Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology MSc/DPsych
Overview
The Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology is a professional training programme, approved by the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) and accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS).
The Counselling Psychology MSc/DPsych course is designed to equip you with a rigorous training in clinical practice, as well as professional research skills at doctoral level, to enable you to become an effective and competent Practitioner Psychologist registered with the HCPC, and Chartered Psychologist with the BPS.
Our professional, clinical and academic training is combined with the opportunity to develop your own portfolio of placement experience. This equips you to build a successful and fulfilling career in a broad range of settings, including:
- the NHS (e.g. inpatient settings, community mental health teams, specialist services such as early intervention, with different clinical populations e.g. older adults)
- the independent hospital sector
- forensic settings including HMPS and probation
- organisations in areas such as occupational health
- the Third (voluntary) sector
- industry
- government
- private practice (including Employee Assistance Programmes) and
- academic and research settings.
93 per cent of City's 2011 Counselling Psychology MSc/DPsych graduates were in employment or further study six months after graduation.
Course Fees:
- Full-time EU: £9,000 (2013 entry)
- Full-time Non EU: £14,000 (2013 entry)
Start Date:
23 September 2013
Entry Requirements
The following are normally required for you to enter for first year of the Counselling Psychology DPsych:
As the majority of our students choose to proceed to the second year, we only have a small number of places available to external candidates each year.
City University London policy states that all students on the Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology (MSc/DPsych) must be subject to a Criminal Records Bureau check at an enhanced level as part of the University's admissions procedure. The course you are applying for is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 therefore you are obliged to declare any previous convictions. For further information please refer to the CRB disclosure page for this course.
Please note that all new students are required to attend an Occupational Health appointment in the first weeks of the course to ensure you have health clearance to practise. Successful applicants will be given specific details of this mandatory appointment during your induction.
- A 2:1 Honours degree or above which confers GBC (see below) or other first degree with relevant conversion course.
- Successful completion of introductory training in therapeutic/counselling skills. We are looking for training such as certificate-level counselling skills courses (i.e. a course which awards you a certificate on completion); other relevant therapeutic training, e.g. that offered by various levels of the NHS IAPT programme such as for psychological well-being practitioners; or other appropriate counselling training undertaken as a health or social care worker. If you are in doubt as to whether your training would meet our requirements please ask us (see contact details, right). We run a five-day workshop at City University London which equips you with relevant skills for application to the Professional Doctorate course, although other courses are also available on the market.
- Substantial experience with face-to-face mental health/counselling work (usually one year minimum). This could include working (paid or unpaid) as a mental health or social care support worker/healthcare assistant in a ward or community setting; a mental health charity; a victim support unit; bereavement counselling; or relationship counselling. The experience we are looking for is more than 'befriending', and is different from having worked for example in healthcare roles other than mental health. You need to show you can talk about a patient/client case, conceptualise the person's problems, and put this within the context of the person's life history and environmental system.
- The capacity to undertake research at doctoral level
- Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) with the British Psychological Society (BPS). If you are unsure whether your undergraduate degree confers GBC then please contact the BPS for clarification. You will need to have applied for and been granted Graduate Membership conferring GBC with the BPS, by the commencement of the programme.
As the majority of our students choose to proceed to the second year, we only have a small number of places available to external candidates each year.
City University London policy states that all students on the Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology (MSc/DPsych) must be subject to a Criminal Records Bureau check at an enhanced level as part of the University's admissions procedure. The course you are applying for is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 therefore you are obliged to declare any previous convictions. For further information please refer to the CRB disclosure page for this course.
Please note that all new students are required to attend an Occupational Health appointment in the first weeks of the course to ensure you have health clearance to practise. Successful applicants will be given specific details of this mandatory appointment during your induction.
English Requirements
If English is not your first language, you need to provide evidence of either English GCSE grade C or above, or an overall IELTS score of 7.5 or above (with a minimum of 7.0 in each separate sub-category).
Visa Requirements
City University London retains Highly Trusted Status from UKBA, enabling us to sponsor international students to study in the UK.
The way that you apply may vary depending on the length of your course at City, there are different rules for:
- Students on courses of more than 6 months
- Students on courses of less than 6 months
- Students on a pre-sessional English Language course
For more information see our main Visa page.
When and Where
- Start Date:
- 23 September 2013
- Duration:
Three years.
Teaching is on different days of the week during the three years of the course.
In year 1, trainees are required to attend lectures at the University for three terms. Each term is 10 weeks and all lectures are taught on a Wednesday from 9:00 to 17:00.
Please be aware that trainees may occasionally be required to attend meetings and events at the University outside of term time and on other days of the working week than the normal University attendance day.
Please note that this information is subject to change.
Course Content
The DPsych aims to develop ethical, reflective and professional practitioners of counselling psychology who work collaboratively with their clients to provide high-quality psychological services, drawing on evidence-based psychological practice in the context of a therapeutic relationship characterised by trust, respect, and appreciation for the subjective experience of the person and individuality of the client and their unique world view.You are equipped to work with a wide range of complex presenting issues; with individual adults and children, couples, families, groups and organisations; short and long term; in single and multi-professional contexts; and through transferring psychological skills to others in multidisciplinary teams.
