Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy PGDip

Application process

We expect to offer 22–25 places for this course and hold a reserve list of four.

Step 1

• Submit your completed application by 15 January, this includes completed references.  
• Ensure that you accurately record all relevant completed or pending qualifications – scan and attach your certificates.  
• Provide two references – alert your referees that they should receive an email request and to check all email folders. Please note that is up to you to follow up with referees to ensure these are submitted before the deadline of 15 January.

Your application may be rejected if you do not provide the correct information or references by the deadline.

Step 2

• Our admissions office reviews all applications.  
• Complete applications meeting the entry criteria are submitted to the course tutor for review and selection.
• All fully completed applications received by 15 January will receive equal consideration.
• Candidates will be selected for interview based on the strength of their application.
• Applications received after this date may still be considered, if we have vacancies on the course or for a place on the reserve list.

Step 3

• Selected applicants will be invited for interview from early February.
• You will be asked to write a character sketch to bring to your interview.
• You will be interviewed by two course tutors.

Step 4

• Successful applicants will be made an offer of a place on the course in May, once all applicants have been interviewed.  
• You will be advised if this is a reserve list place – reserve places may become available if a candidate needs to decline their accepted offer.

Step 5

• Meet any conditions of your offer. This may include submitting evidence of the qualification you are studying.
• Pay the non-refundable £250 deposit to confirm your place on the course. This is required within one month of your offer being made or we may offer your place to another candidate.

Course structure

The courses are taught on a semester system with two semesters each year. Semester dates can be found here on the website.

In addition to academic study, you will need to complete 100 hours of supervised counselling practice in an approved clinical practice agency, for example at the Rock Clinic or Sussex University counselling service.

You also need to undertake a course of personal therapy that lasts for the duration of the course, from October of year 1 to June of year 2, and we recommend that you factor in the cost of this therapy before your application.

Assessment consists of four essays and three case studies. You will also keep a professional log of your clinical work and maintain a personal journal.

Areas of study

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 canonical writers. The seminars provide a broad overview of the reading material and invite you to reflect further on it.

Psychodynamic counsellors rely on their own feelings to help make sense of the moment-by-moment changes in client sessions. This process underlies the need for a certain level of self-awareness and maturity, hence why personal growth and development is the fourth key strand on the course. This is partly met through personal development groups and partly through your own counselling or therapy.

Year 1

Modules

• Introduction to Psychodynamic Counselling Theory: Human Growth and Development
• Themes in Professional Practice
• Psychodynamic Counselling Workshops and Personal Development

Year 2

Modules

• Psychodynamic Counselling Practice 1
• Psychodynamic Counselling Practice 2
• Critical Perspectives in Psychodynamic Counselling
• Research Methods for Counselling and Psychotherapy
• Portfolio of Evidence: Psychodynamic Counselling (non-credit bearing)

Completion of the postgraduate diploma allows continuation (after successful application) on to our Psychotherapy MSc.

Lab facilities

Mithras House is home to all our School of Humanities and Social Science courses. It has a series of ‘labs’, which may be used for teaching on your course or in your independent research work.

Life lab
A comfortable space with lounge furniture intended for qualitative research with larger groups. Due to its relaxed layout and naturalistic environment, the space is suited to research using focus groups, research using observation-based methods and child research.

The space is also used for teaching on some social science courses, as well as for dissertation research for projects.
 
City lab
A space designed for collaborative student learning. It is used by students and staff involved in the university’s Global Challenges programme, our collective mission to contribute towards solutions to tackling the pressing issues facing our world.

Design lab
A space housing our extensive collection of historic dress and textiles, which are used in some teaching on our History of Art and Design courses. It has the space and equipment to work on textile projects. Displays created by students on these programmes are on view in the social spaces of the building.

Stats lab
A specialist workspace with computing equipment for statistical analysis and projects involving video and audio editing software. The lab is accessible as a study space to students on psychology courses. 

It is also available to students studying courses involving video and audio recording and editing, such as politics degrees and our creative writing programmes. The stats lab contains eight soundproof booths for recording or transcribing interviews undertaken as part of dissertation research.  

VR and eye tracking lab
This lab is used for psychological research, specifically eye-tracking research and virtual reality research. Equipment includes an electroencephalography (EEG) headset and Electrodermal Activity (EDA) equipment.

Preliminary reading

Students wishing to gain some understanding of the psychodynamic approach may wish to read some of the following texts:

• Casement, P. (1985) Learning from the Patient
• Freud, S. (1991) Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis
• Bott, D. and Howard, P. (2012) The Therapeutic Encounter: A Cross-Modality Approach
• Howard, S. (2006) Psychodynamic Counselling in a Nutshell
• Jacobs, M. (2004) Psychodynamic Counselling in Action
• McLeod, J. (2003) An Introduction to Counselling
• Spurling, L. (2009) An Introduction to Psychodynamic Counselling

Being entirely honest with oneself is good exercise.

Sigmund Freud, letter to Wilhelm Fliess (1897)

FAQs

Should I apply for the Humanistic or Psychodynamic Psychotherapeutic Counselling Postgraduate Diploma?

We can provide a few pointers for you, but ultimately you must make the decision. To help you differentiate between the two courses, you could attend an open day or do some reading around the relevant subject areas.

I haven't studied psychology before. Does this matter?

No, it doesn't. While counselling training draws on psychology theory, we don't expect you to have studied it formally before the course begins. We do, however, require you to have spent a minimum of 30 hours on an accredited counselling skills course.

Does it matter that I've been out of education for a number of years?

No. Provided you meet all the requirements, you should be offered an interview for the course. Many of our students are returning to study after a few years away, in fact, the average age for the postgraduate diplomas is around 40.

I use counselling skills in my job as a nurse/social worker/teacher. Do I still have to take an introductory counselling course?

Yes, unless as a formal part of your training you took an assessed module in counselling skills. If so, you would need to provide full details of the module you took in the further information section on the application form.

Will my previous counselling or therapy count in lieu of the requirement to be in therapy during the course?

No. You will need to start therapy again with an approved therapist.

I know a counselling placement is part of the course, but does the course guarantee to find me one?

No. We do have a list of clinical practice agencies which previous students have gone to and we have good relationships with many local counselling agencies but the final responsibility lies with you. During the first semester we invite a number of practice   managers/directors to come and talk about what they offer but students must make individual applications to agencies.

Course fees

Non-refundable deposit

To secure your offer or a place a £250 non-refundable deposit is required within one month of notification for payment. If your offer is received after 15 August, it may be possible to negotiate a date with the course leader. Please note this payment is required before you begin the course.

Scholarships, bursaries and loans

We offer a range of scholarships for postgraduate students. Bursaries and loans may also be available to you.

Find out more about postgraduate fees and funding.

The fees listed here are for the first year of study if you start your course in the academic year 2024–25.

You will pay fees for each year of your course. Some fees may increase each year. UK undergraduate and some postgraduate fees are regulated by the UK government and increases will not be more than the maximum amount allowed. Course fees that are not regulated may increase each year by up to 5% or RPI (depending on which is higher).

If you have specific queries about the course fee, our fees team will be happy to help. Email them at fees@brighton.ac.uk.

Find out more

• Advice and guidance for part-time students.
• Fees, bursaries, scholarships and government funding info for UK and international undergraduate and postgraduate students
• Student finance and budgeting while studying
• About the university’s fees, including fee status and payment, by checking our student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf)

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