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It is very difficult to get a placement…
It is very difficult to get a placement in Northern Ireland and there is no assistance from Chrysalis on this crucial aspect of the course. I am a third year student on the Professional Diploma Course and I applied for my placement in August 2020 when everything was shut down due to the pandemic. I finally got an online clinically supervised placement with a company in Suffolk delivering counselling via zoom - I am in Belfast. Now with 65 hours practice - I am told that Chrysalis will demand that I also have face to face clinical hours but cannot yet tell me what proportion of the 100 hours must be face to face. I find myself looking for a second placement now to get my hours - without knowing how many I am likely to need. It feels like the goalposts have been moved very late in the game. Since module delivery went on line it has been very challenging for students as the learning experience is not what we expected or could have anticipated when enrolling. Chrysalis could make a gesture of recompense to students by refunding some of the course fee OR by even providing lunch/refreshments for the in person sessions which are now back on - albeit in a local hotel. It has been difficult to get telephone contact with anyone in Chrysalis too throughout the pandemic and since, but the staff I have interacted with have been friendly and helpful.