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My placement functioned like a year-long interview - where they know your work, your values, and how you operate – helping me gain employment in a difficult field.
Finding the right course for the right reasons
My journey into counselling grew from a combination of previous work with teenagers and my background as a creative practitioner. I felt drawn to helping young people navigate whatever they were going through, and after exploring art therapy and basic counselling skills, I knew I wanted to train as a counsellor working creatively with children and young people. USW stood out immediately - the integrative therapy course was BACP accredited, had a strong reputation, and was delivered in line with BACP ethical guidelines, which were huge deciding factors for me.
Being local to Newport also made a real difference, and studying at the Newport campus gave me a genuine sense of being part of the city and its community. The variety of tutors, each bringing different experiences from within counselling, was particularly valuable, and the library became an important resource throughout my research, reading, and assignments. It felt like a secure and well-established place to begin my training.
Find your courseChoosing placements that open doors
During the course, various organisations came in to introduce themselves as potential placement providers, which gave me the chance to be deliberate about where I went. For my first placement I wanted broad experience working with adults across a range of presenting issues, and for my second I knew I wanted to work in schools, so I chose Talking Zone specifically because it offered a realistic prospect of paid work afterwards. Getting into counselling straight from qualifying is genuinely difficult, and a placement that functions like a year-long interview - where they know your work, your values, and how you operate - is one of the most practical routes into employment in this field.
I now supervise students on placement at USW Therapy myself, which has given me a clear view of both sides of that journey. The clinic operates to high ethical standards, with best practice policies and a strong link between research, tutor expectations, and what students experience on the ground - theory and practice go hand-in-hand rather than treated separately. My advice is to think carefully about where you want to be in five years, visit the campus, speak to tutors, and if possible talk to students currently on the course to get a real sense of what lies ahead.
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Interested in Psychotherapy and Counselling?
We offer a wide range of psychotherapy and counselling courses that are recognised and accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and the Health and Care Professions’ Council (HCPC).