British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy
You can ‘t, or at least you shouldn’t, half ass it. I am a qualified counsellor and bacp accredited . This is the least academic route to become a qualified practising counsellor . I actually have a psychology degree as well which was helpful in understanding some of the issues in counselling but it was not necessary.
You must have completed and graduated from a BACP accredited course, or professional counselling or psychotherapy training that: included at least 450 hours of tutor contact hours. lasted at least two years (part-time) or one year (full-time) included a supervised placement as an integral part of the training.
Your course does not have to be BACP – accredited , but if it’s not you ‘ll need to take our Certificate of Proficiency before you can progress to become a registered member or be eligible for our accreditation scheme.
3. What is the difference between BACP and UKCP ? The BACP trains counsellors and psychotherapists and the UKCP trains psychotherapists. If you are applying for a public sector job as a psychotherapist or counsellor, adverts usually ask for someone who is BACP or UKCP registered.
There are lots of different websites out there with guidelines about the differences between BACP and UKCP but roughly speaking the BACP requires less training in terms of time (2 years) whereas the UKCP courses can take up to 4 years and requires much more client contact hours and personal therapy hours.
To practise as a counsellor most employers will require you to have undertaken professional training and you’ll need a qualification at foundation degree/ diploma level to join a professional body or to become accredited.
After completing our level 4 diploma you can deepen your therapeutic understanding and practitioner skills by further study. These qualifications will enable you to: Work as a counsellor in independent practice ( Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling ).
30 hours
CPCAB is an awarding organisation – also known as an awarding body or examination board which awards qualifications – whereas BACP is a professional membership body which represents the interests of counselling. In practice therefore BACP accredited courses may be linked to national qualifications or they may not.
If you want to know how you can be a counselor without a college degree , you may want to look into addiction counseling . Some states allow people with a high school diploma and a combination of field experience or certification to become licensed to work as a counselor with alcohol and drug abuse.
In recent years, counselling has become more highly recognised by the NHS as an effective way to help people with mental health problems. Various programs to improve access and recruit more counsellors mean that it is a good time to consider a career in counselling .
Counselling qualifications: A diploma or advanced diploma in counselling to provide an in-depth study of counselling theory and ethics, and a supervised practice placement that includes at least 400 hours. To be accepted onto a diploma course, counsellors usually need a counselling skills certificate.
A counsellor will utilise psychotherapy to help clients going through mental health difficulties. In some cases, professionals may choose to call themselves a psychotherapist . Others may refer to themselves as a counsellor . In these settings, people are free to talk about their feelings to a trained professional.
The Difference Between Counseling and Psychotherapy The focus may be on problem solving or on learning specific techniques for coping with or avoiding problem areas. Counseling is also usually more short-term than therapy . Psychotherapy is more long-term than counseling and focuses on a broader range of issues.
Individual member Individual membership is for practising counsellors and psychotherapists who have successfully completed a counselling or psychotherapy practitioner training course that meets our criteria. Individual members have up to 24 months to progress to registered membership.