Counselling and Psychotherapy MA

Introduction

Our course provides professional counselling training enabling you to register with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), so when you study with us, you can rest assured you'll get all you need to become the best psychotherapeutic counsellor you can be.

Why study Counselling and Psychotherapy?

Counselling and psychotherapy is a challenging but very rewarding career area. A career where you get to make a difference, to help people, and to change lives, including your own. As a qualified psychotherapeutic counsellor, you will provide support to people experiencing emotional difficulties by helping them to identify their issues and develop strategies to address them.

Working in hospitals, health centres and in private practice, psychotherapeutic counsellors support clients with a wide range of concerns including mental health issues, challenging physical conditions and life events, as well as managing difficult emotions.

Why UWE Bristol?

Building on the solid reputation of the diploma course, UWE Bristol's Master's in Counselling and Psychotherapy degree is a professional practice course that equips you for practice by qualifying as a competent, reflective practitioner, able to think critically and integrate theory with practice. The course has been created to support your development as a counsellor while at the same time integrating your professional practice with master's level academic study. The course includes taught modules, your own personal therapy throughout the training, clinical work and supervision, as well as a small research project.

You'll learn from an enthusiastic, supportive teaching team with a real passion for their subject and a wealth of experience across all aspects of counselling and psychotherapy. The team includes active researchers and authors, so your learning will be enriched by the latest in best practice.

Where can it take me?

The master's degree will equip you with all the knowledge and experience you'll need to fast track your career progression. Having experience of a period of extended work-based learning will allow you to deepen your clinical skills, become robust and resilient so you can cope with the complexity of the mental health issues you'll be presented with.

The demand for counsellors and psychotherapists is growing in the UK so you can expect your skills to be sought after. You'll have many exciting career opportunities open to you in a wide range of roles. You could work in the NHS, for private or voluntary sector employers, in church or faith-based organisations or college or university counselling settings, for example.

For more information, including the most up to date module listing, see the entry for this course on the UWE Bristol website, by clicking on the 'visit website' button to the left of this page.

It is essential that applicants have: A Certificate in Counselling Skills (level 3 or above) which includes a minimum of 80 hours classroom-based teaching and training. Your qualification will need to have had a strong grounding in theory, experiential and personal development. Your Certificate must have been gained within the last 5 years. An honours degree of 2:2 or above in any subject OR qualified practitioner status in a relevant profession. For example, teaching, nursing, social work; Personal skills suited to working as a therapist; The ability and strong commitment to follow a personally demanding part-time course. Recent experience (within the last 12 months) of using Counselling Skills either in a paid or voluntary setting. We also strongly recommend that you have had personal experience of counselling therapy before starting the course.