Becoming a counsellor after psychology degree

[LilaGrace]

Once a BPS accredited psychology degree is obtained, can anyone advise what is needed in order to become a practising counsellor? I understand there are several routes to achieve this, one of which is doing a post graduate qualification with the BPS themselves. I'd love to hear from anyone who has gone on to be a counsellor after studying a psychology degree and which route they went along to get there. Thanks

Bump- anyone...?

I'm not sure about this but there are lots of PGDip/ MSc courses with specific content. I'm not sure how you convert all that knowledge into something that can be applied to counselling. I'd like to know too.

Thanks Waitingforsherlock. It seems that the doctorates are very hard to get onto and I'd like to hear from anyone who had been through this personally- or had knowledge of the psychology field and careers.

Have you looked on the Clin Psy website? It's full of info about that sort of thing.

www.clinpsy.org.uk/forum/

No- but I will now! Thanks

Many years ago I did a psychology degree, then a post graduate diploma in counselling from a University. It was part time, 3 hrs a week for a year. By the end of the year I had a small private practice.
Most of the counsellors that I know don't have a psychology degree though, it's not a requirement for being a counsellor.

That's interesting mygrandchildrenrock. I know you don't have to do a psychology degree to be a counsellor- but at this stage I want to keep my options open with regards to what I do afterwards. Do you mind if I ask how long ago it was that you did your course?

It was about 19 yrs ago, and for about 6 yrs I had a small practice and rented a room in a counselling centre. Most of my clients wanted evening or weekend appointments because they worked. In the end it just wasn't compatible with having a family!
I did my psychology degree with a clear aim in mind, to become an educational psychologist. The big surprise for me though, was how much I loved teaching and I stayed in education. I do feel I use the skills and knowledge from both my degree and my counselling on a daily basis though!