University of Brighton
Print

Psychodynamic Therapeutic Counselling
PGDip

  • Course summary and entry requirements

    Course duration Help

    Part-time: 2 years

    Professional accreditation

    There are two main national organisations that accredit counselling training: the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). The university is an organisational member of the BACP and the Universities Psychotherapy and Counselling Association (UPCA). UKCP or BACP accreditation for a course is the benchmark of quality and is a sign that the course meets the demands required to prepare students for work as an independent professional counsellor. The postgraduate diploma in Humanistic Therapeutic Counselling is currently BACP and UPCA accredited.

    About the course

    This course concentrates on counselling as a discrete activity: it is not an introductory course nor applied to a specific work context. It is a postgraduate course providing academic and professional training in counselling and it is affiliated to the Universities Psychotherapy and Counselling Association (UPCA) and accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

    Psychodynamic counselling places unconscious, relational and developmental processes at the heart of counselling and so draws on ideas from psychoanalysis and its critics (including Freud, Klein, Winnicott, Bion, as well as more contemporary thinkers such as Lacan, Bowlby, Kohut, Mitchell and Benjamin). Psychodynamic counsellors believe that clients present with emotional issues from past relationships which manifest themselves in current problems. Traditionally psychoanalysis has believed clients frequently resist change for unconscious reasons and only through understanding and interpreting the resistance (ie making the hidden reasons, usually an anxiety, conscious) can any progress be made. This relational process between past, present, conscious and unconscious often results in the uncomfortable feelings that often bring clients to counselling.

    Psychodynamic counselling is a well researched and validated model and the course includes models of brief and time-limited counselling particularly relevant to NHS work and employee counselling schemes as well as models of long-term work.

    Potential students who wish to get an idea of what psychodynamic counselling is about might read Psychodynamic Counselling in Action by Michael Jacobs, (published by Sage) or Learning from the Patient by Patrick Casement (published by Routledge).

    Typical entry requirements Help

    Individual offers may vary.

    For non-native speakers of English:
    IELTS 6.5 overall and 6.0 in writing.

    Other:
    PLEASE NOTE: This course is now full for 2012. We will be accepting applications for 2013-14 entry from October 2012.

    Degree and/or experience:
    Degree or equivalent (e.g. professional qualification). Applications from non-graduates will be considered but they will be required to produce evidence of being able to study at master's level. Applicants (normally 25 years) old must successfully complete a recognised and accredited counselling skills training as a pre-requisite for the Postgraduate Diploma in Humanistic Therapeutic Counselling. This needs to be a minimum of 30 hours at either Level 2 or Level 3. If your counselling skills training was more than 6 years ago then you will need to undertake another course. The course must be face to face (not distance learning), include theory and practice, and needs to be accredited by a nationally recognised body such as NFCE or CPCAB.

  • Course content

    Course structure

    Study involves one day per week at the university. Students take four modules in year 1, and three modules in year 2.

    There are also seven non-residential weekends over the two years and an intensive study block just before the start of the second year. The study weekends include topics such as: 'the unconscious', group theory, models of short-term counselling, relationships, sexuality, and neuroscience. The intensive study block, which is normally two blocks of two days, is a research methods module.

    Students are required to complete 100 hours of supervised counselling practice in an approved clinical placement. Placements begin in the first year of the course, normally before the end of the first semester, and help and advice is given about finding a placement. The course team have built up close relationships with a number of placement agencies including South Downs NHS Trust Primary Care Trust (for placements in GP practices), Youth Advice Centre (for placements in the YAC centre), and Brighton and Sussex University counselling services. Most agencies will provide the supervision free of charge in return for the counselling undertaken by the trainee although this is not true of all agencies.

    Students are also required to undertake their own personal counselling or therapy during the whole of the course, in effect being in personal therapy from the start of the course in October to the end of the course in June. Potential applicants are advised to factor in the cost of this counselling or therapy when considering the course.

    Areas of study

    Psychodynamic counsellors rely on their own feelings to help make sense of the moment by moment changes in sessions with clients. This process underlies the need for a certain level of self awareness and maturity, hence personal growth and development is the fourth key strand on the course. In part this is met through the personal development groups on the course and in part through a student's own personal counselling or therapy.