You are actively supported during your studies by the course team to develop your own personal theory of the evolution, maintenance and resolution of psychological problems, based on your reading, lectures, practical skills workshops, personal development, collaborative learning and clinical and research experience.
We want you to have a stimulating, challenging, inspiring and personally supportive professional training environment in which to develop your knowledge and skills and further develop as a person and professional. We view you as active contributors to your learning and to the overall success of the course, treating each of you with respect and working with you in a genuinely collegial atmosphere as a developing professional. At our last re-accreditation, we were proud to be commended on our personal tutor system and level of student satisfaction.
Course Structure
N.B. Modules, and their content, are subject to change.Year 1
The first year of the Counselling Psychology MSc/DPsych course is full-time with teaching on one day per week (currently Wednesday). In the first year we aim to give you opportunity to integrate psychological theory and existing research into your professional practice and encourage you to develop a level of self-understanding and awareness. We teach the three main models of Counselling Psychology together with an exploration of practice across the lifespan and across the diverse range of client groups and contexts.
Teaching in research design and analysis is also central to this year of the programme. In addition to the taught components of the programme, you are also required to complete a minimum of 100 hours' professional face-to-face client practice in your placements, undertake frequent clinical supervision, personal development, at least 15 hours of personal therapy and various pieces of coursework during the year, including a critical literature review, initial research proposal and professional practice log.
You are also expected to complete a minimum of 45 hours' indirect client work across the three years of the course.
Year 1 Modules:
- Person-centred approaches to counselling psychology
- Cognitive behavioural approaches to counselling psychology
- Psychodynamic approaches to counselling psychology
- Context, diversity and standards in professional practice
- Research design and analysis 1- intra-subject approaches
- Research design and analysis 2- inter-subject approaches
- Professional components of counselling psychology
- Professional development and supervision
- Personal and professional development
If you exit after successful completion of Year 1, you will be awarded an MSc in Counselling Psychology or MSc Psychological Counselling (depending on your eligibility for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership). Only successful completion of all three years of the programme leads to the award of Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology, and eligibility to apply for registration as a Practitioner Psychologist with the HCPC and Chartership with the BPS.
Year 2
The second year of the Counselling Psychology MSc/DPsych course is full-time with teaching on one day per week (currently Friday). The second year aims to give you a programme of academic study and supervised practice that will lead to progression to the final year of the programme. During this year you are able to choose which model of counselling psychology you wish to develop further knowledge in (cognitive, humanistic or dynamic) and attend the relevant specialist supervision sessions.
In addition to the taught components, you are required to complete a minimum of 150 hours' professional face-to-face client practice in your placements, undertake frequent clinical supervision, personal development, at least 15 hours of personal therapy and various pieces of coursework during the year.
Year 2 modules:
- Professional components of counselling psychology
- Groups and Couples: Counselling and Mediation
- Elective Theory Advances
- Psychopathology: Clinical Skills and Critical Approaches
- Specialist group supervision
- Research proposal for counselling psychology
- Developing research skills in counselling psychology
- Level A psychometrics (optional)
Year 3
The final year of the Counselling MSc/DPsych course is full-time with teaching on one day per week (currently Thursday). The emphasis of this year is to equip you to fullfil the role of Practitioner Psychologist.
In addition to the taught components, you are also required to complete a minimum of 200 hours' professional face-to-face client practice in your placements, clinical supervision, personal development, at least 10 hours of personal therapy and various pieces of coursework during the year, including your doctoral thesis.
Year 3 modules:
- Professional components of counselling psychology
- Introduction to Clinical Supervision Practice
- Integrative and Pluralistic approaches
- Developing research skills in counselling psychology
- Negotiating relationships: advanced skills
- DPsych counselling psychology thesis
- Specialist group supervision
- Consultancy and Professional Development Issues
- Level B psychometrics (optional)
Read the full Counselling Psychology MSc/DPsych programme specification.
Teaching and Assessment
Course director
Course tutors/lecturers/research supervisors
- Dr Jacqui Farrants
- Nicola Gale
- Professor Marina Gulina
- Dr Deborah Rafalin
- Dr Courtney Raspin
- Dr Don Rawson
- Dr Susan Strauss
- Professor Carla Willig
Teaching
A wide range of learning and teaching methods are used, including lectures, group discussion, group work, role play, trainee presentations, supervised clinical practice, personal therapy and personal development activities.
Assessment
You will be assessed through role plays, learning logs, skills assessments, essays, process reports, client studies, examination, critical literature review and DPsych portfolio.
