Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to complete our survey about how you鈥檝e coped with moving your practice online during this pandemic.
Your feedback is helping us understand what we can do to support you in your current ways of working as well as the CPD and resources we can produce to help you through and beyond these unprecedented times.
The survey is still open, but we鈥檝e looked at the preliminary results to let you know what some of the feedback has been so far.
We asked if you鈥檝e been able to continue practising during the pandemic and so far 88% of you said you鈥檝e been able to continue providing counselling and psychotherapy since the government restrictions came into place.
We鈥檝e introduced many key resources from what you鈥檝e been telling us you need. This includes moving your practice online, with 39% of those who responded telling us they intend to undertake training in online counselling.
However, 76% of those who have completed the survey have seen a decrease in the number of clients you鈥檙e seeing and 80% have reported a decrease in the number of referrals when compared to your usual circumstances. More than one in 10 of those who completed the survey (11.8%) say clients have raised issues relating to coronavirus 鈥榓ll the time鈥� in appointments, with one in three therapists (33.3%) saying the topic had come up 鈥榓 lot鈥�
While these results are troubling, they highlight how vital the counselling and psychotherapy workforce is to help people through these exceptional times. This is why we鈥檙e calling on the Government to work with us to ensure there is a workforce to deliver a comprehensive mental health response to the crisis. So far the campaign, launched with BPC and UKCP, has been backed by more than 10,000 people and supported by 24 organisations. We鈥檝e written to the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock MP, and relevant health and mental health ministers across each nation of the UK to reaffirm the critical role counselling and psychotherapy play in supporting the nation through the coronavirus crisis.
We鈥檙e still listening to your views and we鈥檒l update you more on the results once the survey closes. If you haven鈥檛 yet done so, please take a few moments to so we can continue to provide you with the support you need
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Guidance and resources for members
Sharing your experiences
Marking one year since the start of lockdown, we鈥檙e sharing your blogs about the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on you, your practice and your clients
Tackling the mental health consequences of coronavirus
Back our COVID-19 campaign to reaffirm the critical role that counselling and psychotherapy needs to play in supporting the nation through the coronavirus crisis and in helping to repair it afterwards.