E-Learning for Counselling Professor Mick Cooper National Advisor for Counselling for CYP IAPT

Counselling Counselling provides children, young people and young adults (CYPYA) with an opportunity to explore their difficulties with a skilled, supportive and understanding professional; such that they are helped to overcome their distress, manage their problems, and be more resilient

Plan B (Ben Drew: rapper, director, singer-songwriter) ‘I've had counselling since year eight. They called it sports counselling in my school, because otherwise kids would say, “I ain't mad, I ain't going to see a therapist!” ….it was just counselling it was great, I loved it. It did me a world of good.’ (The Guardian, 27th May 2012)

Provision of counselling in England Available in approximately 70% of secondary schools ≈ 65,000 clients/year 95% of universities; majority of FE institutes provide counselling More mixed availability in primary sector Large network of community-based counselling services: Youth Access, 200+ members

An evidence-based therapy Counselling (individual non-directive supportive therapy) is a NICE recommended intervention for children and young people with mild depression Perceived by users and stakeholders as an accessible, effective and non- stigmatising intervention for a range of psychological difficulties and levels of distress

Our vision The CYP-IAPT ‘kitemarked’ counsellor

The ‘CYP-IAPT kite-marked’ counsellor… 1.Provides an evidence-based intervention 2.Integrates regular outcome and process evaluation into their practice 3.Is informed by users’ views of counselling, adopting a highly collaborative stance 4.Is effective at detecting specific mental health problems and referring onwards as appropriate 5.Works in integrated and coherent ways with other mental health services

‘Time4Me’ primary school counselling ‘Client-directed, outcome- informed’ therapy Clear goals for counselling agreed at assessment with child and family Weekly use of ‘Child Outcome Rating Scale’ and ‘Child Session Rating Scale’ to assess progress and personalise therapy Modelling excellence © Duncan Soar Photography 2011

Session-by-session outcome (CORS) and process (SRS) monitoring tools used by Time4Me

Time4Me: Start of counselling Clinical levels of distress = 73.6%

Time4Me: End of counselling Clinical levels of distress = 9.4%

The e-portal Funding for E-Learning for Counselling (E-LfC) project provides valuable opportunity to enhance evidence-based, outcome-informed practice in counselling sector

Developing the project CYP-IAPT Advisor for Counselling to develop programme proposal Working in collaboration with BACP: largest professional body in the field (37,000+ members) Next step: extending collaboration to key organisations and stakeholders

Timetable Sep-Mar 2013: Establish steering group, training needs analysis, scope existing e-Learning materials, curriculum development Mar 2013-Mar 2014: Development of e- Learning sessions/ modules Mar-Sep 2014: Promotion, launch, implementation and independent evaluation

Legacy competencytrainingCPD accreditation E-portal content will be designed for integration into CYPYA competency, training, CPD and accreditation structures

Content Approximately 35 half-hour sessions Structured within five to ten discrete modules Wide variety of formats: e.g., video clips, diagrams, online ‘tests’ of knowledge Additional resources for users/parents/ schools on counselling Maximising levels of engagement Freely available through e-Learning for Healthcare (E-LfH) site

Indicative modules 1.Basic/specific competences for counselling CYP 2.Assessment, formulation and planning 3.Interventions for specific disorders 4.Outcome monitoring and evaluation 5.Counselling contexts for CYP: primary schools secondary schools community/voluntary sector independent sector 6.Supervision 7.Counselling with young adults

E-learning as adjunct to face-to-face learning Accessibility to national and international expertise Cost effective Flexibility of use Personalised learning pathways Capacity to monitor own progress Password-protected, confidential learning materials

The development of the CYP-IAPT counselling e- portal will give us the opportunity to address a number of important issues for the field…

Assessment What kind of assessment /diagnostic /detection skills – and tools – should CYPYA counsellors have? What care pathways should CYPYA counsellors integrate into?

Counselling-CAMHS communication How can communications and relationships between counselling services and specialist CAMHS, at a local level, be optimised?

Evaluation What tools/measures should counsellors be using to integrate regular outcome and process monitoring into their practice? How might outcome data be used in supervision? How can we achieve more comparable evaluation procedures between counselling and wider CAMHS services?

Referral When should counsellors be referring on to specialist CAMHS, and how can counsellors be trained to do this? When should specialist CAMHS be referring on to counselling, and how can specialist CAMHS workers be trained to do this?

Practice Are there particular evidence-based methods or interventions, beyond standard counselling practices, that CYPYA counsellors might be trained to provide?

Summary Development of E-Learning for Counselling programme – and associated developments – provides unique opportunity to enhance the experience and outcomes for children, young people, and young adults participating in counselling And can help to develop care pathways across services that are more streamlined, accessible, and user-friendly

Thank you