Counselling

This programme is quality assured by Middlesex University, and you will receive a Middlesex award on successful completion. The programme is also accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), and delivered at our Guildford College campus., The programme provides a learning opportunity to increase knowledge, develop understanding and prepare you for employment in the counselling profession and for membership of the BACP.

The BACP accredited FdSc in Counselling provides a coherent programme of study which offers you a rigorous grounding in counselling theory, together with a sound knowledge of the BACP framework and contemporary issues which impact on counselling practice. It aims to develop your knowledge and understanding of theoretical models or modalities through adopting an integrative approach to counselling and in doing so, prepares you to establish an effective therapeutic relationship with your clients.

The FdSc will promote your capacity for self-exploration and appraisal, facilitating personal development and awareness, pertinent to your role as a counsellor. Graduates from this programme will be well-equipped to take up a range of posts within the counselling profession, such as in organisations or private practice, or to undertake further study e.g., BSc/BA (Hons) or specialist training in the field e.g., CBT training.

In addition to meeting the academic requirements of the programme, the FdSc requires you to be active in a suitable clinical placement, in which your understanding of counselling practice will be refined. As a routine aspect of going about your daily practice, you will face unfamiliar and unprecedented situations, therefore you will be helped to understand how to work through such problems largely independently while also knowing how to take full advantage of professional supervisory support.

During your FdSc studies, you must complete a minimum of 100 hours supervised counselling with suitable clients. A minimum of 50% of these hours must be completed in one-to-one counselling sessions with adults in a suitably organised placement. The balance may be declared from work with minors (children or adolescents over the age of 16 but under the age of 18 years, at the time the work commences). The balanced protection of the clinical needs of potentially vulnerable adults or minors and the developmental needs of the student counsellor in training is central to the decision-making process, which we strive to undertake transparently and collaboratively

Lecturers are all current active practitioners with a wealth of experience in a variety of settings. Their training will be minimum Bachelors level and all are qualified teachers (or in the process of completing a teaching qualification) and are actively engaged in continuous professional development. Many of the staff are accredited BACP members or equivalent.

This programme is delivered over two years, with five modules in each year:

Year 1:
Academic Skills for Counsellors (15 credits)
Clinical Practice for Counsellors (30 credits)
Foundations of Integrative Theory and Practice (30 credits)
Personal Development for Counsellors (15 credits)
Introduction to Professional Practice for Counsellors (30 credits)

Year 2:
Enhancing Clinical Practice (30 credits)
Embedding Integrative Theory into Practice (30 credits)
The Counselling Relationship and Use of Self (15 credits)
Working within a Professional Framework (30 credits)
Introduction to the Research Process (15 credits)

A variety of assessment methods are employed on the programme to develop students’ academic and vocational knowledge. This includes case discussions, essays, reflective journals, and supervision reports.

Lectures and seminars are offered in each module, you will have regular tutorial contact and progress reviews.

Tutorial support provides students with the opportunity to discuss their progress on a 1:1 basis, as part of small group discussions.