School and College Counselling in the COVID-19 Landscape - Jo Holmes

What has the impact of COVID been on the delivery of school and college counselling in the UK, and what can be done?

This longitudinal survey of counselling professionals provides much-needed insight into the landscape of school and college counselling in the UK in July and December, 2020: in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey looks at levels of counselling provisions, moves to online counselling, training, and what counsellors believe is needed to help support children and young people’s mental health. The initial survey was completed by over 700 professionals, with over 200 professionals completing the follow-up survey. The research is a collaboration between BACP and Roehampton University and the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

The results of the first survey indicated a dramatic drop in therapy provision, with a 50% reduction in overall delivery by July 2020. By this point, counselling was predominantly delivered via video platforms or by phone. In December, face-to-face provision had increased to levels almost as high as before the pandemic, albeit with social-distancing in place. However, it is likely that this will have reduced again, and data collection is ongoing. The survey also highlighted that professionals were using the time, when services were not fully operating, to upskill their competences--offering both telephone and video conferencing counselling sessions.

This talk will present key findings from the research, as well as highlighting important methodological issues. It will conclude by discussing implications of the findings for future provision and policy.

Presenter: Jo Holmes is the Children, Young People and Families Lead at BACP, based within the policy team. Jo has a varied portfolio career spanning over three decades in a range of local authority, youth service, third sector, and educational settings. She retrained as a person centred counsellor whilst working within secondary school settings, at a time when young people were presenting with increased mental health needs. Jo Studied Psychology at Leeds University, has a post graduate qualification in Community Education, and is also a qualified Youth and Community worker. Jo is keen to work with research partners to inform her policy work but also to gain a better understanding of the issues that affect the profession and the children and young people they work with.