Counselling & Psychotherapy BA (Hons)
UCAS code: BC98
Gain experience with real clients using a person-centred experiential (PCE) model of therapy on our counselling and psychotherapy degree. Learn to help people confront and conquer challenges they face and graduate ready for a rewarding career as a PCE therapist.
Overview
| Course length: | 3 years full-time |
|---|---|
| Start dates: | September 2023 |
| Location: | Edge Hill University |
| Example offers: | BCC-BBC (A Level) or DMM (BTEC) View full entry criteria |
| Subject(s): | Counselling and Psychotherapy |
| Faculty: | Health, Social Care and Medicine |
| Department: | Allied Health, Social Work and Wellbeing |
Work with real clients and apply your skills. Develop emotional and relational awareness. Discover how to practice within a person-centred experiential (PCE) model of therapy.
It’s important that you understand your own emotional development during your training. That’s why we provide you with £500 towards therapy in your first year, plus an additional £500 in years two and three for your individual external supervision.
You’ll develop excellent knowledge and practical skills, using research-informed and person-centred experiential models. From supervised sessions with clients to practice-based training, our expert staff will support you throughout your learning journey.
On successful completion of this degree, you will be professionally qualified as a counsellor and psychotherapist. Whatever your next steps are, you’ll have the empathic listening abilities to help people and practise as a PCE therapist.
If you’re looking to enter the helping professions and supporting others without becoming a qualified counsellor, take a look at our BSc (Hons) Critical Approaches to Counselling & Psychotherapy.
Course features
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International students can apply
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Professional practice placements
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Sandwich year option available
What you'll study
Start practising your counselling with support from students and staff. They’ll observe you and offer constructive feedback. Key aspects of the year are self-awareness and emotional insight. Through personal development sessions, you’ll learn the importance of being in groups, encountering and learning with others, and becoming more emotionally aware. Theories of psychotherapeutic change will inform your practice, and you’ll study counselling ethics to get ready for working with clients.
Offer individual therapy to real clients in practice-based learning groups, learning experientially with students and working with tutors. You’ll explore your own emotional process in relation to the issues clients present in therapy, and learn how to adapt your responses in order to meet their needs. In all modules, there’s an experiential approach to practice-based learning. And weekly personal development groups will provide a learning space for exploring your own emotional awareness.
During Year 3 of the counselling and psychotherapy degree, there’s more supervised client work and your tutors will continue to offer you their feedback. You’ll develop a critically reflexive approach to practice in process groups and student-led seminars. The programme ends with a dissertation, where you’ll focus on a vocational interest or concern with the support of your academic supervisors.
How you'll study
This programme is delivered utilising a variety of teaching and learning approaches, including facilitated workshops, counselling skills practice sessions, group discussions, process groups, tutorials and student-led seminars. An experiential learning approach is adopted in order to support self-reflective practice.
You will be required to undertake counselling placements in years 2 and 3, completing a minimum of 15 hours of client work in Year 2 and a minimum of 100 hours of client work in Year 3. This will entail providing one-to-one therapy with actual clients and will be a supervised practice, ensuring you gain the necessary professional experience to become a competent practitioner.
You will be responsible for travel and parking costs while on placement or attending external supervision.
How you'll be assessed
A variety of assessment techniques are used including presentations, vivas, seminars and written assignments. Formative assessment is incorporated to support achievement and confidence with the opportunity for constructive feedback prior to any summative submission.
There are no formal written examinations as part of the current assessment methods on this programme.
Who will be teaching you
You will be taught by a highly qualified team with vast experience in the field of counselling and research methods. The degree is led by a programme leader and each module has an individual module coordinator. You will also be assigned a Personal Tutor to support your learning experience. You will have access to excellent library facilities and Library and Learning Services support. Guest speakers with specialised knowledge will also enhance your learning experience.
Entry criteria
Entry requirements
Typical offer 104-112 UCAS Tariff points. No specific subjects are required.
An interview forms part of the selection process.
If you accept a formal offer from Edge Hill University you will be required to apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Enhanced Disclosure indicating that you meet the mandatory criteria of ‘Clearance to Work with Children and/or Vulnerable Adults’. Further information will be sent to you after you have firmly accepted an offer.
Example offers
| Qualification | Requirement |
|---|---|
| A Level | BCC-BBC. |
| BTEC Extended Diploma (or combination of BTEC QCF qualifications) | Distinction, Merit, Merit (DMM). |
| T Level | Overall grade of Merit. |
| International Baccalaureate (IB) | We are happy to accept IB qualifications which achieve the required number of UCAS Tariff points. |
| Access to Higher Education Diploma | 45 credits at Level 3, for example 9 credits at Distinction and 36 credits at Merit or 15 credits at Distinction and 30 credits at Merit. The required total can be attained from various credit combinations. |
Please note, the above examples may differ from actual offers made. A combination of A Level and BTEC awards may also be accepted.
If you have a minimum of two A Levels (or equivalent), there is no maximum number of qualifications that we will accept UCAS points from. This includes additional qualifications such as Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), AS Levels that haven't been continued to A Level, and General Studies AS or A Level awards.
English language requirements
International students require IELTS 6.0, with a score no lower than 5.5 in each individual component, or an equivalent English language qualification.
If your current level of English is half a band, one band, or one-and-a-half bands lower, either overall or in one or two elements, you may want to consider our Pre-Sessional English course.
How to apply
Apply full-time
Read our guide to applying through UCAS to find out more about the application process.
International
Please see our international student pages for further information about how to apply as a prospective international student.
Should you accept an offer of a place to study with us and formally enrol as a student, you will be subject to the provisions of the regulations, rules, codes, conditions and policies which apply to our students. These are available at www.edgehill.ac.uk/studentterms.
If you join a full time undergraduate degree at Edge Hill University, we will guarantee you the offer of a room in our halls of residence for the first year of your course.
Discover our accommodation
Facilities
The Faculty of Health, Social Care and Medicine offers outstanding facilities for the education and training of health and social care professionals.
The contemporary teaching and learning resources include leading edge clinical skills facilities, an 860-seat lecture theatre, and a variety of teaching rooms and social learning spaces.
Where you'll study
Faculty of Health, Social Care and Medicine
Finance
Tuition fees
UK Full-Time
£9,250
a year
International
£15,500
a year
EU/EEA and Swiss students who have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, as well as Irish nationals, may be eligible for the UK tuition fee rate.
Financial support
Subject to eligibility, UK students joining this course can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan from the Government to cover the full cost of tuition fees. UK students enrolling on the course may also be eligible to apply for additional funding to help with living costs.
Please view the relevant Money Matters guide for comprehensive information about the financial support available to eligible UK students.
EU/EEA and Swiss students who have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme may be eligible to apply for financial support. Irish nationals can ordinarily apply to Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI). If you are an EU student who does not have settled or pre-settled status, or are an international student from a non-EU country, please see our international student finance pages.
Your future career
Completing this course will enable you to provide therapeutic support for people using empathic listening skills. You will be professional qualified as a counsellor and psychotherapist, but you’ll have developed transferable skills that are useful across many other careers too.
Our graduates go on to become person-centred experiential counsellors and psychotherapists, working in counselling organisations or setting up their own private practices. Others pursue further study with postgraduate courses and PhDs.
Lifelong learning is a big part of our graduates’ careers and continuing professional development (CPD) training is encouraged. Whatever your next steps are, you’ll have developed transferable skills like communication and active listening that are useful across many careers.
