How to Cite and Reference Counselling Tutor Resources

At Counselling Tutor, we use the Harvard referencing system both in our own resources and in how we ask students on our courses to cite and reference sources in their assignments.

If your course is through a different learning provider, do check their policy, as some may use different systems (e.g. Vancouver or APA [American Psychological Association] referencing) or have specific requirements of their own that you must follow.

General Guidance on Harvard Citing and Referencing

You will find plenty of guidance on Harvard citing and referencing on the internet. We recommend the following three university sites as being academically rigorous on their Harvard referencing advice:

• Queen’s University Belfast
• Anglia Ruskin University
• University of Sheffield

Guidance on Citing Counselling Tutor Resources

If you draw on our resources in your own writing (e.g. for an assignment), you should credit us for that information in the body of the text.

If the information you use is general, then use just ‘Author (year)’, for example:

[For a page on our website] Counselling Tutor (2018) examines the differences between eclectic and integrative counselling.

[For a book] Kelly (2017) describes the range of counselling skills, their purpose and how they can be used most effectively.

If you use a direct quotation or a specific idea, then you need to add the page number too. If the resource doesn’t have page numbers, then use a different way to let the reader know where they can find the relevant part of the resource.

For example, you could give the line or paragraph number, section number or heading (e.g. for web pages), slide number (e.g. for lectures) or time point (e.g. for podcasts). Here are examples of each scenario:

Counselling Tutor (2018, para. 1) states: ‘An integrative approach to counselling and psychotherapy involves drawing upon more than one modality.’

Kelly (2017, p. 43) describes paraphrasing as ‘repeating back your understanding of the material that has been brought by the client’.

Guidance on Referencing Counselling Tutor Resources

Books

If the reference is taken from one of our books, you can reference it as follows:

Kelly, K. (2017). Basic Counselling Skills: A Student Guide. Warrington: Counselling Tutor.

Kelly, K. and Lees-Oakes, R. (2021). Online and Telephone Counselling: A Practitioner’s Guide. Warrington: Counselling Tutor.

Lees-Oakes, R. (2019). Counselling Theory In Practice: A Student Guide. Warrington: Counselling Tutor.

Resources from the main Counselling Tutor website

If you want to reference a page of the main Counselling Tutor website or a handout that you have downloaded from there, this is the format you should use:

Counselling Tutor. (2019). The Skill of Challenging in Counselling [online]. Counselling Tutor. [Viewed 30/5/23]. Available from: https://counsellingtutor.com/the-skill-of-challenge/

Resources from the Counselling Study Resource (CSR) or Counsellor CPD

If you are referencing a handout or lecture from the Counselling Study Resource (CSR) or Counsellor CPD, then your tutor will not be able to access this unless they are a member. You should therefore exclude the URL:

Counselling Study Resource. (2017). Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development [online, members only]. Counselling Study Resource. [Accessed 30/5/23].

Some learning establishments may require you to submit (as appendices) any referenced materials that the tutor cannot access.

Resources from YouTube

If you wish to reference a video from our YouTube channel, you can do so like this:

Counselling Tutor. (2011). The Phenomenology of Person-Centred Therapy [online]. YouTube. [Accessed 30/5/23]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBjhUJ0qzyU