Training in Counselling Psychology/Psychotherapy

[Corilee2806]

Looking for advice about whether my plan will get me to where I want to be. I’m 37, have two young children and think my purpose in life is to support mums through the perinatal period and early years of motherhood.

I think I’d ideally do this through one to one support - counselling or therapy, but also have some ideas about bigger support programmes based on gaps I feel currently exist. I’ve been on my own PND journey and feel I’ve learned a lot from this and have a lot to offer.

My background - I have a 2:1 BSc Psychology and currently a senior civil servant so don’t have much directly relevant experience (although transferable skills in strategy, policy and comms which I figure may help with my bigger picture idea) but looking at volunteering. I can start saving up a bit for the course I might want to do - something around Counselling Psychology, but I know it’s really expensive and I’d need to keep working part time to finance it. I have a one and three year old so thinking I’d need to start this in 2025 when my youngest starts school, when I’d be 40, then think it’s about 3 years of studying.

I don’t think I’m too old as even in my early 40s I’d still have well over 20 years of working left and I really want to do what I’m passionate about, but I’d welcome advice from anyone in the field - is this a realistic plan? What else should I be thinking about?

grateful for any words of wisdom!

Just bumping to see if anyone can help!

I don't know a great deal about it, but an acquaintance of mine has done a lot of work in this field through being involved with NCT. I only know from what she's posted on Facebook over the years, but there has been a lot of study and further study, real in-depth working. Again, not sure of the hows and whys, but it may be a good place to begin a search to find out more?

I know that she absolutely loves what she does, and it has led to a lot of rewarding work with mothers, young mothers, refugees, women's refuges etc.

Clinical psychology is funded. A 2:1 plus experience will help. It is competitive so worth finding out about specific courses as some encourage people who’ve had previous jobs and do part time. You apply annually so think you need to get it in by December or wait another year

I posted on your other thread OP. I just wanted to comment on the above post re clinical psychology. Personally if you're set on going down the perinatal route I wouldn't try and follow this path. This is a long and arduous training and you will need a few years of work experience in mental health to even be considered. Then you will have placements in lots of different areas, and may not get a perinatal placement. If you are focused on working with this population I would consider other routes.

Thanks all - definitely not considering the clinical psychology route, I remember being put off how competitive it was when I was a graduate. I’m also not sure it’s the best route for what I have in mind. When I’ve tried to research options on maternal mental health therapy, counselling etc specifically there’s not a lot of info, probably because there’s so many ways in. Im considering a masters in counselling psychology but not sure that’s right.

I can answer this. I am a Counsellor and have taught on Counselling courses. With a degree already, you could look at doing a level 4 Counselling qualification, as long as you choose a course which specifies it is accredited and has 100 hours placement attached to it. There are also BA routes which you can do, which will be the 3 year degree course. Within the degree, you could do your research on PND/pre/postnatal care and then specialise in this, especially if you can secure a placement within NHS/charity. The degree is full time, but generally one day a week and the other days you would be expected to study and see clients (from year 2).

Check if the course offers in house supervision, factor in your own psychotherapy costs and a lot of time for self development. They don't call it the divorce course for nothing... It was said in jest, kind of.

There is a MA in Counselling and Psychotherapy practice, but not sure what previous experience in the field you need to get onto this.

This could be your niche and I have no doubt that you would be able to find clients to work with.

NHS offer work to train CBT practitioners, although won't specialise in the cohort of people you would like to support.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Sorry but I’m immediately put off by your “purpose in life” comment. Having lived experience of PND is not the same as providing a service . Have you considered why there are no existing services ? The NHS provides perinatal psychiatric care which covers therapeutic interventions.

I would also recommend considering your future career and finances, especially as you are used to a civil service job. The vast majority of counsellors and psychotherapists work in private practice which can be great and it's absolutely possible to earn a reasonable living. It sounds like running your own business would not be a huge challenge given your transferable skills, but it's a big change from the security of a regular salary, pension, etc. The membership bodies used to recommend about 20 clients per week as the maximum case load and although there is no rule about this now, I think it's something training providers don't really make clear and it does of course limit earning potential if you are thinking session fee x hours you can do each week.

I found my biggest expense was the hours and hours of personal therapy that I had to complete in order to qualify. Don't discount how much this will cost.

Hi OP, with your degree you would be eligible for entry onto a Doctorate in Counselling Psychology programme (although some courses expect you to have at least 12 months work in a related field such as an Assistant Psychologist post or mental health support worker role). When completed this would give you a qualification as a Counselling Psychologist and you would be eligible for registration with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) meaning you could apply for Band 7 Clinical/Counselling Psychologist posts in the NHS and work your way up from there or go into private practice if you prefer. The main difference between clinical and counselling psychology courses (apart from some minor differences in course content in some places) is that counselling psychology is self funded (about 8-9k per year) and you also have to find your own placements, whereas clinical psychology is salaried by the nhs during training and thus more competitive. You are eligible for the same jobs at the end though. Hope that helps!

Oh wow thanks everyone - really helpful replies, lots to think about but good to know I’ve got options. Really good point about jumping from the job security of the civil service - this is something I think about when weighing up pros and cons.

also regretting my sloppy use of language in my original post re ‘purpose in life’ - I had very little time to write this and dashed off a post not really thinking about it. Could you expand a bit more on what you mean though @giggly ? I realise it makes me sound a bit naive and overly optimistic and I promise that’s not the place I’m coming from at all.

@Exsurrey and @shivermetimbers77 this is interesting to hear and I wonder what parts of the U.K. you're in?

