PGDip Counselling and Psychotherapy

Course Summary

This long-established and hugely popular course is fully accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). It is designed to provide training in an integrative approach to counselling and psychotherapy. It will enable you to develop your own synthesis within a framework which is not tied to a particular theoretical school or perspective. We follow current research into what actually works in counselling and psychotherapy, which means we use an integrative approach, employing a variety of techniques to respond to the needs and preferences of individual clients. Both qualifications entail completing 100 hours of supervised work, which will be undertaken on a placement which you have to secure for yourself. However, the school has established links with many agencies and practices where our students have worked over the years.

Your Future Career

In recent years, around half to two-thirds of students leave after completing their Diploma (which is the professional qualification), with the remainder staying on for a final year of MA study. In either case, you will be able to work towards the next level of professional standing by seeking individual accreditation within the BACP, which requires 450 hours of supervised working. Past students have attained this level two or three years after graduating. Even if you do not go on to work as a counsellor or psychotherapist, this course is a strong supplement and support for work you may already be doing in health, social care or education.

Completing the course often leads to career progression. Many past students have returned to previous jobs while establishing and developing their own counselling practice as a second strand to their careers. In several cases this has proved successful enough to become their main source of employment.

Students need 2.1 honours degree in any discipline. They will normally be expected to have Grade C in GCSE English and Maths. Applicants must have relevant clinical experience and the ability for self-managed learning and have adequate opportunities to carry out formal client work.