Adolescent counselling services in the voluntary sector

Aims and method While Youth Access attempts to organise voluntary counselling services for young people on a national level research describing such agencies is lacking. In order to investigate their activity with a view to multi-agency collaboration, a questionnaire was distributed to eight agencies in Hampshire. Results The responses demonstrate a strong emphasis on accessibility and informality. Although agencies have reported increasing numbers of service user contacts little attempt has been made to quantify and evaluate the service provided. Clinical implications Efforts to organise, evaluate and improve accountability in the voluntary sector might spoil these fundamental components for the disaffected adolescent.