This is a 4 year part-time degree and a recognised professional counselling qualification in which you will develop the skills and awareness necessary to be an effective and ethical counsellor in a range of settings.

A central feature of this programme is the emphasis on personal development and self awareness, particularly in issues of equality, diversity and inclusion. The course is delivered through a range of small and large group work, individual reflection, counselling practice and theoretical learning, and is firmly rooted in professional practice. You will undertake a counselling placement with an agency of your choice alongside your studies in years 2 to 4. This allows for rich learning and means you will be applying and developing your theoretical and practical knowledge as you work with clients.

Being an ethical counsellor means having a deep understanding of the philosophical, theoretical and research basis of your therapeutic work. The core model of this course is Humanistic and Relational and is grounded in the Person-centred approach. From this foundation, you will be introduced to other perspectives that will enable you to integrate a range of ways of working therapeutically, from humanistic, experiential, psychodynamic and creative therapeutic approaches.

The course will be delivered face-to-face on Thursdays from 10am – 5pm with occasional weekend workshops. In addition, students will need to do at least 4 hours study time per week, 20 hours of personal therapy over the 4 years and a minimum of 100 hours in a counselling placement from years 2 to 4, with fortnightly clinical supervision. We welcome applications from anyone who will be able to commit to these sessions.

Entry requirements are flexible. A level 3 academic qualification (or equivalent) is preferred.

The application form invites you to provide a reflective statement and, if invited to interview, you will be assessed in a group discussion exercise and a written task. If you have not studied for some time, we may require further evidence of your study skills in order to demonstrate your readiness for this BA (Hons) programme.

The degree is designed to be fully supportive to those who are new to university study, whatever your age or or background, and we welcome people who may have felt marginalised or excluded from higher education.

This programme is a professional qualification and will qualify you for work in the counselling field.

The clinical placements on the course are good preparation for this. Students have gained experience from placements in specialist agencies including domestic violence and sexual assault organisations, hospices, community-based charities (e.g. MIND), the criminal justice system, and student counselling services.

Developments in counselling and mental health services mean they require practitioners with a varied and deep understanding of an increasing amount of mental health issues and awareness of techniques to support clients. This course enables you to develop those skills, and is designed to prepare you thoroughly for the opportunities and challenges emerging in counselling and allied professions.

Career Pathways

Some of our graduates go on to find employment at their placement agency, others have gained roles in school settings, the NHS, further and higher education, agencies, the voluntary sector and as independent practitioners.

In the UK, many graduates enter professions where any degree would be acceptable and so alternative career pathways could include:

• Careers in Social Care - Social work, family support worker
• Advice work - Housing support worker, welfare advice worker
• Youth & Community work - Youth project worker, youth development lead, young person’s mentor
• Education - Learning mentor, student counsellor, schools' wellbeing advisor
• Charity - Community case worker, women’s refugee worker, charity graduate trainee
• Health - Sexual health adviser, wellbeing practitioner
• Community & Criminal Justice - Criminal justice support worker, probation officer

Some of these roles may be accessed directly after completing your degree, as part of an employed graduate scheme, or may require further study and professional qualification.

Helping you find the right career 

Our department has a dedicated professionally qualified Senior Careers Consultant who offers one-to-one impartial advice and guidance. Students also have access to a range of workshops and career events. Previous events have included

• careers with children and young people
• careers in not for profit
• careers in social justice
• Warwick careers fairs throughout the year
• effective CVs & applications.

Find out more about careers supportLink opens in a new window at Warwick.

Throughout this programme, you will develop your ability to work in counselling and psychotherapy, by developing your knowledge and skills in counselling practice, counselling theory and self-awareness, and becoming an independent, ethical and reflective practitioner.

The core model is Humanistic and Relational. The foundation of this model is the person-centred approach which establishes the necessary conditions for therapeutic change and growth. From this foundation, you will be introduced to other perspectives that will enable you to integrate a range of ways of working therapeutically, from humanistic, experiential, psychodynamic and creative therapeutic approaches.

Your personal and academic learning will be well supported by peers, tutors and specialists in academic study skills. All tutors are qualified and practicing counsellors and psychotherapists and bring their own rich experiences to their teaching. You will also develop:

• An in-depth understanding of the underlying philosophy and theories of a relational approach to counselling
• An understanding of how to apply theory to counselling
• A clearer understanding, and awareness of, your own attitudes and behaviour with other people
• An ethical and reflective approach to practice with supervised client work in placements
• Insight into counselling and psychotherapy professional developments, as well as the work of other mental health professionals
• An understanding of the importance of working equitably with difference and diversity in counselling and psychotherapy, including race, culture, gender, sexuality, age, social class and neurodiversity

• Confidence in how to use research, building towards doing a full empirical research project in Year 4, based on a theme relevant to Counselling and Psychotherapy that you are interested in.

