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A feasibility study of the systematic evaluation of client outcomes in a voluntary sector counselling agency
Author(s) -
Gardiner Christine,
McLeod John,
Hill Irene,
Wigglesworth Andrea
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
counselling and psychotherapy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.38
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1746-1405
pISSN - 1473-3145
DOI - 10.1080/14733140312331384283
Subject(s) - voluntary sector , agency (philosophy) , turnover , work (physics) , business , service (business) , public relations , marketing , political science , management , engineering , mechanical engineering , philosophy , epistemology , economics
There is an increasing demand on voluntary sector counselling agencies to evaluate the effectiveness of their work with clients. A pilot study was carried out in a voluntary sector counselling agency to assess the feasibility of adopting a well‐established evaluation system (CORE) designed to measure client outcomes. The paper describes the issues and complexities involved in introducing such a system, and explores the impact of the evaluation on counsellors, staff and users of the service. It is suggested that evaluation can play an important role within voluntary organisations in enabling counsellors and staff to reflect on their work.