Psychotherapy MSc

Intro

The Psychotherapy MSc allows graduates of our postgraduate diplomas in psychotherapeutic counselling to further their professional and academic training.

The MSc involves two further years of study in which you build on your chosen theoretical base and develop ways of working with complex presentations of human distress. You also develop skills in research design and implementation specific to the profession of psychotherapy.

The course is a unique opportunity to undertake a more general psychotherapy training, building on the cross-modality philosophy and approach of the practitioners in the counselling and psychotherapy division at Brighton.

Key facts

Location Brighton: Falmer

Part-time 2 years

Accredited by the Universities Training College of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy.

This course runs every two years, and will run next in 2020. Applications will open in September 2019. In the meantime, if you have questions or queries our enquiries team be happy to help.

Course content

Syllabus

You are required to regularly undertake supervised clinical practice under a supervisor in an approved setting. You must also take weekly psychotherapy yourself with an UKCP psychotherapist. Membership to the UPCA is required from the start of the course.

Modules

Psychotherapy Practice and Models of Change
Complex Presentations in Psychotherapy
Systemic Interventions: Theory and Practice
CBT and the Relational Paradigm
Dissertation

Our latest news

Call for Papers: Southern Perspectives upon Policing, Security and Social Order: Seminar and roundtable

Call for Papers: Southern Perspectives upon Policing, Security and Social Order: Seminar and roundtable 27th June 2019, University of Brighton, Falmer Campus Critical scholarship from Southern and Post-Colonial criminology has posed new challenges to dominant criminological thinking about law and ‘order’, policing (by ‘consent’ or otherwise), community, accountability and the state.

Celebrating International Women’s Day

At the University of Brighton, we are proud to have an extraordinarily talented staff and student community – and we are committed to equality of opportunity.

Spending review must boost council’s ability to support low income households

Carl Walker, Reader and Course leader, MA Community Psychology, has co-wrote a report for the London-based Centre for Responsible Credit and the Local Government Association.

Kate becomes new President of the British Psychological Society

Professor Kate Bullen, head of the School of Applied Social Science, will become the new President of the British Psychological Society (BPS) at its AGM on 30th August.

Careers

The MSc will qualify you to work as a psychotherapist in either humanistic or psychodynamic counselling, depending on your chosen specialism.

To facilitate your career progression, we recommend that you join the main local counselling organisation, Sussex Counselling, which provides a professional network as well as regular seminars and workshops.

Entry criteria

Entry requirements

The entry requirements listed here are our typical offer for this course if you wish to begin studying with us in 2020. They should be used as a general guide.

Degree and experience
Applicants will have a postgraduate diploma in psychotherapeutic counselling (equivalent to 120 masters-level credits).

Although the MSc is a continuation of our postgraduate diplomas, applications are welcomed from those who have been awarded an equivalent qualification in counselling from other universities.

English language requirements
IELTS 6.5 overall, with 6.0 in writing and a minimum of 5.5 in the other elements.

Fees

Course fees

UK/EU (part-time, 1 year) 4,129 GBP

International (part-time, 1 year)4,129 GBP

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 commencement of 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.

What's included

You may have to pay additional costs during your studies. 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. A summary of the costs that you may be expected to pay, and what is included in your fees, while studying a course in the School of Applied Social Science are listed here.

For some assessments you may be required to print large format posters for presentations at a cost of £5–£10 per poster.
Most coursework submissions are electronic but you may wish to print notes and should budget up to £100 for printing.
Course books are available from the university but you may wish to budget up to £100 to buy your own copies.
Some courses include an optional placement module for which students will need to cover the costs of travel to and from the placement and DBS checks as required.
For the Humanistic Psychotherapeutic Counselling PGDip and Psychotherapeutic Psychodynamic Counselling PGDip, the following course-related costs are not included in the tuition fee:
- Supervision fees: £1,170 for each full year. Estimated based on £45 per hour with fortnightly meetings. In some agencies, supervision will be provided at no cost. Where students have to pay, the cost will only begin when supervision begins.
- Personal counselling/therapy: £2,000–£2,800 over the course. Estimated based on £40 per hour.