As part of the course, you will learn about counselling agencies and how they run, and will start to build a professional network. Alongside your studies, in years 2 to 4 you will find a counselling placement of your choosing and gain a minimum of 100 hours of counselling practice in an agency of your choosing. This will also involve regular supervision with a qualified clinical supervisor, either within your agency or independently.

You will also undertake a minimum of 20 hours your own counselling as part of your personal development over the 4 years, and will have many opportunities to develop your self awareness.

This is a professional course and so is an opportunity to practise and study at the same time.

 In your first year, as you develop your counselling skills, you will do a case study of a counselling agency to understand policies, procedures and the issues facing agencies and their clients. This helps you prepare for your counselling placement, which you are required to take on from year 2 until completion of the course, completing a minimum of 100 hours.

You will have the opportunity to work in a number of different placements giving you a rich variety of experience. Students have found placements agencies in a variety of well supported settings, including the NHS, schools, colleges, universities and community agencies.

Although it is your responsibility to find your placements, we have a strong relationship with many placement providers in the region, and can provide you with their contact details.

The placement hours required to be completed by students are in addition to the weekly course attendance and are as follows (students must ensure they can commit to these additional time commitments):

• Years 2- 4 - 100 counselling placement hours + fortnightly supervision
• Plus 20 hours minimum personal therapy across the whole course

Students will find their own placements with support from the course team.

Application

Applications are now open for par-time September 2023 start, which will close on Monday 10 July 2023. Applications made before Monday 22 May 2023 are guaranteed to be considered. Apply now.

Note

This course requires students to share information of a personal nature, and dual relationships (where a student knows another person well outside the course) can significantly disrupt the personal and professional development of the students concerned and impact the whole group. We, therefore, reserve the right to defer an applicant’s place on the course, if there is deemed to be two or more students who have a personal relationship joining the course. In these circumstances, the applicant who made the earliest application will be offered the place first, and the other applicant deferred to start in the following academic year.

Before you apply

Join an online Taster Session on Tuesday 25 April 2023 at 12:00noon-12:45 or 16:30-17:15. Experience the course for yourself, meet course teaching fellows and other applicants, and ask any questions you might have!

• Sign up for 12:00-12:45
• Sign up for 16:30-17:15

Tuition fees for Home/EU Students in 2022/23 are as follows:

£4,620 (90 credits) - year 1
*The University will charge Home students £1,540 for each 30 credit module in 2021-22. Fees for subsequent years of the course are to be confirmed.

See Student fees and funding for more information and view potential additional fees.

Additional Fees specific to this programme

• DBS (enhanced) £47.20 for 2 years, students can then choose to renew annually or bi-annually (TBC for 2021)
• Student membership of BACP £82 annually (or £41 reduced fee if eligible)
• Residential weekend approx. £300 (held in year 1 only)
• Professional indemnity insurance £54-£85 annually
• Placement supervision costs vary but are usually within the range of £60-£100 per hour (in years 2-4). Fortnightly supervision is required by BACP. These costs are influenced by market forces and may increase over the period of the course.
• Personal therapy £35-£55 per hour (min of 20 hours over the whole course)
• Travel costs to and from placements
• There is a well stocked library with the core course reading, however you may wish to purchase your own text books.
• The course includes elements of blended learning so therefore you will require access to a computer/laptop, headphones and a built in or plug in webcam.

The University of Warwick is not currently sponsoring students on part time or distance learning courses with a Tier 4 visa and so if you require a visa to study a part time/distance learning course in the UK which is longer than 6 months, you may wish to consult the 'right to study' page on our Student Immigration & Compliance website: https://warwick.ac.uk/study/international/immigration/othervisas/whatvisa before you make an application.

The course starts with a compulsory induction residential weekend held at the University, on Saturday 30th September and Sunday 1 October 2023.

Classes will take place on Thursdays between 10am-5pm at Westwood campus, University of Warwick.

There will also be one or two Saturday workshops each year; in the first year this will be on 20^th January 2024. Further dates are to be confirmed.

Hear from Phil Goss, course director introducing the degree.

This video was recorded on Teams in 2021.

As a new degree, the course is working towards accreditation for British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)*.

University of Warwick has a strong history of delivering accredited counselling courses since 2006. Our BA (Hons.) Person Centred Counselling and the Psychotherapeutic Relationship BACP accreditation has been renewed for a further 5 years in 2022, rewarding the high standard of ethical and professional practice we offer.

*BACP requires new courses to be taught through once before accreditation can be finalised and approved. University of Warwick is in contact with the BACP accreditation team in their development and delivery of this new course. Their accreditation assessors are looking forward to visiting during the final year of the first cohort of students in order to complete the accreditation process. Although, there is no guarantee that the course will be accredited, BACP and the course team are working together towards this outcome and confidently anticipate that the course accreditation process will be completed by Summer 2025. This training course meets the training part of the eligibility criteria for graduates to become individual members of BACP and go on to become individually accredited by BACP.