Student focus
We want your time on the Counselling Psychology MSc/DPsych course to be as inspiring, challenging and stimulating as it can be. As part of our dedication to enhancing the overall student experience, we support you throughout your studies in many different ways:
Personal tutors
We were proud to be commended on our personal tutor system at our latest HCPC/BPS accreditation. Personal tutors play a particularly central role in the Counselling Psychology course, providing a link between you, the course and the University. The personal tutor's role is to ensure your welfare throughout the duration of your study. You meet with your personal tutor regularly as part of the weekly Personal and Professional Development module
Student-staff liaison committees
We regard you as active contributors to the success of the course. Student-Staff Liaison Committees give you an opportunity to meet formally with academic staff in order to give us feedback on your experience of the course and the University in general. We use these meetings to implement your suggestions, to make changes to the course if required, and to ensure that we retain the aspects which get positive feedback. These meetings are held regularly and enable us to ensure that the student experience is a positive one.
Placements Co-ordinator
The Placements Co-ordinator acts as the link between clinical placements, you and the University. They liaise with placement providers and provide you with information about potential clinical training opportunities. A large part of this role is maintaining contact with placements and acting as a supportive link for you whilst on placement. The Placements Coordinator often visits placements and organises events for Clinical Supervisors. In the past this has included workshops and social events.
Module feedback
All modules on the programme are evaluated by you. Module feedback normally takes place midway through the module, when you are asked to give confidential feedback on teaching and learning.
Read the full Counselling Psychology MSc/DPsych programme specification.
Fees
- Full-time EU: £9,000 (2013 entry)
- Full-time Non EU: £14,000 (2013 entry)
Funding
For up-to-date information about tuition fees, living costs and financial support, visit Undergraduate Fees and Finance or Postgraduate Fees and Finance.
Placements
In addition to the taught components of the Counselling Psychology MSc/DPsych course, you are also required to complete 400 hours of professional face-to-face client practice in placements and 45 hours of indirect client work; frequent clinical supervision; personal development; 40 hours of personal therapy (at least 15 hours in Year 1); and various pieces of assessment throughout the 3 years, including a doctoral thesis.
Who arranges the placements?
It is your responsibility to find and arrange your own placements, although advice and support is offered by the Placements Co-ordinator and personal tutors. If your application is successful, on acceptance of a place on the course you will be sent further information about finding placements and available opportunities.
Do placements have to be in London?
No, you can undertake your placements wherever is convenient for you as long as you ensure your supervision is from appropriately qualified professionals. Supervisors should be registered with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) as a 'Practitioner Psychologist', 'Registered Psychologist', 'Counselling Psychologist' or 'Clinical Psychologist'. All placements arrangements need to be approved by your personal tutor.
Supervision
Supervision should normally be in the ratio of one hour of supervision for every 8 hours of counselling work in Years 1 and 2, with a minimum of one hour of supervision per fortnight. In Year 3, supervision should be in the ratio of one hour for every 8 hours of counselling work, with a minimum of two hours of supervision per month.
Career Prospects
93 per cent of City's 2011 DPsych Counselling Psychology graduates were in employment or further study six months after graduation, with an average salary of £35,500.
Counselling Psychology graduates are typically employed in a variety of settings, including NHS primary, secondary or tertiary care, the prison service, schools and voluntary agencies.
Employers of recent graduates include:
- St Bartholomews Hospital
- South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
- Central & North West London NHS Trust
- City University London
- Maggie's Cancer Centre
- Imperial College London
- Roehampton University
- London Metropolitan University
- Homerton University Hospital
- The Priory
- Capio Nightingale Hospital
Job titles included Consultant Psychologist, Counselling Psychologist, High Intensity Therapist, Lecturer, and Practitioner Psychologist.
For further information on working as a Chartered Counselling Psychologist, please see the following BPS website.
Find out more about City University London
When to apply
The application deadline for September 2013 entry was 22 March. We will still accept applications but please note that you will be placed on a waiting list and will only be contacted if further places become available.
N.B. You are encouraged to apply online (see the link below).
The application process
Receipt of applications will be confirmed within one week. All complete applications will be considered by the Course Director and shortlisted applicants will be invited to interview as long as spaces remain.
We will be sending out invitations to interview from January onwards. Interviews will take place from January through to May. Please be aware that due to the high volume of applications received, applications will not be considered unless they are complete.
Supporting documents
You must submit two references with your application, and at least one must be from an academic referee if you are a recent graduate. Other referees may include a current employer or an organisation where you have undertaken relevant work experience. References must be provided either on the form provided (with an institution stamp), or on headed paper.
We also require evidence of your academic qualifications.
Download the reference form.
We also require that you submit a supplementary form.
Please also download and complete the application checklist in order to ensure your application is complete.
Apply online
Apply online for the Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology starting 23 September 2013. (Supporting documents can be uploaded during the application process.)
Alternatively, you can download and complete the application form and send it, with the supporting documents, to:
Sam Kearsley
School of Social Sciences
City University London
Northampton Square
London
EC1V 0HB
United Kingdom
If you would like any assistance, please contact Sam Kearsley on:
T: +44(0)20 7040 8535
E: s.kearsley@city.ac.uk