What do I need to register as a counsellor?

SergeyS

Hi All!

I am coming from non-psychology background, so I don't have any kind of a formal certification/degree in the field. Despite that I have been recently trained in a new (about 1 year since invention) approach to resolve different psychological issues.
So far I've been working with friends and accountancies and got to approximately 90% success rate for relatively quick issue removal (within 2-6 hours usually).
Due to this, I am considering registering myself as a counsellor (as far as I have seen here, this should be enough) to be able to offer this service legally and charge for it.

Any ideas what are the regulations at the moment in this field?

Best regards,
Sergey

Beaner1

You want to be a counsellor without any qualifications? Incredible.

SergeyS

Are people who go to counsellor want certifications or results?
If former - surely, I'm the wrong person. If latter - welcome

Actually, I need this for only one reason: to be able to charge people for my time I spend solving their problems without getting into trouble with the law. That's it.

Beaner1

SergeyS wrote: »

Are people who go to counsellor want certifications or results?
If former - surely, I'm the wrong person. If latter - welcome

Actually, I need this for only one reason: to be able to charge people for my time I spend solving their problems without getting into trouble with the law. That's it.

You're a bull**** artist. Stay well away from vulnerable people.

SergeyS

I found some info on the other site. Boards.ie members prove themselves useful and welcoming once more
Thanks!

JuliusCaesar

SergeyS wrote: »

I found some info on the other site.

I'm surprised to find out there's another site on the internet. Do let us know what it is!

SergeyS

JuliusCaesar wrote: »

I'm surprised to find out there's another site on the internet. Do let us know what it is!

I have tried a few times, but it seems that their links are incompatible with my account here

Beaner1

Please tell us your new counselling technique that requires no training or I'm guessing quantitative clinical findings.

ibebanging

With that attitude you are not a councillor and hopefully never will be. You should leave vulnerable people alone and direct them to seek professional help if needed.

SergeyS

I guess you are misunderstanding here. I have already quite a number people who are quite happy about the results they _already_ got. Though at the moment I have to refuse their proposals to pay me.
I am just asking what needs to be done to sort this out properly, that's all.
I would be grateful if you can provide any useful information.

maki

SergeyS wrote: »

I guess you are misunderstanding here. I have already quite a number people who are quite happy about the results they _already_ got. Though at the moment I have to refuse their proposals to pay me.
I am just asking what needs to be done to sort this out properly, that's all.
I would be grateful if you can provide any useful information.

People who go to see palm readers and fortune tellers also claim to see results. But that doesn't make it real.

If your "new" approach worked, it would be called science. But it's not.

SergeyS

It does work. At this point it is just too new to have an "official" clinically confirmed results.
I have some results that I've got myself (after a 1.5 months of self-work):
- Got rid of fear of heights, that was bothering me for many years,
- Most of the time i'm in a very good mood and get annoyed with many things much less than before,
- Feel energised and don't tire from even the most routine work (which was a hell of a problem for me before)
- Almost don't get into conflicts
and a lot more of smaller things.
Some of the people whom I worked with got the following results:
- became much confident in communication with people of opposite sex
- no longer get offended when their life choices are questioned
- gotten out of a very miserable emotional state (I would not call that "depression" since there was no clinical diagnosis)
- don't get angry with misbehaving kids
- got rid of fear of flying
- Improved confidence in making sales
and so on.

I would not yet call it a large statistics, but in 9 out of 10 cases there were significant improvements over previous situation.
Call it whatever you will, even if they (and myself) just deluding ourselves into it, as long as practical results are here - i would call it useful.
And by practical results I mean actual change in behaviour in the problematic situations.

P.S. Note that I have started to consider sorting out the formalities only after quite a few of those people have asked how much they should pay me. I did not even considered making money using this approach before that, and was doing it for the sake of self-improvement & improvement of lives those around me.

SergeyS

Maybe I should then opt for coaching kind of business setting, instead?
Since this will not advertise what I do as a "psychology" service. On top of that I have quite a few things I can coach people on (from my actual work experience).

JuliusCaesar

To register as a counsellor, you need to register with one of the major Counselling organisations - see the sticky on How to Find a Therapist/Counsellor/Psychologist.

But do tell us what this new approach that you've been trained in is called. We are all eager to hear of effective therapies. Therapies which can be researched and investigated so that methods which work can be used for the greater good - and not just to make money for one person, which makes us very cynical. While we are mostly clinicians here, we also have researchers and students and scientists among our readers and participants on this forum.

SergeyS

Unfortunately, i still can not post the links, the site of the author is www dot ivanpirog dot com
You'll have to use the google translate or something similar, since it is in Russian. Article is(in google-translated version) called "Perceptual filters: the source of our problems". Though translation is quite horrible, but hopefully can make some sense.
I have learned (and using) the method in Russian from the author, but also have tried to translate it into English, and it works just as well. I admit that I have used it in English only couple of times, with most of my clients being Russian-speaking.

In my training agreement there was a part that prohibits me from teaching this method or claiming that I'm representing it, so I would have to refrain from participating in clinical studies at least at this point in time. I would assume that author will have to be contacted for that.

