that most young people approach school counseling to help with family problems, anger, and self-esteem, rather than more diagnostic problems like depression and anxiety.

The letter went on to state that they are continuing their work, a campaign to fund the provision of school counseling in England as one of the options that children and young people can choose to access along with other interventions available in schools.

We continue to question the government that the reach within the Mental Health Support Teams is limited, as only 20% of children and youth will have access to low-level mental health support interventions by 2023.

Where the counselor is integrated in In their letter, they stated the importance of benefiting from a trained on-site mental health specialist who has undergone at least four years of training in therapeutic work with children and youth for the entire school environment, staff and students. Using a range of integrative approaches, often working systematically and with an understanding and depth of the impact of trauma on a child's life, they can make significant progress. places at a level that is clearly needed, ensuring that all children, no matter where they live, have access to the right support at the right time.