Denmark’s Quality Counseling Model

In Denmark, about 5 years ago, we established an umbrella organisation for all NGO’s working with counselling both professionally and with volunteers. The organisation currently has 58 members, The Danish Cancer Society being one of them. The purpose of the organisation is to help us all focus on quality and learn from each other via different networks. As part of the quality work, they have developed what they call a “quality model”.  To be a member of the organisation and get their official quality stamp, we have to go through an accreditation process every third year.

The quality model

The quality model has five themes.

  1. Activity and target group. Within this theme we are asked in detail to describe exactly what we do and who can take part in the activities. We also have to demonstrate in what ways our counselling actually meets the need of our target group.
  2. Competence and skills. Here we are asked in detail to describe exactly which skills are needed to be a counsellor at The Cancer Helpline and how we make sure that new counsellors have and maintain the relevant and required skills.
  3. Professional approach and method. This theme addresses how we work, what exact methods we use, why we have chosen these methods and how they are helpful.
  4. Management and organisation. Here we are asked to describe how our work is organized and what measures we take in order to take proper care of our employees.
  5. Values, ethics, and legislation. The organisation must document that our values and ethics are described and accessible for everyone to see. And of course, we have to describe that we follow the law and take good care of the data we are entrusted.

The accreditation process

First step is to make a very thorough report describing all the themes mentioned above and including relevant appendixes.  Two auditors will read the material and visit us for an audit where they talk to both management and counsellors and watch the counsellors’ work. This is done to make sure that we actually do what we say that we do.  If the auditors are satisfied with what they see and what they hear, our case will be presented at a board meeting, where they evaluate the material and decide if we are qualified to have the quality stamp.

How is this valuable?

The process of describing what we do, how we do it and why we do it is very valuable. It gives us a mutual understanding of the purpose of our counselling. In order to produce all this material, we have to talk about our work and we have to be very precise to present what we do in writing. The process has on the one hand shown us what we are really good at and why what we do is important. On the other hand, it also points at areas of our work that could benefit from a little more attention.  All in all, such a process heightens the quality of what we do.

Submitted by: Marie lawaetz, mariel@cancer.dk