In episode 23 of the Counselling Tutor Podcast, Rory Lees-Oakes and Ken Kelly discuss lone working. ‘Theory with Rory’ looks at stereotyping, and ‘Person-Centred Business’ explains how to create a brochure about your services. Finally, the presenters describe how to get the referencing right in your assignments.
If your counselling work involves you visiting clients in their homes, or seeing clients alone at your home, it is important to consider how best to ensure you stay safe. Rory and Ken give some top tips on this:
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust offers excellent advice and resources to help keep lone workers safe.
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Our experience of past events can influence how we view future interactions (so acting as a type of defence mechanism), but we do not always need direct experience in order to stereotype. For example, we can be heavily influenced by the media and by authority (e.g., government).
The term ‘stereotype’ was coined in the 1920s by Walter Lippman, in his book Public Opinion. Charles Ramirez Berg, Professor of Media Studies at the University of Texas, described aspects of stereotyping in his book Latino Images in Film: Stereotypes, Subversion, and Resistance. Rory describes seven of these aspects:
Rory uses examples to illustrate how these aspects of stereotyping relate to the world of counselling and psychotherapy, including a story of what can happen if a counsellor relies on stereotypes as the basis of offering supportive services to individuals.
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In podcast 22, Ken looked at providing a free introductory meeting with a potential new client. At this, it is useful to give them some written materials, e.g. a copy of your contract and a brochure. You can also display brochures in public places (e.g. health centres and libraries) for people to pick up.
Here, Ken looks at the content, structure and low-cost printing of your brochure. He advises using an A4 tri-fold format (i.e. A4 folded into three). This size fits standard brochure stands. It gives six long thin panels on which to display your information:
Ken describes the content he would suggest including on each panel, and provides hints on how you can design and print brochures at home using templates from Microsoft and LayoutReady.
Sample Counselling Brochure
To pass your assignments, it is important to reference all your sources accurately. If you are not used to referencing, it can feel like trying to crack a secret code; here, Ken and Rory take the pain out of this process. The key requirement is that the person reading your work must be able to access any source you have drawn from (for quotes or particular ideas).
There are different systems of referencing, so make sure you follow the one that your course provider requires. One of the most widely used is the Harvard system. Rory refers to some online resources that make Harvard referencing much easier: reference generators from Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Sunderland, and a barcode scanner. Another good source of support is Rory’s guide Getting Your Assignment in Order, available on the Counselling Study Resource (CSR).