Gonna have a little rant! Isn’t it shocking how almost half of counsellors say finding employment is their biggest challenge? Isn’t is shocking how just 9% of Counsellors earn more than £30k per year? Isn’t it shocking how 25% of Counsellors are unpaid? Isn’t it shocking how 1/

52% of those who are paid earn less than £10k per year? Isn’t it shocking how when I tweeted some of these stats before the Bacp workforce lead who has been employed by bacp to deal with this tweeted me to ask where I’d got these figures from? Answer - bacp members survey! 2/

Isn’t it shocking that to be a counsellor you ‘usually’ have to be in a position where you can afford not to earn, that this dilutes diversity in the profession? That it stops ‘poor’ people from training, or other disadvantaged groups? That ultimately it takes away client 3/

choice? All of this info is available on the bacp website. You’ll also find the views of many therapists, who suggest that Counsellors should work for free, their reasons I find highly insulting! But you can read and judge for yourself here: 4/

https://www.bacp.co.uk/about-us/about-bacp/2017-bacp-membership-survey/

https://www.bacp.co.uk/bacp-journals/therapy-today/2018/april-2018/working-for-free/

https://www.bacp.co.uk/bacp-journals/therapy-today/2018/march-2018/going-it-alone/

https://www.bacp.co.uk/bacp-journals/therapy-today/2017/march-2017/is-counselling-womens-work/

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Have a read, it’s interesting stuff! The question is, what can we do about this? @UK_Counsellors are fighting to try and change this, but we are often looked down upon, challenged and ignored by those who either 1) should be working to change this or 2) people who think 6/

counsellors should work for free. We’re also often ignored by those who take our words from our website and pass our work off as their own. For example, in 2017 we coined the term ‘cycle of counsellor exploitation’ - many now use this but don’t credit it to us, why? One 7/

thing which stands out to me, and it is controversial to say, but I’ll say it anyway, is that CTUK is ran by women and we all know that men are usually leaders in the counselling professions (see bacp link above). Myself and others at CTUK have often been subject to abuse from 8/

male Counsellors. I’ve had male Counsellors tell me I’m a ‘man hater’ as no men run CTUK, that I’m a bully and a trouble starter. I’ve had men question me publicly and ask what I’m doing to include men - we always include men, we ask men to be involved 9/

all the time, and many are - but they don’t see this. With all of this, I have to wonder of how much we are ignored is a result of us being a women led organisation? I think that’s a valid question to ask. But for now, we’ll keep plodding onwards.... changes take time to 10/

make and we’re in this for the long run. Because ALL Counsellors should be bloody well paid! And no, we’re not against volunteers, we see the value in volunteering, what we are against is the exploitation which often goes hand in hand with this. 11/11