Training, Communication, and Information Needs of Mental Health Counselors in the United Kingdom

OBJECTIVE: This national cross-sectional survey investigated the communication and information needs of mental health counselors in the United Kingdom as well as the difficulty these professionals experienced in obtaining help from other mental health care providers. METHODS: Mailed questionnaires were sent to a random sample of 400 registered counselors. A total of 230 counselors returned the questionnaire, for a response rate of 58 percent. Descriptive statistics, correlations, and multiple logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the results. RESULTS: The respondents reported being in contact mostly with other counselors, general practitioners, and psychiatrists. Most of the respondents (80 percent) reported other counselors to be quite or extremely helpful when consulted; the proportions were much lower for other types of practitioners, especially general practitioners and psychiatrists. Reported barriers to coordination of counseling services included lack of time and communication problems with other professionals. A total of 160 respondents (70 percent) reported not having the necessary training or skills for managing severe cases of mental illness, and 168 (73 percent) indicated that they had a need for information about mental illness. Predictors of information needs were a lack of the necessary skills for managing severe cases, contact with mostly other counselors, and a desire for information about illness, the services of voluntary agencies (agencies with charity status and other nonstatutory organizations), and mental health law. CONCLUSIONS: This survey highlighted the importance of meeting the information, communication, and training needs of mental health counselors in the United Kingdom in order for counselors to provide high-quality counseling services.