Why We Don’t Maintain A Waiting List
Waiting lists for counselling are often spoken about, particularly within the NHS, where waiting lists are prolonged, which can lead to worse mental health outcomes. As most of our therapists work in an open-ended way, keeping a waiting list feels unfair, and with the indefinite way this works, we have to ask, is it morally and ethically to do so?
Years ago, our manager kept a waiting list, especially for those requiring concessions; however, managing this became overwhelming with the need to constantly juggle the administrative side, manage expectations and provide a waiting period of time to hear back before moving on to the next person became a logistical nightmare and managing this at a centre would be incredibly difficult.
Ian & Lisa opened Phoenix Counselling in May 2022, following the closure of the centre they worked at post-pandemic. They both wanted to continue to offer face-to-face appointments, originally deciding to share a room, as more centres closed their doors, several therapists asked if they could use our rooms for their face-to-face clients. The plans changed, and we became a centre. The infrastructure of Phoenix, and being a member of the team, makes it impossible for us to maintain a waiting list.
To be a member of our team, each therapist provides:
❓Copies of qualifications
❓Proof of insurance
❓DBS
❓Hold membership with NCPS, UKCP or BACP
Although we advertise as a team, the centre is used only as a base, with each therapist working independently (self-employed). meaning:
❓Set their own working hours
❓Fees/Payment arrangements
❓Manage their own client appointments/lists
AND
❓Will independently advertise themselves
It would be easy to say this doesn’t impact clients wishing to return to therapy with the same therapist!
Most therapists have a maximum number of people they can see per week, at times this could be dramatically reduce because:
The therapist is carrying out additional training and to ensure they are meeting their course requirements they reduce client hours to avoid burnout
Personal Circumstances, this could include family obligations, family emergencies or their own health
Portfolio of client work - e.g. They have reduced client hours due to current client presenting issues and want to ensure ethical working and burnout
Although in an ideal world, if you are a returning client, a therapist will have space, unfortunately, this is not always the case, particularly when they work in an open-ended. Therapists know the maximum number of clients they can see, which will not be detrimental to their own health and well-being, and if they’ve reached that number, it would be unethical to work beyond their capacity.
With availability changing often, and with open ended therapy meaning therapists can often know their diary months and sometimes years in advance, asking someone to wait indefinitely is unfair. When someone asking for help is needing it now not when one of the team has availability in the future.
If your availabilty is limited or if you have specific requirements that mean we are unable to allocate you we will let you know as soon as possible.