Person Centred Experiential Counselling and Psychotherapy

Entry requirements

You will be expected to have achieved a minimum qualification of a 2:1 honours degree in either counselling and/or psychotherapy or a cognate discipline. This may include education; nursing; social work; psychology; sports; community arts; or programmes that have a focus on supporting and developing individual growth and expression.

Consideration will be given to applications from students with lower classifications, or non-standard qualifications, depending on your recent practice based experience (normally, within the last five years). Practice based experience is likely to include significant previous experience of working emotionally with clients from vulnerable populations experiencing issues with emotional and mental wellbeing. In this instance, you may be asked to also produce evidence of ability to study at Masters level.

Ideally, you will have some experience of working with clients from vulnerable populations, experiencing issues related to emotional and mental wellbeing. This experience can be in a voluntary or paid capacity.

Consideration will also be given if you are an international student with equivalent academic qualifications or professional qualification and/or experience.

Recognition of prior learning, where we accept a previous qualification as meeting the learning outcomes for a course or module, will not be accepted.

An interview and reflexive statement will form part of the selection process. The reflexive statement will require you to detail your personal and emotional reasons around wanting to study to become a person centred experiential counsellor/psychotherapist.

You will also be required to apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Enhanced Disclosure indicating that they meet the mandatory criteria of ‘Clearance to Work with Children and/or Vulnerable Adults’.

Months of entry

September

Course content

Gain experience with real clients using a person centred experiential (PCE) model of therapy. Develop your emotion focused abilities, empathic listening, and transferable skills that are useful across many counselling-related careers.

Provide therapeutic support to real life clients as you develop empathic listening abilities through the person centred experiential model of therapy on this MA Person Centred Experiential Counselling and Psychotherapy programme.

Learning through experience and developing emotion focused abilities is key. Practice experience will take place through our established network of providers and gives first-hand, supportive experience of working in this sector. Support will always be provided through supervision both from tutors on the programme and your individual external supervisor.

There will also be a focus and encouragement towards self awareness, exploration and personal development. A financial contribution of £600 is provided to support with your own individual therapy and an additional £600 is provided towards your external practice supervision.

With increased self awareness, emotional insight, empathic responsiveness, and relational competencies working alongside others in a helping relationship, you will have developed a range of transferable skills that are important in a range of careers. You may wish to work in a counselling-related profession within education, health, community, or other public and private sectors.

Please note that you will be required to become a student registered member of a professional membership organisation that holds an accredited register with the Professional Standards Authority; for example, the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, at a cost to yourself. You will also be required to have suitable indemnity insurance in place for your clinical placement.