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Home › How You Can Help › Become a Counselling Volunteer

Become a Counselling Volunteer

It’s a challenging role and not everyone can do it. The Road Victims Trust usually recruits new Counselling Volunteers each year and we would like to hear from anyone interested in finding out more about the role and the training we offer.

While rewarding, the role of a Road Victims Trust Counselling Volunteer is emotionally demanding. Our volunteers support people who have either experienced the sudden death of a loved one or the horror of being involved in a fatal or serious road collision. The work also encompasses support during the legal processes that follow in the wake of the collision.

Due to the nature of the emotional and practical support that the Counselling Volunteer undertakes we have in place a stringent recruitment and training process. An initial interview is carried out to assess if candidates are suitable for the rigours of the training course and as a prospective Counselling Volunteer. The interview is also your chance to check out if this work is for you.

Once the training course has been successfully completed our Counselling Volunteers are themselves supported by regular individual supervision, volunteer support group meetings and additional on-going training relevant to the work.

A Counselling Volunteer would be expected to have on average two clients a week. The majority of the work is undertaken as a one-hour home visit and so with travel, report writing, supervision and meetings about 6-8 hours per week is needed to fulfil the role.

Are you ready for the challenge?

You can find information about our training courses here… or contact us!

Telephone: 01234 843345 or Email: enquiries@rvtrust.co.uk

Counselling Volunteer Training

Counselling Volunteer Training

Message from a volunteer

I became a volunteer with RVT in 2004 and the more time I spend with clients the more I see the value of our service and the more passionately I believe in it.  

Like all of our volunteers, I generally have one to two clients at any one time whom I visit every week from between six months to two years or more. It is a privilege to be allowed into the very personal grief of a client’s life, sitting with them week after week, supporting them as they gradually, very gradually, begin to cope with and accommodate the tragedy that has befallen them. My experience as a volunteer helps me to help them understand, process and normalise the roller-coaster of emotions and feelings they are exposed to and demystify and prepare them for the alien world of police investigations, CPS, inquests and court proceedings they have been catapulted into.  

It is hard work and very tough at times but also satisfying to see clients gradually get to a place where they can begin to reconstruct a new normality for themselves. As well as weekly client visits, I submit reports after each session, attend volunteer support meetings, and continue with appropriate training within RVT. Most important of all is my regular supervision with one of our hard-working and always-available coordinators where I can share my own feelings and get their wisdom and direction.   

It is a privilege to support our clients and be involved with the RVT.