Route to becoming a counsellor? Help please

[MammaKel]

Hi all,

I think I've got myself a bit confused to what I need to do to become a counsellor.

I have a level 4 qualification in psychology so was going to do a level 3 and 4 qualification in counselling but then I'm not sure what the next steps are?

I can't do a degree as I have no funding on student finance so can anyone help explain please?

Thank you

Why can you not go on to do a degree? My friend did access course, degree, councellor masters. I think people should be well qualified to do this work but it’s not regulated.

You need to have a postgrad diploma that’s accredited to an organisation such as BACP or ukcp…. You can choose to add on another year to get a degree but probably not necessary if you have a degree. As part of the diploma you do a placement and once qualified you can do extra hours eg 450hrs of counselling clients to get to the next level. Have a look at BACP and ukcp websites. Good luck!

This is the route most people take:

https://www.bacp.co.uk/careers/careers-in-counselling/training/

You don't need a degree to be a qualified counsellor, btw. So you could stop at Level 4 (the Diploma). Qualifying levels are from 4 to 7 (postgraduate diploma).

I recommend choosing a BACP or UKCP accredited course.

Do you mean you can't get student finance to do an undergraduate degree because you already have a degree?

I did bacp accredited courses level 1- 4. (Level 4 being diploma level) I then did a year at university to top this up to a degree.

Tbh tho despite have great placements and doing well at study, I struggled after to find paid work. I did some self employed and voluntary work for a few years but eventually needed more money so got a non counselling job.