Welcome to your Psychotherapeutic Counselling course

Search courses
Search staffs.ac.uk

Hit enter to search or ESC to close

Welcome to University of Staffordshire

We know you're already passionate about your subject, which is why we're excited you've chosen University of Staffordshire as the place to turn possibility into reality.

To give you an insight into what life as a Psychotherapeutic Counselling student is like, your course leaders have prepared introductions to the course and further activities.

Welcome to the psychotherapeutic counselling course. We’re very excited to meet you and to be able to support you as you train to become counsellors.

Starting a new course can be daunting and this introduction is designed to be something of a help with that. You’ll begin the course in our ‘becoming a counsellor’ module, which is designed to give you the building blocks you need to be able to move into placement quickly and easily.

Our team consists of qualified counsellors from across a variety of modalities, which means that you will gain a wealth of experience, understanding and knowledge. Your placements will help you to gain the practical knowledge and understanding alongside the theory that informs your approach, and the reflexivity we ask for that helps to make you better counsellors.

We update and change module content every year to make sure that the course is relevant and exciting for you as you learn.

First activity

Welcome to your counselling course. This is a two year diploma course that runs on a Wednesday from 9-5

First module

Your first module, delivered from 18^th Oct is ‘becoming a counsellor’. You have already started your counselling life throughout either a level 3 or a certificate, or through other experience. This module prepares you for starting your placement. The module will cover the bases of theory, as well as practical experience and the ‘readiness to practice’ test that you must pass before you start in placement. This module also requires you to identify and contract with your personal therapist ready to start your therapy hours requirement.

Delivery of course

Most of the course is taught in person. Some lectures and workshops will be online – these will be whole days. As practitioners, most of you will do a mixture of online and in-person work and it’s important to do a mix of this in practice also.

Progression

The course is designed that you progress from module to module. You must pass the end of year one to progress in to year two (you may not carry assignments over). Your progress is monitored by course tutors. We are trained in a variety of counselling approaches, and this means that sometimes you will hear feedback that we consider differently important. All tutors are aligned on the basis of what makes a good counsellor, and additional feedback is something of our own professional opinion.

Meet the team

Mairi Smith

Lecturer

Seamus Corcoran

Lecturer

James Vernon

Lecturer

After completing his MSc in Psychotherapeutic Counselling, James splits his time between academia and his private counselling practice. His research interests are in the field of bereavement counselling especially in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

James's profile

Jacqueline Jouannet

Lecturer

I am a lecturer on the MSc in Psychotherapeutic Counselling and course lead on the University Certificate in Counselling. I work as a counsellor/supervisor in private practice, with interest in working with school counsellors in educational settings

Jacqueline's profile

Isabel Willerton

Lecturer

Johanna Johnson

Support Worker

I am a part-time lecturer and Specialist Mental Health Student Mentor at Staffordshire University and facilitate peer group supervision and provide clinical supervision in my private practice.

Johanna's profile

What to expect on Welcome Week

We're so excited for you to join us on campus and to welcome you to where you matter. During your welcome week you'll be able to meet our friendly student services teams, connect with new friends, join societies, explore on-campus venues attend club nights and much more.