"A double-edged sword"? The professionalisation of counselling in the United Kingdom

Drawing on interviews with practitioners involved in voluntary-sector counselling in Scotland, this paper explores contradictions associated with the professionalisation of counselling in the UK. Five meanings of the term "professional" are identified. Those in support of professionalisation aim to bring these different meanings into close alignment, whereas those with reservations point to tensions between at least some of these meanings and core values of counselling. In conclusion the paper reflects on the possibility that counselling might contribute to a reshaping of what it means to be a profession.