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Professional Practice in Counselling (Top-Up) BA (Hons)

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Student and lecturer interacting in Professional Practice in Counselling lesson

Professional Practice in Counselling (Top-Up) BA (Hons)

Course overview – Professional Practice in Counselling (Top-Up) BA (Hons)

This one-year, full-time BA Professional Practice in Counselling (Top-up) is designed for qualified counsellors to develop their professional knowledge and advance their professional practice. This course is aligned to SCoPEd column B competencies and designed for qualified counsellors who want to top-up their qualification to degree level.

It provides a blended-learning approach, with a mixture of online and on-campus teaching.

What does this course cover?
You will have the opportunity to deepen your theoretical and clinical knowledge, develop your self-awareness and critical reflection skills to enhance your clinical work. An emphasis is placed on developing culturally responsive, ethically grounded practice across diverse client contexts.

You will study three core areas; theory to practice; professional practice and research inquiry. These are explored through taught modules, seminars, experiential days, and a research project giving you space to reflect, challenge assumptions around practice and apply your learning to your clinical practice.

During your course, you will be required to complete 50 hours of supervised clinical practice and a minimum of 40 hours of personal development to deepen your professional development and personal insight.

How will I be assessed?
You’ll be assessed through a range of written assignments related to professional learning in the counselling and psychotherapy field.

Why study Professional Practice in Counselling (Top-Up) BA (Hons)

The BA Professional Practice in Counselling (Top-up) offers you the opportunity to develop your counselling practice through in-depth, research informed and reflexive learning. You will have the opportunity to develop your knowledge in theory, practice and research through critically engaging with.

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Entry requirements

• Level 5 qualification in counselling or psychotherapy (or equivalent)
• Be a registered member of one of the SCoPEd partner organisations
• Be prepared to undertake 50 hours of supervised clinical work[RW2.1]
• Be prepared to complete a minimum of 40 hours of personal development

Successful admission onto the programme is also dependent upon demonstrating your suitability to undertake further clinical training at column B (SCoPEd) and personal development at interview.

Non-Academic Requirements:
DBS Clearance. Candidates must receive a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring System check prior to commencing the course.

Course fees & funding

Fees

The tuition fee for the 2026/27 academic year is: £9,790.

Funding

Additional costs

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Placement Information

Throughout your BA Professional Practice in Counselling (top-up), you will complete a minimum of 50 hours of supervised clinical practice. As a qualified practitioner, you may be able to count your work in supervised private practice if you can demonstrate that you have the appropriate policies and procedures in place.

What Careers Can I Consider

On successful completion of this course, you may be eligible to apply for Accreditation with the BACP.
You may also be in a position to apply for the MSc Professional Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy

Accreditations and Exemptions

This course follows the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Ethical Framework and is aligned to SCoPEd column B competencies. This programme includes training in online and telephone therapy in line with BACP guidance.

We are currently working towards accreditation as a BACP Accredited progression course (aligned to column B of the SCoPEd framework). Upon successful completion, students may be able to apply for Accredited membership with the BACP.

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