Advanced Counselling Diploma Now Available!

This level four Advanced Counselling Diploma course is comprised of twenty modules which are designed to give the learner a good basic knowledge of the main theories underlying the most commonly practiced approaches to counselling and psychotherapy. It is a requirement for registration as a counsellor or psychotherapist that a candidate has obtained a certificate evidencing successful completion of a theoretical course providing a basic knowledge of the main theories in psychotherapy and counselling. Additionally the candidate will need to complete around 400-450 hours of supervised practical work, this is discussed in module 1 and in greater detail in module 19, together with suggestions as to how such practical training may be obtained.

The learner will note that the terms counselling, psychotherapy and therapy are used interchangeably, as are the terms counsellor, psychotherapist and therapist; no apologies are made for this as these terms are used interchangeably in most of the literature on counselling and psychology.  The term clinician is used in some texts on counselling and psychotherapy, this term has overtones of medical qualification and has been deliberately avoided in this course.  Any learner who successfully completes this course is not medically qualified, and if presented with a client who raises the slightest suspicion of requiring medical or psychiatric treatment, should advise such a client to consult their medical practitioner.

Much of the early work in counselling and psychotherapy was carried out in Europe and particularly Germany and Austria; as a result some German terminology is universally used, particularly in the early psychotherapeutic approaches.  Where such words are used in this text, an English translation is offered, or where the word does not translate literally, an attempt has been made to describe the concept referred to.  Since many of the early psychologists and psychotherapists were Jewish, they were forced to flee Europe and Nazi persecution in the late 1930s, many of them making their homes in the USA.  This lends a North American flavour and the incorporation of a good deal of American terminology to counselling and psychotherapy from the 1940s onwards.

The learner will note a marked similarity in some of the techniques used in the different approaches, particularly those such as Existentialist, Rational Emotive and Adlerian therapies, which are based on the assumption that human beings can control and change their destinies.  For instance, there are some strong similarities between Ellis’s Rational Emotive Therapy and Glasser’s Reality Therapy, yet there are also significant differences. The learner should not treat the use of techniques as being universal, there are subtle differences between approaches and the learner needs to be aware of these differences.  Every module in the course requires the same attention, if the learner is to appreciate the similarities and differences in the varying approaches.

Take a look at the other online counselling courses we have on offer.