Call to set counselling standards

Press, 13 February 1982, Page 7

Call to set counselling standards

Bad counselling can harm people, says the president of the Association of Psychotherapists and Counsellors, Dr Basil James.

“I believe the effects of good or bad counselling can be as pronounced on the health of the individual or family as good or bad surgery or obstetrics,” he said. People were entitled to a treatment that met minimum standards.

The association helped people to be given the best psychological service available by ensuring that its members met a set standard in their knowledge and their ability to put the knowledge into practice, said Dr James.

Dr James was in Christchurch for the association’s annual conference.

He said the main purpose of the association was to ensure that counselling was given by people who were trained and skilled in the process. “We hope that this enables the user of a counselling service to know that any member of the association can deliver his service in a skilled way,” he said.

He said that the association had about 145 members but there were many counsellors in the community who were not members. He was not able to say how many would not meet the association’s standards.

Other than imposing standards on its own members the association could not do anything about counsellors who did not come up to standard, he said.

“There is nothing to stop anyone from being a counsellor,” said Dr James.

He would like to see a law brought in similar to that which prevented doctors practising without first obtaining qualifications and then being registered.

“The law would take a long time to come about but it is a long-term goal of the association,” he said.

More people were seeking help through counselling because people had to be functioning well to live in a more complex world. People also had higher expectations and demands. “We are no longer prepared to put up with running ears or club feet,” he said.

“People will no longer tolerate something when something can be done about it.” More people were becoming counsellors to meet the demand.

“The need is huge but what we are concerned with is quality," he said. Conferences run by the association were open to non-members.

“We hope that these can be used as a educational facility,” he said. “It is also an opportunity for our peers to test our skills.”