303 – Safeguarding Clients in Online or Phone Therapy

Supporting Frontline Workers: Interview with Frontline19 CEO – Getting Books and Resources for the Next Leg of Your Studies

In Episode 303 of the Counselling Tutor Podcast, your hosts Rory Lees-Oakes and Ken Kelly are back with this week’s three topics:

• Firstly in ‘Ethical, Sustainable Practice’, we look at safeguarding clients in online or phone therapy.
• Then in ‘Practice Matters’ Rory speaks with Claire Goodwin-Fee about her role as CEO of Frontline19, an organisation that provides confidential psychological support for people working in the NHS and other frontline services in the UK.
• And lastly in ‘Student Services’, Rory and Ken offer some tips on how you might go about getting the best books and resources to prepare for the next leg of your studies.

Safeguarding Clients in Online or Phone Therapy [starts at 02:55 mins]

Counselling online or via telephone comes with many considerations different to those of working in the room with a client. In this section, Rory and Ken discuss some of the steps you can take to ensure you have appropriate safeguarding in place for your client:

• Find out essential details about your client before you begin working with them – where they are, what happens in an emergency, whether they can nominate an emergency contact that knows they’re having therapy.
• To safeguard clients in online or phone therapy, it’s important to:
  • Understand the necessity of risk management.
  • Identify the components of an effective risk management plan.
  • Recognise the challenges associated with online and telephone counselling in assessing risks.
• Think about how you can develop strategies for managing risk when working remotely – look for resources local to your client that might be useful to them.
• Ask a client if they have any risks – revisit and review this regularly to see if it changes.
• Confidentiality – this can differ from working with a client in the room or for an agency. Make sure the terms of your confidentiality are outlined in your contract.
• Plan for the worst, hope for the best – you should be prepared and have a plan for what to do in the case of an emergency.
• Share with the client that there are limitations to online counselling – if a client is presenting stress through body language that is off screen, you will be unable to identify this.
• Another way to safeguard clients during online or phone therapy is to make sure you are always aware of where your client is during a session – are they in the same place every time?

Supporting Frontline Workers: Interview with Frontline19 CEO [starts at 18:52 mins]

In this week’s ‘Practice Matters’, Rory speaks with Claire Goodwin-Fee about her role as CEO of Frontline19, providing confidential psychological support for people working in the NHS and other frontline services in the UK.

The key points of this discussion include:

• Frontline19 offers support to those who support us.
• They help to raise awareness for the traumas frontline workers witness on a daily basis, and the effect this can have on them.
• So many frontline workers need support with their mental health.
• There can often be feelings of shame around reaching out for help.
• The organisation works with volunteers who offer much needed counselling and support to these frontline workers.
• Working to get more support from the government for our frontline workers.

Getting Books and Resources for the Next Leg of Your Studies [starts at 34:33 mins]

In this section, Rory and Ken discuss some of the ways you can fill your time waiting for the next step of your studies, and where to look for useful resources:

• Keep an eye out for cheaper, second hand books – there’s nothing wrong with buying an older edition of the books on theory, the only one you want to have the latest book on is ethics as they’re constantly changing.
• Ask your tutor for a recommended reading list.
• You could put together your own reading list if you have access to your course criteria.
• Counselling Tutor has a plethora of resources to help you through your journey – if you’re looking for something specific, you can search it in the Counselling Study Resource, or find a podcast that covers that topic.
• Take some time for yourself over the break – practice self-care and do something you enjoy.

Links and Resources

• Frontline19
• Counselling Skills Academy
• Advanced Certificate in Counselling Supervision
• Basic Counselling Skills: A Student Guide
• Counsellor CPD
• Counselling Study Resource
• Counselling Theory in Practice: A Student Guide
• Counselling Tutor Shop
• Facebook group
• Website
• Online and Telephone Counselling: A Practitioner’s Guide
• Online and Telephone Counselling Course