I want to become a counsellor.

SideWinder · 20 Oct 2006 at 17:26

I am in the process of applying to University through the UCAS system and i'm looking for advice on the best route to becoming a counsellor?

A brief summary of where i am presently, in my third year of 6th form after i didn't do so well in Year 12 (Various circumstances and me not really choosing the best subjects for myself) but this year i am taking a few extra AS's, one of these being Sociology. I already have an A-Level in English Language, this subject being one of my strongest and i am taking English Literature this year to bump up my UCAS points.

Science isn't exactly my strong point (C grade in GCSE), therefore i am trying to avoid the scientific side to the subject.

I had a quick chat with a careers advisor and he explained a few routes such as taking a combined degree (Perhaps Sociology and English) and advancing to a Masters in Counselling but i haven't explored the numerous courses available to me yet.

So i'm looking for advice. Is anyone a counsellor? Degree courses involving Sociology? I'm concerned i am only taking a single AS and not progressing the subject into A2 but i have put my name forward for peer group training which should help me.

SideWinder · 13 Dec 2006 at 21:56

Rather than start a new thread, thought i'd do a bit of an update...surely someone 'out there' has the same interest as me?

Anyways. I have decided to strongly look into a Pyschology and Counselling degree at Roehampton with my other choices revolving around English and Sociology, looking to specialise later on.

So, a repeat of the top thread also, looking for a bit of guidance.

If i'm not allowed to do such a 'bump', please don't hurt me.

cleanbluesky · 13 Dec 2006 at 22:26

Since you asked nicely.

The best route would be to take a straight Psychology degree - BSc (Hons) becasue the NHS are basically prejudiced in favour of counsellors and psychotherapists who have Psychology degrees.

There are two main paths of counselling, clincal counselling for which you would have to become a chartered counselling psychologist, details below

http://www.bps.org.uk/careers/areas/counselling.cfm

The other route is to take a United Kingdom Association of Psychotherapy and British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (UKCP and BACP)

http://www.bacp.co.uk/

http://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/
(Both of these sites have a tonne of info, you'll have to dig - I haven't dug through most myself although accreddiatation criteria are worth having a long, hard look at. Ask yourself if you are prepared to do all that)

Either of these routes will COST you. They will require you to take therapy, they will require you to accept most likely pro bono pacements and they will be expensive courses... you may also have

Employment prospects - the concept of money is psychotherapy, as in all therapies, is subjective. Some charge lots, some make a reasonable living. If you are 'working towards' BACP accredditation you can expect to earn 25k, if you are qualified - you can expect closer to 35k. On the NHS you can expect 35-55k as a rank and file psychotherapist and up to 75k as a consultant. Privately earnings depend on how much you can convince a person to pay for your time and effort, and that would likely be a minimum of £30 per hour (cheapest I've seen it offered), I've seen it advertised for £100 per hour and known other therapies to cost significantly more. It's all about perception of how valuable your services are and how much money your clients have. I have known Psychological services to be sold for many thousands per week, but that is another story and a fine art of creating a sense of 'value' amongst a rich and often uneducated clientèle.

Your path - there are many schools of psychotherapy and counselling, look on wiki if you want a run down.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychotherapy

Some things to remember - you need no qualifications to practice counselling or psychotherapy as it is presently unregulated (likely to change), therefore your qualifications and experience may define which tier of employment you can take... ranging from 'placements' whereby you offer your services for free to get experience, up to the NHS who usually pay the highest for contracted psychotherapists. Private practices can pay anywhere from little to more than NHS, if you want to practice privately expect to live in London at least during weekdays.

Having a degree in psychology will only place you in a position to step into counselling, and give you a good start. You wouldn't need a degree in psychology, you could likely go immediately for a diploma in counselling skills and start working straight towards BACP accredditation if you so wished...

I'm not a counsellor BTW, I have a degree in Psychology and I have just applied for my first Psychotherapy course... I know a bit and would welcome any questions, if only to test my own understanding...

TriedandTested · 13 Dec 2006 at 23:01

5-star reply there. Nice one.

Vonhelmet · 13 Dec 2006 at 23:07

My mum did a diploma in counselling, maybe a masters, I forget. She also had to do absolute assloads of hours of counselling to get the qualification.

iamdjdz · 13 Dec 2006 at 23:37

go for it, good job, i've used a couple and they're well helpful, don't know how rewarding it would be, but they really do help...

SideWinder · 16 Dec 2006 at 19:23

Looking at courses at the moment and thought i'd check up on this thread, surprised to see a few replies.

Extremely grateful to you cleanbluesky. I had considered something along the lines of Sociology and going onto a Masters of some sort but it seems i may have to edge more towards Pyschology.

