University of Portsmouth Open Experience Day
28 Feb 2026, 08:30
Portsmouth

If you have a background in counselling or psychology and want to gain the practical knowledge and interpersonal skills you need to pursue a career as a humanistic therapist, this Humanistic Counselling DipHE is ideal.
Humanistic therapy focuses on the whole person. Humanistic counselling encourages people to think about their feelings and take responsibility for their actions. It focuses on helping them reach their potential rather than highlighting their problems.
In year 1, you'll develop foundational counselling skills and explore all the counselling approaches available to practitioners, including gestalt counselling and cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT).
In your second year, you'll focus on developing the practical skills you need as a humanistic counsellor, putting what you learn into practice by conducting 100 hours of supervised counselling. You'll also learn about mental health issues and develop skills you need to work with different types of clients.
When you complete the course, you could top up your diploma to a Bachelor's degree. You could also work as a humanistic counsellor in areas such as education, the police service, the prison service and the voluntary sector.
Alternative courses
This course shares the same 1st year modules as our DipHE Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and DipHE Gestalt Counselling.
It's simple to switch courses at the end of year 1 if you change your mind about which counselling specialism to study.
Location
This course takes place at South Hampshire College Group - Eastleigh Campus. While studying here, you can access the University's student support services and community including study support, the Students’ Union and our library's online resources.
What you'll experience
On this course you'll:
Learn from experienced, industry-trained staff who've worked in organisations or run their own private practices
Study modules that give you a strong foundation for your studies and future career, covering topics including counselling skills, ethics, counselling theory and professional skills and development
Focus on developing specialist humanistic counselling skills and knowledge in year 2
Apply your knowledge and skills with at least 100 hours of supervised counselling on a placement in the community
Build a foundation to help work towards a further professional accreditation with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) following completion of the course
Learn research skills, which you can apply in your career and in degree-level study after the course
Develop transferable skills you can apply in all aspects of your life and career in areas such as problem solving, communication, group working, planning, effective feedback and IT
Study at South Hampshire College Group - Eastleigh Campus with access to University of Portsmouth support and services
Apply for membership of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and get access to member resources including journal subscriptions, free courses and job boards
Careers and opportunities
Humanistic counselling can help people deal with difficulties including anxiety, depression, stress, self-confidence issues, bereavement, relationship difficulties or family problems.
Public, private and charity sector settings you could work in after the course include:
Education
Alcohol and drug services
Eating disorder services
Mental health services
GPs
Police and prison services
You could also top-up your diploma to a Bachelor's degree on our BSc (Hons) Humanistic Counselling top-up course.
When you complete the course successfully, you can sit the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Certificate of Proficiency to become a registered member of the BACP.
This course may be available at alternative locations, please check if other course options are available.
Course optionsThis section shows the range of grades students (with UK A-Levels or Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diplomas) who received offers were previously accepted with (learn more). It is designed to support your research but does not guarantee whether you will or won't get a place. Admissions teams consider various factors, including interviews, subject requirements, and entrance tests. Check all course entry requirements for eligibility.
We are unable to show previous accepted grades for this course. This could be because the course is new, it's a postgraduate course, there isn't enough historical data, or the provider has opted out of sharing their entry grades data for this course - learn more.
Choose a specific option to see funding information.
Course optionsUniversity of Portsmouth
Mercantile House
Hampshire Terrace
Portsmouth
PO1 2EG
Email:admissions@port.ac.uk
Phone:023 9284 5566