Bridging the Gap between Education and Lived Experience
Practicum Students & Student Placements at A Positive Start CIC
At A Positive Start CIC, we champion the creation of safe, non-judgmental, trauma-informed environments where individuals feel acknowledged, understood, and supported as part of their healing journey. These values shape not only the support we offer to our community, but also the learning environment we create for students.
To nurture the next generation of trauma-informed practitioners, we offer counselling practicum placements for students seeking meaningful experience and professional development within a supportive community setting. As a recognised practicum placement site, we take professional responsibility for our students through regular supervision, ongoing support, routine evaluation of clinical practice, and weekly face-to-face consultation.
When funding permits, counselling with a student counsellor is offered free of charge for people on low or no income. At times when funded places are not available, we request a minimum donation of £10 per session to help contribute towards service costs and sustain access to support within the community. This reduced-cost option is intended for those who would otherwise find it difficult to access counselling. We always share updates on our website when funded places become available again.
Alongside delivering supervised counselling sessions, placement students at A Positive Start CIC are welcomed as part of a wider wellbeing community. Students may also have opportunities to contribute to psychoeducational activity, workshops, and community wellbeing spaces that help reduce isolation, strengthen confidence, and support earlier access to emotional wellbeing support across the Scottish Borders. This reflects our commitment to prevention, relational safety, and accessible support in rural communities.
We work collaboratively with our students to design counselling sessions and match them with clients appropriate to their stage of training, ensuring placements feel both supportive and professionally stretching.
As A Positive Start CIC develops its wellbeing community at Harestanes, placement students also become part of a wider trauma-informed environment where connection, psychoeducation, and early access to support are central. Alongside one-to-one counselling work, there may be opportunities to contribute to workshops, wellbeing activities, and community spaces that help reduce isolation and strengthen confidence in seeking support across the Scottish Borders.
The practicum experience at A Positive Start CIC is designed to balance flexibility with responsibility, helping students grow into confident, ethical practitioners while remaining grounded in relational, person-centred values. To provide the highest level of support for both students and clients, placement numbers are intentionally kept small.
If you would like to find out more, please contact us at info@apositivestart.org.uk
, use our contact page, or submit an application using the web form below and we will be in touch
What we sometimes call attention-seeking behaviour from a ventral perspective is often connection-seeking from a place of fear — whether expressed through sympathetic distress or dorsal withdrawal.
What we sometimes call attention-seeking behaviour from a ventral perspective is often connection-seeking from a place of fear — whether expressed through sympathetic distress or dorsal withdrawal.
— Deborah J Crozier, Founder & Managing Director
