Counselling CertHE

About the course

Counselling is a personally and professionally rewarding career choice. Counselling qualifications enhance your skills to work constructively with people who need time, space and skilled help to overcome difficulties or issues they may be having. You may choose to put your skills to use in some of the following areas including youth work, telephone help lines, voluntary organisations, nursing, welfare and advice work.

Or you may choose to apply for the MA / PgD in Contemporary Therapeutic Counselling (the PgD part of which is accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) which will train you professionally as a counsellor.

This two-year pre-professional programme leads to either a Certificate of Higher Education or a University Diploma. It has been developed to meet the needs of those who wish to learn about a counselling perspective or who wish to develop their interpersonal skills.

It provides an introduction to the theory and practice of counselling. Particular topics include:

• self-in-relationships and family dynamics
• attachment, separation and loss
• personal perception and the experience of change
• the counselling framework and the therapeutic relationship
• counselling skills and interventions

Download a printable version of the leaflet for Counselling 

Why choose this course?

• The Certificate of Higher Education/University Diploma in Counselling is a two year, part-time programme which forms the pre-professional part of a four-year professional training in counselling. Successful completion of the Certificate / Diploma can lead to application for the MA / PgD in Contemporary Therapeutic Counselling (the PgD part of which is accredited by the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy) which provides a professional training as a counsellor.
• This programme will also be of interest and benefit for those who wish to develop their interpersonal skills in the workplace.
• This course is full for 2013. Date and times for September 2014: Thursdays 09.30 - 12.30 or 18.00 - 21.00.

Study routes

• Part Time, 2 Years

Locations

• University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield

Careers

This programme can be part of a four-year training programme and provides an excellent foundation in the subject of counselling and can be used in different employment areas. It also enables you to fulfil the pre-professional training entry requirement for application for the MA / PgD in Contemporary Therapeutic Counselling, which is the professional training in counselling at the University of Hertfordshire. The British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) accredited MA / PgD provides the training requirement for application for accreditation as a counsellor within the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy.

The Certificate of Higher Education/University Diploma in Counselling will also be of interest and benefit for those who wish to develop their interpersonal skills for their role in the workplace.

Teaching methods

The programme provides an introduction to the participatory and experiential learning, personal reflection and skills-based practice.

A variety of media is used to enhance the learning process, including role-play, DVD-taped skills practice, discussion of DVD and video-taped material and articles in journals and artwork.

Throughout the programme, you should expect to engage in personal reflection, the sharing of personal experiences, and active participation in a variety of learning experiences.

The first year at level 1 emphasises experiential learning in small task groups, large groups, workshops and some lectures/seminars. In addition each week there is an ongoing, non-directed, personal development group.

The first year may be taken for a Certificate of Higher Education (level 1, 60 credits) followed by entry to the second year to qualify for either the Certificate of Higher Education in Counselling (level 1, 120 credits) or University Diploma (level 2, 180 credits).

The second year helps to prepare you academically for the MA/PgDip in Contemporary Therapeutic Counselling (a BACP accredited award) by developing counselling skills, the capacity for reflection on personal experience and your grasp of key theoretical texts and concepts. As in year one there will be an ongoing personal and professional development experience. Students who wish to progress to the MA/PgDip in Contemporary Therapeutic Counselling are strongly recommended to enter personal counselling/psychotherapy in this second year. The personal counsellor/psychotherapist will be a BACP accredited or a UKCP registered practitioner who is psychodynamically oriented/psychoanalytic.

Structure

Year 1

Core Modules

• Practice and Personal Development in Counselling 1A

  Students will be introduced to topics which include: 1. Basic Psychodynamic Skills, including: " Empathic Listening to Clients Explicit and Implicit Communications " Establishing Rapport with the Client " Exploratory Responses, e.g. Reflection, Clarification, Questioning " Using Silences " Working with Transference and Countertransference " Working with Defences 2. Therapeutic Frame in the Practice of Psychodynamic Counselling, including: " Confidentiality " Principles of Practice " Ethics and Boundaries " Beginnings, Breaks, and Endings 3. Linking Counselling Practice to Basic Psychodynamic Theories and Concepts. 4. Feedback Skills: Giving and Receiving Constructive Feedback on Practice and Beginning to Reflect on their own Counselling Practice. 5. Self-Awareness and Personal Development. Module content is covered in lectures, practice workshops and sessions, including simulated practice sessions, experiential learning and seminar discussions and weekend workshop, in a combination of small and large groups. Students will be given an opportunity of first hand experience of personal discovery within a psychodynamically facilitated group environment. This will enable them to become more aware of their own values, assumptions and ways of relating to others and the bearing that these might have on their practice work.

• Theory and Personal Development in Counselling 1A

  Students will be introduced to topics which include: 1. Basic Theories and Concepts of the Psychodynamic Approach, including: " The Unconscious " The Significance of Childhood and Early Experiences " Origins and Manifestations of Distress " Personality Structures, e.g. Id, Ego, Superego " Defences, e.g. Repression, Sublimation, Projection, Introjection, Identification, splitting, Denial and Reaction Formation. " Transference and Countertransference 2. Difference and Diversity 1 3. Loss and Separation 4. Linking Basic Psychodynamic Theories and Concepts to Counselling Practice. 5. Experiential Understanding of Basic Psychodynamic Theories and Concepts and Self-Awareness Development. Module content is covered in lectures, practice workshops and sessions, experiential learning, seminar discussions and weekend workshop in a combination of small and large groups. Students will be given an opportunity of first hand experience of personal discovery within a psychodynamically facilitated group environment. This will enable them to become more aware of their own values, assumptions and ways of relating to others and the bearing that these might have on their practice work.

Optional

Fees & funding

Discounts are available for International students if payment is made in full at registration

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Other financial support

Find out more about other financial support available to UK and EU students

Living costs / accommodation

The University of Hertfordshire offers a great choice of student accommodation, on campus or nearby in the local area, to suit every student budget.

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How to apply