2025-26 Applications Update
We are currently recruiting…
Applications for a
Voluntary Clinical Placement
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 trainees to support and engage with each other during our training and social events and through our community peer support group.
Make a difference.
We hope to make counselling more affordable and accessible for all.
As a Social Enterprise Company, we also reinvest into charities and local communities.
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
Thank you for your interest in joining us on placement.
We welcome trainees and counsellors from a range of therapeutic modalities, including transactional analysis, psychodynamic, gestalt, DBT and other integrative approaches.
As an inclusive organisation, we support counsellors and clients from a range of backgrounds, including those with disabilities, neurodiversity and from the LGBTQIA+ community.
We recruit throughout the year and successful candidates will be invited for interview as soon as we have availability. In some cases, this may be straight away, or we may review applications on our waiting list and contact you in the coming weeks or months.
Placements are offered based on a range of factors, including levels of service demand, client presentations, and general availability of spaces as counsellors finish placement. Prior knowledge or experience of working with trauma and neurodivergence is highly beneficial.
Due to the nature of low-cost counselling, many of our clients have a history of trauma and complex presentations which are not always suitable for trainees without prior clinical experience. For this reason, we suggest that counsellors apply after they have gained some counselling experience however we also support applications from first-time trainees.
Placement availability for trainees without experience is more limited, but we recognise the value of additional CPD training (for example, in working with trauma, neurodiversity, safeguarding etc.) and relevant prior experience, including health or care related professional backgrounds or previous volunteering roles within a listening or support service such as Samaritans.
In addition to our placement programme, we also welcome qualified counsellors willing to offer their time to help support our service on a voluntary basis, or wishing to gain additional hours or experience including for a PhD or higher level training.
To get started, please review our placements conditions below. If you feel that you are able to meet our criteria for placement, please complete an Application Form (below) to register your interest and join our waiting list.
What We Ask
-
Previous clinical experience with clients, or other relevant experience considered from health or care professionals, and work settings such as occupational therapy, social work or peer support. Voluntary work in a client-facing role, such as with a listening or support service, can also be considered.
-
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.
-
You have availability to see 3 clients per week (minimum).
-
We guarantee clients at least 24 weeks of consecutive sessions with the same counsellor and expect all counsellors to honour this commitment to each new client they start working with.
-
We ask that you commit to your placement with us for at least one year.
-
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.
-
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.
-
For insurance purposes, you must be based in the UK for the duration of your placement.
-
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).
-
As our counselling sessions are open-ended, we require 16 weeks’ notice in advance of finishing your placement so that we can review your clients’ needs with you and provide them with 12 weeks’ notice to avoid sudden endings.
-
You hold a current and clear DBS Check (Disclosure and Barring Service). Please have this in place before submitting an application. Guidance for how to apply for this online is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/basic-dbs-checks-guidance
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.
You should 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: