Retraining as a counsellor - is this a good place to start?

[Appletini]

I would like to retrain as a counsellor or therapist. I'm not entirely sure which modality yet. I've had several years of my own therapy and my therapist's approach has helped me but I'm not sure if it's the one I actually want to train in necessarily.

There isn't an intro to counselling course running at any colleges local to me, but I'm in commuting distance of London and have been looking into courses there. I'm thinking of signing up for the Introduction to Counselling course at Birkbeck which I can do over seven weekends next year as this seems like a good place to start in terms of exploring the profession.

I was wondering if anyone has done this course or knows anything about it? Am I right in thinking an intro to counselling course is a good place to start? Will I need to think about doing a psychology conversion course or is that not needed?

I should add that I realise it's a tough process to train for this and much soul searching will be involved.

[MotherOfChickens]

Hi there,
I have completed the CPCAB Intro course and have just signed up to Level 2 Counselling Skills. I can't offer any advice on the Birkbeck course but found the CPCAB intro course to be an excellent (and not too expensive) taster to see if counselling is for me.
If you are in commuting distance of London it might be worth seeing if anyone offers this course.

For progression information there is some good info here you have to complete Level 4 before you can become a certified counsellor.

Good luck and if you need any other info about the intro course don't hesitate to ask!