I'm currently retraining as a Counsellor/Psychotherapist and wanted to get straight onto the Masters course. However very few unis will allow you to do that without doing a L3 counselling skills access course now!
I also have a 1st class degree in a very related field and experience in support/social care/youth mental health etc

Hello! Just placemarking as I can’t write at length now (small ones!) but am a masters student in counselling and psychotherapy and came to it largely inspired by a similar sense of interest/purpose as you. I too am late thirties with two small children. I will try and come back with more insight/advice later 😊!

How are you finding the master? I’m in the South of the UK.

OP, I trained while working in the public sector and then took the leap of faith and started up Private Practice. You’ll generally find very few people work solely in PP and many have other means of income, such as teaching, a permanent PAYE part time role within the mental health sector/similar.

That being said, there absolutely is the opportunity to have a thriving private practice, but this doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a privilege to choose working hours, be with family more etc.

Hi, OP. Have you considered psychotherapy training? It’s at Masters level or Masters equivalent. Just an option other than counselling psychology. It’s an enormously rewarding area of work if it’s for you. It is not particularly well paid in the 3rd sector (especially counselling) though, depending on where you are, working in private practice may be a better option. It is also expensive, both in training and afterwards in terms of personal therapy, supervision, professional membership, insurance etc. You are absolutely not too old at 37! People train in the therapy professions at all ages and life experience is a plus.

Yep I’m considering counselling, psychotherapy, counselling psychology - keeping various options at the moment, there’s several possibilities it seems. It’s heartening to know it’s possible though.

to say a bit more about what area I’m thinking about, there’s two. When I was on mat leave - with a toddler and baby, granted some of this in lockdown - this was when I struggled and developed mental health problems, but I found that so much of the available support was geared (a) towards first time mums and (b) those struggling with the very early days and there wasn’t much I could access (bearing in mind I wasn’t a severe case - moderate/mild)

so I think there’s something around that, it’s just defining what. Then the second thing is returning to work when you’ve had or have PND - again there’s a real gap in terms of providing support through employers and I think there’s something to explore here. In either case I feel like I need to develop some deep expertise in this field as I work out what it is that I could offer. I know it won’t be easy but I really feel that with the skills I already have, plus experience - and yes, the motivation through really caring about this - I want to try and at least give it a go.

I’m lucky that I’m a position to be able to afford to do this at the moment with the support of my partner but I’m not going to assume that’s a given indefinitely- but it helps to know that there is security in terms of him being the breadwinner. But I would obviously hope to be able to make a relatively decent living!

look forward to hearing your thoughts @needthiswilderness ! Sounds like you’re in a similar position to me.

Hi @Corilee2806 , I'm back! To give you a short overview of my journey - it started about 8 years or so ago, pre-kids, when I began volunteering for a helpline for a women's therapy centre. I got a lot out of this work and it planted a seed of an idea about a possible different future career path. After the birth of my first baby about five years ago, I knew time was up on my former career (for various complex reasons) and I started to think more seriously about this new path, thinking about a career that could be flexible and fulfilling at the same time, and aligned with my values.. I too am interested in perinatal mental health, also women's health in general and therapy through a feminist lens..

So I made the decision to start the route to qualifying as a psychotherapist. It is a long journey! I started with a certificate in counselling skills, which was an access requirement for the masters in counselling and psychotherapy that I'm currently on. In order to get onto the certificate, I needed a year's experience working or volunteering in the field. To get on the masters, I needed the level 4 certificate and a 2.1 or above undergrad degree. The masters is part-time, three years, accredited by BACP - in term time I'd say the time commitment is approx 3 days a week. I'm in my second year currently. There is an academic component, a personal development component and a vocational placement component. I love the placement, working with clients, but it is demanding for sure. I intend for my second placement to be in perinatal mental health, but my first is more generalised and that feels appropriate. Most more specialised providers will not take first year students.

It is fascinating, challenging, rewarding work. So far I have no regrets about this change of direction and feel very fulfilled. I suspect carving out a career in private practice (my end goal) will be tough - and, related, it feels important to mention too that I'm under no financial pressure; my husband is a high earner. I hope to earn a decent-ish income eventually, but will be supplementing our household income rather than being mainly responsible for it. I recognise my privilege here. Because it is an expensive training. On top of the costs of the course, I also pay for weekly therapy for myself (a mandatory requirement).

All in all, I'd absolutely recommend it, and would say an obvious jump off point for you now would be to get some experience volunteering in something mental health related. There are definitely voluntary roles in perinatal mental health charities, so I guess that would be ideal.

Phew that was a splurge! Hope a bit useful anyway! Any more specific questions, please ask. Sometimes takes me a while to reply because LIFE but I will endeavour to! Good luck with finding your new path.

Ignore PP criticising your "purpose in life" comment. It's as good a reason as any to get into it imo.

Given that you say you don't want to start training just yet, you could look into some volunteer experience with eg local charities working with new mums to see if you like being in a caring/support role and also see if you can find any local counselling psychologists/psychotherapists willing to chat with you over coffee or something or even on zoom.

Perinatal is a very important but quite "niche" field, the advantage of a broad counselling psychology or psychotherapy training is that you could work with a different client group if your interests change

Thank you so much for coming back @needthiswilderness and taking the time to explain your journey so thoroughly - I really appreciate it and reading through, I can see that with a lot of hard work and planning this might be possible too - it’s exciting but also daunting!

i have been looking into volunteering opportunities as that’s something I can start now - I may message you about that as would welcome any suggestions as to what might be possible.

And thanks very much for the advice too @crochetmeahat and appreciate you saying about purpose in life - I think you know what I’m getting at, @needthiswilderness says it much above about alignment with values etc. and I’m conscious that as I get older and maybe a step removed from where I am now I will gain more life experience and be interested in different things, so I don’t have to just stick with one area to specialise in - I want to be quite flexible as know things change.