Still, I'm open to meet and let to try out the results firsthand, if someone is really interested. At no charge

dar100

SergeyS wrote: »

Unfortunately, i still can not post the links, the site of the author is www dot ivanpirog dot com
You'll have to use the google translate or something similar, since it is in Russian. Article is(in google-translated version) called "Perceptual filters: the source of our problems". Though translation is quite horrible, but hopefully can make some sense.
I have learned (and using) the method in Russian from the author, but also have tried to translate it into English, and it works just as well. I admit that I have used it in English only couple of times, with most of my clients being Russian-speaking.

In my training agreement there was a part that prohibits me from teaching this method or claiming that I'm representing it, so I would have to refrain from participating in clinical studies at least at this point in time. I would assume that author will have to be contacted for that.

Still, I'm open to meet and let to try out the results firsthand, if someone is really interested. At no charge

I've had a brief look at the approach you mention. Nothing new to add to the field of study imo

JuliusCaesar

Epictetus (A.D. c. 55 – 135): Man is not affected by events, but by the view he takes of them.

Boethius (480–524 AD) “Nothing is miserable unless you think it so; and on the other hand, nothing brings happiness unless you are content with it.” (The Consolation of Philosophy)

John Milton (1608 – 1674),“The mind is its own place and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven…” (Paradise Lost, Book II)



Stoicism:

Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early 3rd century BC. The Stoics taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of "moral and intellectual perfection", would not suffer such emotions

Philosophy for life:

CBT was directly inspired by Greek philosophies (not just Stoicism, also Socrates, Plato, the Sceptics and Epicureans…but mainly the Stoics). CBT is now the most scientifically credible and popular form of therapy for many emotional disorders.

SergeyS

I agree that it is not something new, since it is a nature of the emotional response.

The only difference from classic CBT, as far as I understand, is that it is possible to "turn off" that emotional reaction almost instantly. (Effect is observed in the matter of seconds).

Also the results go beyond one specific situation and are applied to all the situations where the same perception was present.
For example, if person was pitying himself because of his weakness, this self-pity will appear in the all situations where he perceives himself as weak. By "switching off" that perception, he will no longer have self-pity in all of those situations.

krankykitty

Has the "creator" of this therapy got any long reaching studies into its efficacy? Often quick fixes aren't very long lasting

SergeyS

As far as I know, so far there were no cases of same problem resurfacing. But the timeframe is just one year.
Out of my own observation, in case of imprecise perception definition it is possible that problem will re-surface in a matter of minutes/hours. Usually detectable during the session.

hotspur

Hi Sergey. There are no legal restrictions in Ireland on calling yourself a counsellor or a psychotherapist, anyone can do it with no training in anything. But it is not necessary from any legal ot tax standpoint to call yourself a counsellor in order to charge a fee for your services.

There are many, many people in Ireland who offer services which promote change outside of the psychologist / counsellor / psychotherapist professions. Coaches, as you mentioned, hypnotherapists, NLPers, and probably dozens of other types of approach. Mostly they just call themselves by their approach. So for example an "Angel Healer" calls themselves an "Angel Healer" and charges money no problem. Same for a Reiki practitioner, or a shamanic healer etc.

This has an obvious drawback for advertising your service if nobody has ever heard of your approach because it is new and Russian. But that doesn't mean you should call it counselling, because counsellors undergo many years of training and personal therapy and supervision. So while there is nothing stopping you legally from calling yourself a counsellor, you will not get accepted as a member of any reputable counselling accrediting organisation, and it would be regarded by many to be unethical to call yourself one.

So I'm not sure what it would be best to call yourself, but you can charge money no problem without calling yourself anything at all, or calling yourself anything. What is the Russian translation of the name of the approach out of interest? You have actually get some benefit from being the only (or one of the few) "X practitioner" or "X therapist" in Ireland.

SergeyS

hotspur wrote: »

. What is the Russian translation of the name of the approach out of interest? You have actually get some benefit from being the only (or one of the few) "X practitioner" or "X therapist" in Ireland.

Hi Hotspur!
Thank you very much for very informative response. This is precisely the information I was looking for. Hopefully, I should be able to sort this out quickly then.

The name of the technique is "Transformation of the perception filters" or "Perception filters transformation" (though, this is still not an official name, but merely translation). The official naming is still in works for the English language, so I guess I could use that when it is made official.

kitkat.3b4t

hotspur wrote: »

Hi Sergey. There are no legal restrictions in Ireland on calling yourself a counsellor or a psychotherapist, anyone can do it with no training in anything. But it is not necessary from any legal ot tax standpoint to call yourself a counsellor in order to charge a fee for your services.

There are many, many people in Ireland who offer services which promote change outside of the psychologist / counsellor / psychotherapist professions. Coaches, as you mentioned, hypnotherapists, NLPers, and probably dozens of other types of approach. Mostly they just call themselves by their approach. So for example an "Angel Healer" calls themselves an "Angel Healer" and charges money no problem. Same for a Reiki practitioner, or a shamanic healer etc.

