What does the course cover?

At a Glance

The course covers everything a counsellor needs to work safely and ethically with clients remotely — from setting up your practice for online work, through the specific dynamics of video, telephone, and text-based modalities, to the ethical and legal considerations that underpin them.

Core areas covered

The course is structured around the BACP competence framework for online and telephone counselling. Key areas include:

Setting up your online practice

• Creating a safe, professional online counselling environment

• Practical considerations of your physical space and your digital setup

• Choosing platforms and tools that meet ethical and legal standards

Working across modalities

• Video counselling — the specific dynamics of seeing clients on screen

• Telephone counselling — working without visual cues, voice as primary tool

• Text-based work — synchronous and asynchronous text counselling

Ethics and legal considerations

• Ethical principles applied to remote practice

• Confidentiality, consent, and contracting in online environments

• Working within professional body frameworks (BACP, NCPS, and others)

• Insurance, supervision, and accountability when working online

Risk and safeguarding

• Assessing risk in remote settings — what's different from face-to-face

• Managing crisis situations when you can't be in the room

• Safeguarding considerations specific to online and telephone work

• Working with vulnerable clients remotely

Technology and data protection

• UK GDPR and data protection in the context of counselling

• Choosing and using platforms safely

• Recordings, transcripts, and digital notes

• Tech anxiety and how to develop confidence with the tools

Buddy work

• Real practice working through online and telephone sessions with a peer of your own choosing

• Reflective work on your developing online style

Why the breadth matters

Online and telephone counselling is not just face-to-face work delivered through a screen. It has its own dynamics, risks, and ethical considerations. The course covers all of them — not as theoretical extras, but as core content for practitioners who want to work safely.

Want to know more?

You can see full course details — including upcoming intake dates, current pricing, and the course handbook — at the Certificate in Online and Telephone Counselling page.

If you have a specific question we haven't answered here, email us at support@counsellingtutor.com — a real person will reply within 24 hours.