Current courses include:

Pyschology & Counselling at Roehampton.
Sociology at Roehampton.
Pyschology at Roehampton.

vonhelmet: The average amount i believe is 450 hours worth.

cleanbluesky · 16 Dec 2006 at 20:49

Research Assesment Excercise 2001 for Psychology, it's one of the best ways to gauge how 'good' a university is...

http://www.hero.ac.uk/rae/rae_dynamic.cfm?myURL=http://195.194.167.103/Results/byuoa/uoa13.htm

450 taught hours, 150 hours personal therapy and 450 contact hours with clients as well as a few other things are required for BACP accreditation...

If you are absolutely certain that you would like to go into Psychotherapy or Counselling then go for a Psychology degree. There may also be requirement by the time you begin counselling training for Psychology degrees as the government are considering making psychotherapists chartered practitioners.

If you are in London there are 3-4 larger schools I can think of that teach the now popular 'integrative' approach - Regent's College, Metanoia Institute, Roehampton, UEL.
I have just applied and been accepted to Regent's (for a foundation, which I will have to complete before being eligable for a Masters - many universities require a 'foundation' specifcally in counselling before acceptance to a Masters, although it is not totally a waste of time if you already have a Psychology degree). I got my degree at UEL and don't want to return, Roehampton I have no idea of but they seem very similar to UEL, Metanoia seemed very nice but are overpriced (possibly due to Middlesex University's recent money problems as Middlesex accredit Metanoia) and Regents has been the best so far. Little modern, but quite imposing still and nice surroundings - good academic profile of staff and visiting lecturers.

A generally good progression would be...

Complete Psychology Degree...
>
(Possibly some experience working with 'vulnerable' people)
>
Foundation or 'Counselling Skills' Course
>
Masters
>
Additional 'proessional development' courses...

This isn't the only way to do things but it is a GOOD way, as far as I can tell. Counselling is also a profession whereby you may find many people tend to work into it, and get sponsored by their workplace to attend courses as 'development'... also, there are minimum age limits on some courses. Usually 25 yrs

SideWinder · 16 Dec 2006 at 21:31

Another very informative post, i thank you cleanbluesky, i really do..it's making things a lot easier to understand...sigh, why weren't you around when i first made this thread in October?

Question time, for that website, i don't understand the mark scheme? I half assumed it was 5 being the highest, A being the highest and for the third column the higher the number the better?

I e-mailed Roehampton about the Pyschology Integrative course and i got this reply...

Thank you for your enquiry about the BSc Integrative counselling programme. This programme is aimed at stable, mature students, at a time in their lives when they can commit to the financial, emotional and time requirements of the programme. The usual age profile is somewhere between 21 and mid 60s, with the majority falling into the 30 – 50 bracket. Younger students tend to be in the minority. Roehampton also offers a non-practitioner course in Psychology and Counselling which is usually considered a better option for the younger age groups. Graduates from this programme may be able to go on to postgraduate study in the counselling/psychotherapy field.

Hence why i have moved my interest to Pyschology and Counselling as a near first choice. Or perhaps just a simple Pyschology degree would suffice?

I have a problem however, i haven't got any A-Levels associated with science of any kind, it's more geared towards Sociology.

Last minute edit for you cleanbluesky, how did you finance yourself if i may ask? Surely with a degree at University for 3 or 4 years and on top of that moving onto a Masters or further courses? Or are there placements with a regular pay?

cleanbluesky · 16 Dec 2006 at 21:50

SideWinder said:
Question time, for that website, i don't understand the mark scheme? I half assumed it was 5 being the highest, A being the highest and for the third column the higher the number the better?

http://www.hero.ac.uk/rae/AboutUs/

Partial explanation. I can't actually remember what the right hand numbers/letters stand for but I read that it is to do with the amount of Uni staff actively involved in research.

Hence why i have moved my interest to Pyschology and Counselling as a near first choice. Or perhaps just a simple Pyschology degree would suffice?

It is not a question of 'suffice', it is a proclivity of the BPS that all their 'professional' careers (the psychology careers that they accredit or set standards for) are only accessible to those who already have a degree in Psychology with Graduate Basis for Registration (meaning that the BPS has approved the particular course you took).

You will be in a much, much better position if you take straight psychology - unfortunately nothing you do until post-grad work will help towards BACP acreditation. Counselling will almost certainly be covered in a straight Psychology degree. I don't know your present age but it may be extremely beneficial to try any work that involves you coming into contact with vulnerable people.

I have a problem however, i haven't got any A-Levels associated with science of any kind, it's more geared towards Sociology.

When I was at Uni, statistics and scientific method were taught from the very base level - I don't think much foreward knowledge would be assumed. You might want to give one of the lecturers an e-mail questioning this though.

SideWinder · 17 Dec 2006 at 21:28

Still drifting on topic, looking at the different Universities at the moment and Roehampton and UEL have really taken my liking...may i ask what your experience was like at UEL, did you enjoy the course etc. ?

You've been a fantastic help and i really am going to ask a lot of questions to ensure i'm choosing the right options.

reflex · 17 Dec 2006 at 21:50

It's good to ask questions. I asked hundreds before picking my courses, suck information like a leech!