Student Counsellor Placements

“Treetops offered everything I could have wanted – and more”

A placement at Treetops Counselling and Emotional Support Service offers a great opportunity to link skills and theoretical learning to professional therapeutic practice and offer on-going training opportunities, networking, and support. Treetops is a Centre of Excellence in the field of bereavement, loss and life-limiting work and work from a trauma-informed lens, aiming to provide an environment of learning and development within our field of expertise. We are able to support placements for student counsellors on an adult or children & young people’s pathway as we have an adult and children’s service (aged 7 upwards).

We are an organisational member of the BACP (British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy) and expect all counsellors to work within their Ethical Guidelines. Although we welcome students from all counselling modalities, the Counselling and Emotional Support Service works from the Person-Centred perspective.

Our organisation has the reputation of supporting a large body of volunteers and is backed up by an efficient administrative team. We have an excellent standing for providing a high quality professional service. This ensures that we get a good rate of referrals from GP’s, other health service professionals, social care and schools.

Students make a financial contribution of £50 per month. This goes towards the cost of providing individual supervision, a training programme, supporting their academic activities and preparing placement reports. This is payable by standing order for the duration of the placement.

Treetops offered everything I could have wanted

“Treetops offered everything I could have wanted – and more; a full, comprehensive induction, structured group and individual supervision, a supportive and experienced team. I also had a steady, reliable flow of clients suited to my competence and experience.

From the very first day, I felt I could trust the team to support me in any and every way. As a student, this is the most important thing a placement can offer. In entering the world of work as a qualified counsellor, I have come to appreciate the value of my placement at Treetops.”

Working with the team has given me the confidence to move into a professional role

“Its clear and thorough policies and procedures, and overall administrative and clinical systems have given me an incredibly strong foundation for learning new ways of working within a different counselling setting. Working with the Therapeutic Services team has given me the confidence to move into a professional role. I couldn’t be more grateful.

I will forever sing the praises of my placement at Treetops. I truly feel that without it, I would have found the transition from student to qualified counsellor, much more difficult. I would recommend the service as an excellent environment to learn and grow as a counsellor, both for students and volunteer counsellors.”

~ Chloe, Student Counsellor Testimonial

Next intake:

The closing date for the application form: Friday 8 August 2025

Interviews: Tuesday 2 September and Wednesday 3 September 2025

Induction: Friday 19 September and Saturday 20 September 2025 (Mandatory)

For more information, call Therapeutic Services on 0115 949 6944 or email cesadmin@treetopshospice.org.uk.