You can chat with our enquiries team through the Stay in touch panel at the end of this page if you require further information. Or check our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as more information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Info

The fees listed here are for courses beginning in the academic year 2019–20. Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and may be subject to small increases, in line with inflation.

Where UK/EU students are subject to regulated fees, the annual fee increase cannot exceed the UK government’s maximum regulated tuition fee limit set for the relevant year. For all other students, ie those not subject to regulated fees, tuition fees are subject to a maximum annual increase of the higher of 5% or RPI.

Part-time students should contact fees@brighton.ac.uk for specific advice about their fees, you can also visit our advice for part-time students page.

You can find out more about our fees in the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

Location

Local area

About Brighton

The University of Brighton is at the heart of our city's reputation as a welcoming, forward-thinking place which leads the way when it comes to the arts, music, sustainability and creative technology. Brighton is home to a thriving creative community and a digital sector worth £1bn a year to the local economy, as much as tourism.

Many of the work-based learning opportunities offered on our courses such as placements and guest lectures are provided by businesses and organisations based in the city.

You can also get involved with city festivals and events such as the Brighton Festival, the Fringe, Brighton Digital Festival, Brighton Science Festival, the London to Brighton bike ride, and the Great Escape festival of new music to name but a few. Other annual highlights include Pride, the Brighton Marathon, and Burning the Clocks which marks the winter solstice.

You'll find living in Brighton enriches your learning experience and by the end of your course you will still be finding new things to explore and inspire you.

It's only 50 minutes by train from Brighton to central London and less than 40 minutes to Eastbourne. There are also daily direct trains to Bristol, Bedford, Cambridge, Gatwick Airport, Portsmouth and Southampton.

Map showing distance to London from Brighton

Campus where this course is taught

Falmer campus

Set in the South Downs, our Falmer campus is around four miles from Brighton city centre. 7,000 students are based here taking subjects including criminology, English, education, nursing and medicine, paramedic science, psychology and sociology. Brighton and Hove Albion's Amex stadium and beautiful Stanmer Park are right next door.

Specialist learning facilities at Falmer include the curriculum centre used by teaching and education students, which houses over 30,000 teaching resources and clinical skills and simulation suites used by health students. Psychology students learn in our applied cognition and flexible creative method labs.

Falmer campus has two halls of residence on site, as well as a library, restaurant, cafes, and a students' union shop and bar.

The campus sports centre has a fitness suite, activity studios and a sports hall. There is also a floodlit astroturf football pitch, netball and tennis courts.

Cycle lanes link Falmer with our other campuses and the city centre and there is a BTN BikeShare hub on site. There are regular bus services to the city centre and other campuses. Falmer train station is right next to campus and a nine minute journey to central Brighton.

Please enable targeting cookies in order to view this video content on our website, or you can watch the video on YouTube.

Newly refurbished atrium in the Checkland Building

Accommodation

Brighton: Falmer

Looking for clearing accommodation? Accommodation is available, we can help you find your home from home.

All eligible students applying for 2020 are guaranteed an offer of university-managed accommodation.

Halls of residence
We have halls of residence across Brighton in the city centre, Moulsecoomb, Varley Park and Falmer.

You'll be prioritised for accommodation in the halls that are linked to your teaching base, subject to availability.
Falmer campus is linked to the halls on Falmer campus and at Varley Park.
- Paddock Field and Great Wilkins halls are on Falmer campus and offer a range of room types and catering options
- Varley Park offers a mix of room and catering options. Varley Park is around two miles from Moulsecoomb campus and four miles from the city centre. Public transport in the city is excellent, and there's a shuttle bus between our Brighton campuses during term time.

Unihomes and unilets
Unihomes and unilets are student houses that we let to our students on behalf of private landlords. This option can work particularly well when you're balancing learning with placements and other commitments. We have unihomes and unilet properties across the city.

Starting in 2019 and looking for accommodation advice? Find out more about our accommodation options.

Private renting
There's plenty of support if you opt for private rented accommodation. This is an option which offers choice and flexibility – enabling you to choose where you live and who with. We manage our own studenthomes database of properties. This lists accommodation offered by landlords who have signed up to our code of standards. Every summer we provide online events and resources, as well as other advice services, for students looking for a place to live and people to share with.