What is the buddy work component?

At a Glance

The course includes buddy work — practical sessions you arrange with someone of your own choosing to test out the practical and technical elements of the course. You find your own buddy: a peer, colleague, friend, or anyone in your network who can help you practise.

Why this matters

Most online counselling CPD stops at theory. You watch the videos, read the content, do an assessment, collect a certificate — and never actually practise working online.

This course is built differently. Practising the work — actually setting up an online session, contracting, conducting it, reflecting — is part of the course design. You can't get fully comfortable with online and telephone counselling until you've tried it. So the course expects you to try it before you take the work to real clients.

How buddy work actually works

You arrange buddy sessions yourself, with whoever suits you, at times that work for you both. The course doesn't pair you with anyone — that's deliberately your decision. Your buddy can be:

• A counselling colleague — perhaps another practitioner you already know

• A peer — someone else also exploring online practice

• A friend — anyone willing to help you practise the technical and practical elements

• A fellow course member — there's an optional Facebook group linked to the course where some members connect with others, but it isn't the primary or required route

The point is that the buddy work is for your own learning, on your own terms. You bring the relationship; the course gives you the framework for what to practise.

What you might practise together

The course gives you the content and reflection prompts. With your buddy, you might:

• Set up an online session — platform, contracting, the practicalities

• Try the work from both sides — alternating roles so you experience it as practitioner and as the person on the receiving end

• Reflect on what you noticed — about yourself, the dynamic, and the medium

• Apply specific frameworks and skills from the course

The depth and pace are entirely up to you and your buddy.

If you're not sure where to find a buddy

Many members find buddies through their existing professional networks — a colleague from training, someone in their peer group, a fellow practitioner from supervision. There's also an optional Facebook group linked to the course where some members connect, but it isn't a requirement. If you find your own buddy from outside the course entirely, that works just as well.

If you'd like to talk through options, email support@counsellingtutor.com and the team will help you think it through.

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.