Level 4 Diploma Therapeutic Counselling

This part-time qualification spanning two years equips you with the essential knowledge, skills, and competencies needed to pursue a career as an integrative counsellor. If you aspire to enter the fulfilling field of counselling, this course is your ideal pathway to a rewarding career.

This course is designed to lead to an employed or voluntary role in a counselling setting within a range of settings. Based on your experience post qualification you may consider opening your own business in private practice. The course is delivered one day per week over two years (6 hours).

This program of study offers a holistic approach to learning integrating theory, practical client work, personal development and a range of ways to enhance your counselling skills. The course also incorporates a placement element which includes a minimum of 100 hours of formally contracted counselling sessions (one-to-one), with at least five different clients in an agency setting. The curriculum will cover the following units:

• Working ethically, safely, and professionally as a counsellor
• Working within a counselling relationship
• Working with client diversity in counselling work
• Working within a user-centred approach to counselling
• Working with self-awareness in the counselling process
• Working within a coherent framework of counselling theory and skills
• Working self-reflectively as a counsellor.
• Working safely with suicide ideation

Upon successfully finishing this course, you'll be a qualified counsellor and potentially be able to progress onto our advanced qualifications (level 5).

The skills and knowledge acquired on this course are transferable to a wide range of career and educational opportunities.

When you apply for a course you are encouraged to disclose any disability or learning difficulty on the application form, so that we can ensure the appropriate support is in place. We have a dedicated team committed to developing the skills, behaviours and attitudes required to enable our students to realise their full potential.

The college offers a range of flexible learning opportunities to students. Professional qualifications are delivered through digital and face to face learning environments, using digital learning tools such as the Google classroom. Our tutors are highly experienced and skilled in their specialist professional sectors and enhance the courses they teach on with their excellent industry links.

You must have obtained both qualifications: Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills and Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Studies, with a previous 180 hours of counselling skills training.

You must be at least 19 years of age to enrol on this course. This qualification is not suitable for those who are currently in a state of severe emotional difficulty and/or severe psychological distress due to the nature of the course. In particular, the course involves experiential elements that will involve some personal disclosure and associated personal developmental activities. Due to the nature of this qualification and working with clients, we have a duty to ensure learners are ethically safe to work in industry. All learners must complete and pass a fitness to practice assessment within the first 6 months on program.

You need to be able to handle the level of academic work required, be digitally competent as we use google classrooms/ to build a portfolio of evidence and show a willingness to take responsibility for your personal development and academic assignments. You must be able to respect others regardless of race, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.

You will also be required to submit a personal statement discussing your reasons for applying to this course along with a character reference. Furthermore, you will also need to have an interview to assess your eligibility to join the programme.

You will be required to obtain an enhanced DBS check and you are responsible for this cost, this should be arranged at the start of the programme. It is a course requirement to complete 10 hours of personal therapy and fortnightly/ monthly clinical supervision with a College approved supervisor whilst in student practice. In addition, it is also a course requirement to become a student member of the BACP. Should you not be able to meet the BACP requirements for student membership, you will not be able to progress

For further information about funding, please contact our Learner Services Team on 01925 494400 or learner.services@wvr.ac.uk

There are significant fees attached to this award and it is important to consider these before you apply. You will be required to obtain an enhanced DBS check and you are responsible for this cost. You are also required to complete 10 hours of personal therapy (fees vary) and monthly clinical supervision whilst in student practice (fees vary depending on the supervisor). It is a course requirement to become a student member of the BACP (current fees can be found at bacp.co.uk). You will also need to indemnity insurance whilst on placement.