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PGDip

Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy

Theory, research, therapeutic practice, and a commitment to self-awareness, to help you develop into a professionally qualified counsellor and psychotherapist.

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Key Course Details

  • Start Date

    September

  • Location

    Newport

  • Campus Code

    C

Fees

  • Home students

    £1,200*

  • Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.

  • Start Date

    September

  • Location

    Newport

  • Campus Code

    C

Fees

This two-year part-time integrative counselling and psychotherapy course, is accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), and emphasises the integration of theory, research, therapeutic practice, and a commitment to self-awareness, to help you develop into a professionally qualified counsellor and psychotherapist that is safe, ethical, anti-oppressive, relational and creative.

DESIGNED FOR

The course is designed to serve as a professional qualification for those seeking a career as a Counsellor and/or Psychotherapist working in the private, public and/or voluntary sectors, or for those working within other ‘helping’ professions or contexts who wish to further develop and enhance their relational ways of working and being.

Accredited by

The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)

Career Paths

  • Counsellor
  • Psychotherapist
  • NHS
  • Private Practice
  • Private, Public and Voluntary Sector Organisations

Skills taught

  • Collaboration
  • Relationality
  • Phenomenological Enquiry
  • Reflexivity
  • Ethical Mindedness

We make a difference in practice, not just on paper. Our courses are designed by people who offer jobs - and taught by people who have real work experience.

A student with shoulder-length bright pink hair listens intently to a fellow student while taking notes in a practice counselling session
A music therapy student concentrates while playing an old looking double bass in front of a white wall in a classroom at the Newport campus
A group of students are gathered around a sensory board containing sand and natural items like pinecones and wood in a therapeutic play classroom at USW

Course Highlights

Professionally Accredited

Successful completion enables individual professional registration with the BACP.

Integrative Approach

Underpinning modalities of person-centred, existential, psychodynamic, CBT and Third Wave.

Embedded Anti-Oppressive Approach Lens

The course is informed and underpinned by Khan’s (2023) Model of Working Within Diversity.

Module Overview

The Postgraduate Diploma Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy has been designed to serve as a professional qualification for student practitioners seeking a career as a qualified counsellor/psychotherapist with clients aged 18 years and over.  The course provides student practitioners with input on approach specific as well as integrative counselling theory and a range of skills practice opportunities.

Year one builds on the core ethical principles and competencies of counselling with a focus on Person-Centred, Existential and Psychodynamic approaches. Readiness to Practise assessments take place In the December of year one, with placements commencing from the January onwards.  Across the first year, there will be in-person teaching and skills practice as well as teaching and skills practice, in keeping with BACP online and phone therapy competency expectations. There will also be key focus on working within risk-based contexts both in-person and online/via phone.

Integrative Counselling Theory and Practice

Introduces the theory and foundational skills of the humanistic person-centred and existential approaches, whilst also setting the firm foundations of the ethical and legal frameworks within which counsellors and psychotherapists are duty bound to work. 

 

Applied Integrative Counselling Theory and Practice

Introduces the theory and foundational skills of the relational psychodynamic approach. In addition, students begin to learn how to integrate approaches within applied therapeutic practice with real client issues. 

Personal and Professional Development

This module places emphasis on self awareness, patterns of relating with others, working with unhelpful aspects of self in addition to working with the challenge of giving and receiving feedback.

In year two, students are supported in becoming more integrative in their approach, integrating aspects of humanistic, relational psychodynamic and CBT, including third wave approaches.  Across the second year, there will continue to be in-person teaching and skills practice as well as teaching and skills practice, in keeping with BACP online and phone therapy competency expectations. There will also be greater focus on more complex client presentations as well as research skills and preparation for post-qualification practice.

Advanced Integrative Counselling Theory and Skills

Introduces the theory and foundational skills of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Third Wave approaches, such as mindfulness, CFT and ACT. The module also provides an overview of models and approaches to working with mental health, e.g. Medical Model, Bio-Psycho-Socio-Spiritual Model as well as more Trauma-Informed approaches.

Advanced Applied Theory and Practice

This module focuses more on working integratively with a range of client issues typically found in professional practice e.g. grief and loss, domestic abuse, complex trauma. There is also a focus on developing research skills in preparation for completing a research project.

Advanced Personal and Professional Practice

This module places emphasis on engaging with and facilitating safe, ethical and effective group work. 

Course Highlights

How you’ll learn

Delivery is predominantly through interactive seminars, experiential workshops, personal development groups, and simulated skills practice. We expect students to attend all sessions, and there is a minimum requirement of 80% attendance for successful completion of the course. 

Delivery is across one full day a week with additional weekend-based delivery throughout the year. The two-year course contains 450 hours of direct, synchronised tutor delivery. 

A range of assessment is used to test your knowledge, skills, self-awareness and therapeutic practice ability, including an Online and In-Person Simulation of a 50-minute Counselling and Psychotherapy Session, Critical Skills Reports, Essays, a Client Case Study, and a Portfolio of Personal Development and Professional Practice Activities.

Teaching Staff

The core course team are Dr Nicky Lewis (Course Leader), Dr Mason Neely and Nandi Kriwaczek. 

All are BACP registered or accredited and in private practice as counsellors and psychotherapists alongside their academic roles. In addition, all are qualified clinical supervisors. 

Nicky is also a Chartered Academic Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the BPS. 

The core team are supported by departmental colleagues Katy Tozer (HCPC Registered Dramatherapist), Dr Andrew Dale (HCPC Registered Counselling Psychologist) and Anna Fox (BACP Accredited Counsellor/ Psychotherapist).

