Rachel: Honorary Counsellor

Hove YMCA CounsellorsHove YMCA Therapeutic Services has over 20 honourary counsellors giving their time for free to the counselling service both in schools and the community. Rachel explains what she's gained from her time volunteering.

 

Interview with Rachel

Haeji: What would you normally do on a volunteering day?
Rachel: I'm an honorary counsellor, currently at the Youth Advice Centre. I do 3 hours a week with 13-25 year olds who have been referred for up to 12 sessions of counselling.

Haeji: What other things, if any, do you do with Hove YMCA?
Rachel: Before being at the Youth Advice Centre, I was based in a school as a counsellor.

Haeji: What do you do outside of Hove YMCA?
Rachel: Well in terms of hobbies, I like cycling and swimming in the sea!

Haeji: How did you first get involved with Hove YMCA?
Rachel: I needed a placement for my counselling diploma at Brighton University, to have some practice hours. My course let me know which organisations I could work with and I was interested in young people cos my day job is working with 16 year olds.

Haeji: What's the best thing about volunteering?
Rachel: It' good career development - that might sound a bit selfish! Part of my training requires a certain number of hours, so the Youth Advice Centre gives me that opportunity.

Haeji: Is there anything you've found difficult or challenging about volunteering?
Rachel: There have been difficulties related to counselling. When I was in the school, it was challenging going back into the school environment and took me back to my own school experiences. In the Youth Advice Centre, a lot of the clients are fairly vulnerable and it's about engaging with sensitive and often disturbing issues.

Haeji: What's the most fun bit about volunteering?
Rachel: There are definitely all the rewarding sides. We have meetings, like at Christmas, where we get together. It's good to relax and talk with the other members of the Youth Advice team.

Haeji: What's the most important thing you've learnt from volunteering?
Rachel: I think in terms of volunteering its about how important it is to be consistent. It's not just volunteering, you need to turn up every week because it's an important service - so you need to be reliable.

Haeji: What are you looking forward to doing next?
Rachel: My aim is to get paid employment with the Youth Advice Centre - so volunteering is a springboard into that.

Haeji: Do you think you've gained any skills/learnt new things in any way? (Improved confidence, skills, etc)
Rachel: Totally - the counselling skills I've learnt are irreplaceable. Also learning about the supervision relationship and making contacts, being part of the larger counselling community. So my identity as a counsellor.

Haeji: Do you have any advice/comments for someone who would like to do volunteering?
Rachel: Make sure you're getting out of it what you need as well. You need to make sure it's meeting your needs as well because that's the only way it's going to be sustainable. So something you really engage with and can help you as a person.

Haeji: How would you sum up your volunteering experience in 3 words?
Rachel: Good career development

Interview with Line Manager, Shelley Holland

Haeji: What & where is the service you provide?
Shelley: We provide counselling in schools and community settings across Brighton & Hove and West Sussex.

Haeji: How long has the volunteer been working for your service?
Shelley: A couple of years

Haeji: What work does the volunteer do?
Shelley: Rachel sees 3 clients a week every Monday evening. She does roughly 12 sessions with each, attends supervision fortnightly to discuss client work and team meetings.

Haeji: How has the volunteer contributed to your service?
Shelley: She contributes passion, energy and commitment, without which we would not be able to provide such a professional service. The young people we see at the Youth Advice Centre can be very chaotic as they are generally a bit older. They may be homeless, have experience child abuse, bullying and family issues. They can be a person without much support around them and so we're doing very important work. The fact that Rachel puts herself up for this work is outstanding.

Haeji: What do you think the volunteer has gained/learnt from their experience? (Improved confidence, skills, etc)
Shelley: Rachel would probably say herself that she has leanrt a lot about how to work with young people. She has gained confidence and experience in different settings. She's going to an all-round brilliant counsellor for young people.

Haeji: How would your service manage without volunteers?
Shelley: Oh my goodness - it wouldn't manage at all! At the Youth Advice Centre, most of our clinical work is done by volunteer honorary counsellors in training. We're especially lucky with Rachel because she is a qualified counsellor and she's still giving her time for free!

Return to main article.

In partnership with: