As the course combines both psychology and counselling, you’ll have the experience of two different disciplines. With further study, you can go on to become a qualified counsellor or psychotherapist. The skills you develop, including how to interact with and listen to people, will also be very useful for a wide range of other roles. It could include becoming an education support worker, wellbeing mentor or working within the care system.
We offer a very practical and supportive approach, which will take you through the theory side and then enable you to put it into action using real life scenarios. You will learn about different psychological theories, including cognitive behavioural therapy, person-centred and psychodynamic therapy. You’ll also develop a real understanding of ethics and what it means to the counselling world. The course includes a focus on each student’s own personal development. Feedback from students shows they learn so much about themselves through this journey. You will also work in a skills group, with the chance to take on roles as the counsellor and client.
As a student on our psychology courses you will have access to a range of psychology technical laboratories which house equipment such as eye tracking, equipment to record physiological measures (e.g. heart rate), virtual reality, driving simulator, temperature-induced pain stimuli, an array of experimental software, and dedicated counselling facilities. This equipment allows us to take scientific measures to underpin theoretical content within psychology.
Careers
The degree opens up a wide range of jobs. You can apply directly to a postgraduate counselling course that leads to British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) accreditation.
Qualified counsellors can choose to work in private practice or for the NHS. You could also become a school counsellor, work in prisons, rehabilitation or addiction services, human resources, or in the mental health field for charities or the private sector.
If you decide not to pursue the further training necessary to become a professional counsellor or psychotherapist, you will still develop key academic competences, such as self-understanding, communication and relationship skills, that are vital to employment success.
We have graduates who go into teaching or social work. Some work in HR or gain jobs as wellbeing mentors. There’s a huge range of possibilities.