Placements

You will need to undertake a counselling and psychotherapy placement seeing 'real' clients within an agency setting, throughout the course.

You will need to have completed at least 100 hours of supervised counselling and psychotherapy practice (not including cancellations) by the end of the two years. Up to a maximum of 49 of your hours can be through online and telephone means but a minimum of 51 hours need to be in-person. 

There is a BACP requirement that you should have fortnightly supervision for your counselling and psychotherapy practice and a minimum of 1.5 hours supervision per calendar month. (a mixture of individual and group is recommended) based on a ratio of 1 hour of supervision to 8 hours of client work.

Facilities

We utilise a range of light and airy teaching rooms in addition to a suite of specialist counselling and psychotherapy therapeutic practice rooms. We have a designated team of placement officers who are available to support you in your search for an appropriate placement opportunity.

Accredited By BACP

Careers and Employability

Possible career paths

Although building the supervised practise hours to achieve BACP personal accreditation will require more therapeutic practice experience, having successfully completed the formal training hours and assignments, for both year 1 and 2 you will be ready to look for work in the field of Counselling and Psychotherapy and eligible for BACP personal professional registration. 

Former students from the course have found positions in many settings within the NHS, Private Health Care Organisations, Local Authorities, the Voluntary Sector and in Private Practice.

Careers support

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

A relevant degree or a qualification at level 6 or above, plus a minimum of a level 3 counselling skills qualification or equivalent. This qualification needs to include the formal observation and assessment of counselling skills practice by an appropriately qualified tutor. 

In addition, evidence of previous experience of working within a helping environment. 

Additional requirements include:

Two references need to be uploaded with your application with one being from your previous counselling skills tutor. 

A detailed personal statement is required that offers a well-considered reflection of your personal and professional values, skills and experiences and why these inform your potential for success within a counselling and psychotherapy training environment. The selection process will include a written exercise, a group-based skills activity and an interview. 

An Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check on the Adult Workforce and Adult Barring List and subscription to the DBS Update Service is required. (Overseas equivalent required for non-uk applicants).

Closed for International applicants 

Unfortunately, this course is not currently open to international applicants, please visit our course pages where you can find an alternative course choice. 

 

Contextual offers

We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended, for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer, and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions.

USW prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university.

 

We're here to help

Whether you a have a question about your course, fees and funding, the application process or anything else, there are plenty of ways you can get in touch, and we'd love to talk to you. You can contact our friendly admissions team by phone, email or chat to us online.

 

Fees and Funding

UK Part-time Fee

£1,200

per 20 credits*

Further Information

Studying at university is one of the most significant investments you'll ever make. Whilst you’re studying, you’ll have two main financial obligations – tuition fees and living costs. There’s lots of financial help available from the University of South Wales and external funding sources, that may provide loans (which have to be paid back) and grants, scholarships and bursaries (that don't).

*Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits. Once enrolled, the fee is anticipated to remain at the same rate throughout the duration of your study on this course except as described below.

Please be aware that we may increase the maximum fee for home students on full-time undergraduate courses only where the Welsh Government increases the permitted level of inflation of fees. Fees for all students (including part-time, postgraduate and international students) may be amended in accordance with our applicable Fees and Debt Management Policy.  We will ensure that students are given clear, intelligible, unambiguous and timely information about our courses and costs in good time, ahead of the next academic year.

 

Fees and Funding Scholarships and Busaries Alumni Discount

Additional Costs

As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment.

 Students will be expected to pay for a DBS or certificate of good behaviour from their home country. The DBS fee includes £49.50 for the enhanced DBS certificate, the Post Office Administration fee and the online administration fee

Cost: £64.74

Subscription required for each year of the course for a yearly fee of £16. Please note the service has to be joined within 30 days of receipt of your enhanced DBS certificate

Cost: £16

A minimum of 20 hours of personal therapy is required throughout the course, with a professionally qualified and registered counsellor/ psychotherapist.  

Cost: £40 – 60 per session

Some placement providers have their own supervisors, some provide only group supervision, and some don’t provide supervision at all. If you are offered a placement but not offered supervision, it is your responsibility to fund that supervision.  

Cost: £40 – 60 per hour

Membership subscriptions run for a year and are reviewed annually. If you’re receiving certain state benefits or have no personal income, you may be entitled to a reduction in your fees. https://www.bacp.co.uk/membership/student-membership/

Cost: £86 a year

Some placement providers will cover you under their agency insurance. If individual cover is required, then this is at your own cost. Cost varies depending on individual circumstances and is every year.

Cost: £75 – 150 a year

University Quality Assurance

At USW, we regularly review our courses in response to changing patterns of employment and skills demand to ensure we offer learning designed to reflect today’s student needs and tomorrow’s employer demands.

If during a review process course content is significantly changed, we’ll write to inform you and talk you through the changes for the coming year. But whatever the outcome, we aim to equip our students with the skillset and the mindset to succeed whatever tomorrow may bring. Your future, future-proofed.

Life at USW

Halls are a big part of your student experience and there’s accommodation at all three of our locations. If you don’t want to live near the campus, there are great transport links to keep you connected.

A student sat smiling and talking to friends off camera in Treforest Student's Union
Student Life
University of South Wales Newport Campus.
Newport Campus
A double room at our Pontypridd accommodation featuring a large window.
Accommodation

How to apply

There is an online application process for this course. Please choose the application form for your preferred start date and mode of study (i.e. full-time or part-time).

International admissions

Please see our international admissions advice for further information about how to apply as a prospective international student.

Related Courses

Integrative Counselling Skills - PGCert Learn more
Counselling Psychology - DPsych Learn more

Next Steps

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