CLINICAL PLACEMENTS WITH HEART & MIND
Heart & Mind is committed to fill social care gaps by providing a range of high quality, affordable and professional services to our communities. Our counselling service subscribes to a Christian worldview and the practice guidelines and ethical standards of the Association of Christians in Counselling and Linked Professions (ACC)
A placement with Heart & Mind is aimed at trainee therapists currently undertaking professional training or qualified practitioners working towards professional accreditation with ACC or BACP.
HOW TO APPLY FOR A CLINICAL PLACEMENT AT HEART & MIND
Before you apply, please ensure you read carefully through the clinical placement information on this page
Heart & Mind is an affiliated organisation with the Association of Christians in Counselling and Linked Professions (ACC) and all our counsellors will be asked to register as a member of ACC. Before proceeding with your application, make sure you have read and understood the Association of Christians in Counselling’s values and statement of faith and you are happy to register for ACC membership if offered a placement with us.
To apply for a Psychotherapy & Counselling Placement with Heart & Mind, please complete our 'Clinical Placement Application' form, providing us with some information about yourself.
WHAT DOES A HEART & MIND PLACEMENT INVOLVE?
You are a trainee counsellor / psychotherapist and are enrolled on a recognised professional training course (diploma level 4 or higher) or a qualified counsellor / psychotherapist who is working towards your professional accreditation. We particularly welcome applications from trainee counsellors who have already supervised counselling hours or those able to demonstrate one to one work experience within the pastoral care field
Your clinical placement will come to an end once you have accumulated 250 clinical hours OR 24 months after you have seen your first client, whichever is earlier
You can see your clients either remotely from your home or in person at one of our Heart & Mind sites, or a combination of the two.
You offer a minimum of 4 slots each week during your clinical placements. We ask that at least 2 out of the 4 slots offered will be in the evening (e.g. 6.00pm, 7.00pm or 8.00pm).
You have your own external individual clinical supervision and receive regular supervision as required by the ACC or BACP (meeting both the minimum hours per month and the supervision-to-client hours ratio)
You are an individual member / student membership with the Association of Christians in Counselling (ACC) and agree to work within the terms of ACC’s ‘Ethics and Practice’
You have your own, up to date, annual professional indemnity and public liability insurance, are registered with the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) as a data controller and are in possession of a valid DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) certificate
Your first 6 months of placement will be considered a probation period
WHAT DOES A HEART & MIND PLACEMENT OFFER?
You are part of a like-minded and supportive team who invests into the mental health and well-being of our community
You develop your expertise in short-term and long-term work and will be able to work with clients from varied backgrounds and with different presenting issues
You collect client hours helping you to work towards professional accreditation or counselling training requirement
Subject to offering a minimum of 4 slots each week, you will be given access to complimentary monthly (remote) group supervision. Groups run from September to June each year, consist of up to 4 Heart & Mind associates and last 90 minutes each
Once you have accumulated 100 clinical hours with Heart & Mind (and again 200 client hours), you will be refunded the cost of your annual indemnity and public liability insurance with Oxygen, your membership with the Association of Christians in Counselling (ACC) and your annual ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) registration fee
THE APPLICATION PROCESS FOR CLINICAL PLACEMENTS
Complete our online ‘Clinical Placement Application’ form
If we have any openings and you meet the criteria, you will be invited to attend an interview. The interview will also provide you with an opportunity to ask any further questions you might have about the placement
If your application is successful, you will receive an official placement offer, including a suggested starting date. Offers of clinical placements are subject to a six-month probation period
You will be asked to provide a DBS certificate, copies of your Oxygen professional indemnity and liability insurance, ICO registration and ACC membership certificate
Induction training will be arranged to introduce you to the counselling premises, practical guidelines and placement support structures. During induction you will be signing a placement agreement form
What trainee counsellors said about their clinical placement experience with Heart & Mind
“I have very much enjoyed my placement with Heart & Mind. I have found them to be a well-set up and thought-through organisation. The service coordinator was reassuring, offered lots of wisdom and was always incredibly quick to get back to me. I particularly appreciated the amount of clients I had access to at Heart & Mind, having heard about peer’s experiences with their placements where they struggled to get the client hours to pass the course. This was not an issue with Heart & Mind. All in all, my experience was great and I would be quick to recommend them to another trainee or counsellor looking for a placement/organisation to work for. ”