This has an obvious drawback for advertising your service if nobody has ever heard of your approach because it is new and Russian. But that doesn't mean you should call it counselling, because counsellors undergo many years of training and personal therapy and supervision. So while there is nothing stopping you legally from calling yourself a counsellor, you will not get accepted as a member of any reputable counselling accrediting organisation, and it would be regarded by many to be unethical to call yourself one.

So I'm not sure what it would be best to call yourself, but you can charge money no problem without calling yourself anything at all, or calling yourself anything. What is the Russian translation of the name of the approach out of interest? You have actually get some benefit from being the only (or one of the few) "X practitioner" or "X therapist" in Ireland.

I realize that statutory registration for counsellors and psychotherapists has not started yet. However I'm sure it will and the sooner the better. I don’t think it is a good idea to encourage someone to set up a professional counselling service without proper training. This training usually involves a scientific study of basic psychological processes, social, behavioural and cognitive. It also involves personal development, attending counselling and supervision. All registered counsellors, psychotherapists and psychologists are obliged to attend monthly supervision and regular continual professional development. I think it could be potentially dangerous for an untrained individual who is not attending professional supervision, to work in a counselling capacity with vulnerable people. Comprehensive training and appropriate supervision should not be bypassed. Also I do not think that unqualified individuals can get personal indemnity insurance. Anyone charging money without proper insurance could find themselves in a lot of trouble.

SergeyS

kitkat.3b4t wrote: »

...to work in a counselling capacity with vulnerable people...

There is one thing that I want to clarify. When you use the term "vulnerable people", what does it mean?
Does it mean an average (or very successful) person, who is encountering their daily problems? (those are my clients)
Or that means people who are undergoing some kind of professional treatment, based on established diagnosis? I don't work with those, since that needs a lot of special knowledge, which I don't possess.
Or do you use it in some other definition?

Semele

SergeyS wrote: »

There is one thing that I want to clarify. When you use the term "vulnerable people", what does it mean?
Does it mean an average (or very successful) person, who is encountering their daily problems? (those are my clients)
Or that means people who are undergoing some kind of professional treatment, based on established diagnosis? I don't work with those, since that needs a lot of special knowledge, which I don't possess.
Or do you use it in some other definition?

I think the fact that you're asking the questions you are on here attests to the importance of having a reputable background in a therapeutic training modality. Contextual issues such as this aren't add-ons to your "therapy", they're a crucial foundation to the entire idea of working therapeutically with others and as such form a significant part of any training.

Vulnerability isn't a static factor- any of us can be vulnerable in the right (or wrong, rather) context whether we have a diagnosis or not. While things like a diagnosis, a disability or someones age may flag the need to risk assess, the issues of whether someone may be vulnerable in a given context requires much more subtlety of approach. A client being attracted to you can make them vulnerable, for example. The very fact that people would be paying you for your help as an "expert" puts them in a position of less power in relation to you. Therapists attempt to recognise such issues, to seek supervision and to address them safely. Practising with minimal training, supervision or structures of accountability, is unprofessional and potentially risky regardless of how high-functioning your clients are.

SergeyS

Semele, thank you for your reply. I will take it into account.

I wrote a couple of different replies, but since I was not satisfied with them, I decided to reduce everything to an above line.

SergeyS

Dear friends, I'm thankful for your feedback on the topic.
I got the answer I was locking for - that I don't need to register as a counsellor and get involved in any way with psychotherapeutic society in order to do what I'm doing. (Doesn't mean that I will not be, because I'm curious to see if those results can be confirmed in the clinical test settings, but not at the moment anyway).
Thank you very much!

kitkat.3b4t

SergeyS, I thought that I will just add a note of caution. It’s something I mentioned earlier. If you are charging for a service it is advisable to be very careful regarding what you call yourself and the types of claims you make about your service, because dissatisfied clients can sue. For example if you advertise yourself as a counsellor and your client finds out that you do not belong to any recognized counselling organization, they may decide to accuse you of pretending to be something you are not and sue. Also it is unlikely that you will be able to get professional indemnity insurance (something that all counsellors/psychotherapists/psychologist have). I know that we have been talking about client’s vulnerability, but those who work in a counselling capacity are also venerable. Being sued is just one thing; there can be loads more issues.

endacl

kitkat.3b4t wrote: »

SergeyS, I thought that I will just add a note of caution. It’s something I mentioned earlier. If you are charging for a service it is advisable to be very careful regarding what you call yourself and the types of claims you make about your service, because dissatisfied clients can sue. For example if you advertise yourself as a counsellor and your client finds out that you do not belong to any recognized counselling organization, they may decide to accuse you of pretending to be something you are not and sue. Also it is unlikely that you will be able to get professional indemnity insurance (something that all counsellors/psychotherapists/psychologist have). I know that we have been talking about client’s vulnerability, but those who work in a counselling capacity are also venerable. Being sued is just one thing; there can be loads more issues.

It may be tricky to get professional indemnity insurance. I don't recall seeing a box to tick marked 'I'm not sure what I do but I think it's kinda counsellingy'.