    The course contains four major elements: academic and professional studies, practical training, training supervision, and personal growth and development. A strong theoretical knowledge is of great importance and considerable weight is given to the provision a framework of knowledge about key writers so that students feel confident to determine their own further reading. Likewise in professional and ethical studies, the seminars provide a broad overview of the issues upon which students are invited to reflect further.

    Practical training takes place both on the course and through the placement scheme, students are required to undertake 100 hours of supervised counselling practice in an approved clinical placement. Within the course there are counselling workshops which provide opportunities for role plays where trainees can try things out and receive helpful feedback from peers and tutors. These workshops also offer an opportunity for more general case discussion where the relationship between theory and practice can be explored.

    Syllabus

    Year 1
    Introduction to Psychodynamic Counselling; Human Growth and Development
    Psychodynamic counselling workshops
    Themes in Professional Practice

    Year 2
    Research Methods for Counselling and Psychotherapy
    Psychodynamic Practice
    Critical Perspectives in Psychodynamic Counselling
    Psychodynamic counselling workshops

  • Fees and costs

    The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2013-14. Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and may be subject to small increases, in line with inflation.

    The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full- or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

    What's included in the fee?

    When costs such as health or criminal record checks, field trips or use of specialist materials are incurred as a mandatory requirement of the course they are included in your tuition fee.

    You may incur additional costs depending on the optional modules or activities you choose. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. Before you apply please check with the school that provides your course using the contact details on the left of this page for advice about what is included and what optional costs you could face so you can budget accordingly.

    Our website www.brighton.ac.uk/money provides advice about funding and scholarships as well as further information about fees and advice on international and island fee paying status.

    PGDip Psychodynamic Therapeutic Counselling

    Please contact us directly for exact tuition fees for this course.

     

  • Location

    Location Help Falmer

    Our Falmer campus is located on the edge of the South Downs National Park on the outskirts of Brighton. Approximately 7,000 students are based here.

    View campus maps and directions

    Living in Brighton

    Brighton’s rich mix of historic architecture, lively arts scene, varied shopping and cosmopolitan community make it a vibrant, enjoyable place to live. It is no wonder that many Brighton graduates choose to stay here.

    Social scene

    Alongside the traditional seaside attractions, Brighton is famed for its exciting social scene with a wide choice of pubs, clubs and restaurants.

    Music event on the beach

    Arts

    The highlight of the city’s cultural year is the Brighton Festival. The event is held each May and is England’s biggest arts festival, which showcases arts and performance from around the world. Brighton is also home to the UK’s oldest working cinema, the Duke of York’s, which shows alternative and mainstream films. The city is also well known for its exciting music scene and hosts The Great Escape music festival.

    Burning the Clocks winter solstice festival

    Sports

    Whether you take your sport seriously or just want to keep fit, Brighton offers all kinds of sports opportunities and facilities, on and off campus. You can also make the most of the location, and play volleyball, basketball and windsurfing down by the beach. The seafront is also the finishing point for the famous London – Brighton bicycle ride and the quirky veteran car run.

    Playing volleyball on the seafront

  • Career opportunities

    The postgraduate diploma has an excellent reputation in the locality and our students have gone on to hold counselling posts in many organisations including in the public and voluntary sector. Some have gone on to undertake further training or have established private practices or used their counselling skills in their existing profession. There is an MSc in Psychotherapy and students who successfully complete the postgraduate diploma in Psychodynamic Therapeutic Counselling would be eligible to apply to this MSc.

    Visit the careers service website.

Apply now for your place
Book your open day place
Other courses like this
Find out more

01273 644516
Email sassenquiries@brighton.ac.uk

Please note this course is now full for 2013.  

We will be open to receipt of applications for 2014 from the beginning of October 2013. 

 

 

Visit the school that delivers this course

More about this course

Counselling Open Afternoon – Wednesday 29th January 2014

An open afternoon for the postgraduate courses in counselling is taking place on Wednesday 29th January 2014.  

Please contact Kath O’Malley on 01273 644516 or email k.h.o’malley@brighton.ac.uk to register your interest.  

Further information will be provided nearer the time.