How do you get into Counselling or Psychotherapy?

For Counselling Psychology - do psychology first and then an MA/PhD in Counselling Psychology  - see our Psychology FAQ.

To get on to a postgraduate programme, it is likely that you will need relevant experience (e.g. volunteering with Samaritans or ISPCC who both give basic training, or a youth or other organisation particularly if they give training). It would also be very useful to have an introductory/basic counselling course. 

The Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy  (a national association allied with the European Association of Counselling www.eac.eu.com) accredit certain Counselling courses which are listed on their website.

It may also be possible to do a Masters programme in Psychotherapy. The unique feature of a Masters is accreditation from the European EAP European Association for Psychotherapy, which is the way practice is leaning. The process at the moment is in a state of development in establishing training standards to prepare for the statutory registration of Psychotherapists in Ireland. 

Masters are four years, these are open to most relevant degrees students and they also require some counselling practice. The masters involve both practice, training and theory. They run in two year cycles. There are 7 Masters in Counselling and Psychotherapy in Ireland:

• Turning Point (DCU) MSc Integrative Counselling & Psychotherapy  (4yrs)
  
• DCU Grad Dip/ Masters Psychotherapy (4yrs)
  
• UL Grad Dip/MA Integrative Psychotherapy: (4yrs)
  
• Cork Institute of Technology MA Integrative Psychotherapy (2yrs)
  
• University of Ulster - Jordanstown Grad Dip/ MSc Counselling & Therapeutic Communication (BACP accreditation)
  
• TCD MSc Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
  
• TCD Grad Dip/MSc Cognitive Psychotherapy
  

BACP accredited Masters Courses in the UK. There are currently no laws to state who can practice as a counsellor or psychotherapist in the UK, which make it quite difficult to advise on the actual training route to follow and why so many different sorts of courses within the profession exist.  All accredited courses work to a minimum standard of being either one year full-time or two years part-time basis, in Counselling, Psychotherapy and all require completion of a supervised placement as an integral part of the course. 

BACP is a professional body and ensures that all of its members have completed sufficient training to practice – search their accredited course list at http://www.bacp.co.uk/accreditation/ where there is also a large list of Postgraduate Diploma options. (Source:BACP British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy)

• University of Chester, MA in Clinical Counselling, part-time modular
• University of Derby, MSc in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy, 2 yr full-time / 3 yr part-time
• Birkbeck (University of London), MSc in Psychodynamic Counselling 3PT;
• MSc in Psychodynamic Counselling with Children and Adolescents 3PT
• Doncaster College at Birkbeck, London, MA in Relationship Therapy (Relate Institute)
• University of Greenwich, MSc in Therapeutic Counselling
• University of Manchester, MA in Counselling Studies
• University of Salford, Graduate Certificate in Counselling + yrs 1/2 of MSc Counselling & Psychotherapy
• University of Leicester, MA in Psychodynamic Counselling & Psychotherapy 3yrs part-time
• Keele University, MSc in Counselling Psychology 1 yr full-time; Professional Counselling Training Route
• Doncaster College (Yorkshire), MA in Relationship Therapy (Relate Institute)
• University of Leeds, MA in Psychotherapy and Counselling
• University of Wales, Newport, Professional Diploma in Counselling MA in Counselling (Cognitive Behavioural)

Allied careers:

What you mean by 'counselling' - is it helping people? You can do that in lots of ways....

• social care work, then a course in Applied Social Care would make sense.
• social work or community development, then it would be very important to get have a social science subject in your degree. However it can also be possible to do a postgraduate diploma in social policy (effectively a 'conversion course' for non social science students) and then apply for social work etc.
   
  

Details were correct at time of writing - December 2012. The Career Development Centre offers advice and information in good faith and based on the best information available to it. The Service does not accept any responsibility for any decisions made by individuals based on such advice or information. The Career Development Centre does not take responsibility for the contents of any sites linked to from its pages.
Please check with individual universities before applying for courses.

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