Join Us
Applications for a
Voluntary Clinical Placement
2025-26 Applications Update
Thank you for your interest in joining us in placement at the Affordable Counselling Network.
We have paused recruitment to complete onboarding for the counsellors joining us before Christmas.
Please check back again in the New Year to see when applications are next open.
What We Offer
Support.
We have a Designated Safeguarding Lead, along with trained counsellors and administrative staff available during working hours to support our therapists and clients.
Autonomy and Flexibility.
All sessions take place online, and you can work from home as long as you have a confidential space. Choose your own session times during our core operating hours.
Varied Client Presentations.
We are honoured to have a diverse range of clients making use of our service. We take time to match you with clients that suit your level of experience and clinical interests.
A Community.
We appreciate that being a counsellor can sometimes be lonely. We invite our volunteers to support and engage with each other during our training and social events and through our community peer support group.
CPD Events and Resources
We're delighted to offer counsellors in placement with us a complimentary membership to Creative Counsellors, with access to their extensive library of resources, CPD training and events.
Low-Cost Supervision
We have a list of external supervisors available offering low-cost group and individual supervision for counsellors in placement with the Affordable Counselling Network.
Placement Offers
Counselling Placements and Trainee Opportunities
Thank you for your interest in joining us on placement.
We welcome applications from trainee and qualified counsellors from a wide range of therapeutic modalities, including Transactional Analysis, Psychodynamic, Gestalt, DBT, and other integrative approaches. Our counselling placements provide valuable experience working within a low-cost counselling service that supports clients with diverse and often complex needs.
As an inclusive counselling organisation, we are committed to supporting both counsellors and clients from a wide range of backgrounds. This includes individuals with disabilities, neurodivergent counsellors and clients, and those from the LGBTQIA+ community.
Recruitment and application process
We recruit for counselling placements throughout the year. Suitable applicants will be invited to interview as soon as placement availability allows. In some cases this may be immediately; in others, applications may be held on our waiting list and reviewed as spaces become available over the following weeks or months.
Placements are offered based on a range of factors, including:
Level of training and counselling experience
Current service demand and client presentations
Availability of placement spaces as counsellors complete their placement
Previous knowledge or experience of working with trauma and neurodivergence is highly beneficial.
Trainee counsellor requirements
Due to the nature of low-cost counselling, many of our clients have a history of trauma and complex mental health presentations. These may not always be suitable for trainees without prior clinical experience.
For this reason, counsellors are generally expected to be in their second year of training (equivalent to Clinical Year 1). We recommend applying once you have gained some counselling experience, although we also welcome applications from first-time trainees.
Placement availability for trainees without experience is limited. However, we recognise the value of relevant prior experience, including:
Health or care-related professional backgrounds
Volunteering roles within listening or support services (e.g. Samaritans)
Additional CPD training, particularly in trauma-informed practice, neurodiversity, safeguarding, and related areas
Opportunities for qualified counsellors
In addition to our trainee placement programme, we also welcome applications from qualified counsellors who wish to:
Volunteer to support our counselling service
Gain additional clinical hours
Develop experience for PhD or higher-level training
How to apply
To get started, please review our placement conditions below. If you feel you meet our criteria for a counselling placement, complete the Application Form to register your interest and join our waiting list.
What We Ask
Please read the following requirements carefully, you should not apply to join us in placement unless you are able to meet all the following criteria:
- For insurance purposes, you must be based in the UK for the duration of your placement.
- You hold a current Professional Membership with a relevant Counselling Body (e.g. NCPS, BACP, UKCP).
- You are an Accredited Member of your Professional Membership Organisation, OR you can provide a letter of Fitness to Practice from your training institution.
- You hold a current DBS Check (Disclosure and Barring Service).
Please note that all convictions must be declared as part of the application form, and will be reviewed on a case by case basis. - You have (or will have) individual ICO Registration in place and hold your own Professional Indemnity Insurance for the duration of your placement.
- You have had at least 30 hours of personal therapy with a qualified therapist before you apply, and you commit to being in personal therapy while on clinical placement with us.
- We ask that you commit to your placement with us for at least one year.
- You have availability to see 3 clients per week (minimum).
- As part of our open-ended therapy model, we guarantee each client a minimum of 24 consecutive sessions with the same counsellor. We expect all counsellors to honour this commitment to each new client they start working with.
- You are comfortable with technology and learning new systems, and you have access to a smartphone.
- A stable internet connection with reliable speed is essential to host online counselling sessions via video conferencing.
- Avoid long breaks for clients (a maximum of 4 holiday instances may be taken each year, no longer than 2 weeks at a time, notified to clients and Admin at least 4 weeks in advance).
- To avoid sudden endings, we require 16 weeks’ notice in advance of finishing your placement so that we can meet with you first to review your clients’ needs. After this, you may then provide them with the required 12 weeks’ notice of the end of your placement.
- You hold a current DBS Check (Disclosure and Barring Service). Please note that all convictions must be declared as part of the application form, and will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
By completing an Application Form, you agree to the above terms and commitments to practice safely and ethically while on placement with the Affordable Counselling Network.
Please do not apply to the Affordable Counselling Network until you are able to meet all of the above criteria.
All application data collected is stored securely in line with our privacy policy and used solely for the purposes of assessing, processing and facilitating your placement with us, in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. For more details, please see: