Overview

This course aims to provide further development opportunities for counselors and to meet continuing professional development requirements. You acquire a sound theoretical framework and develop practitioner skills by reflecting on your practice and undertaking relevant research.

This is an award of Teesside University delivered in partnership with Stockton Riverside College (01642 865400). The course runs at the college, not at Teesside University days and times to be confirmed.

Course structure

Core modules

This module will prepare you to work in a diverse, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic society. You are introduced to the relationship between working within a framework of anti-discriminatory practice, applying a theoretical base and integrating knowledge of ethical and legal responsibilities to client work. You reflect on your personal experience and issues around your practice as a counselor when dealing with complex situations. You will develop your skills and reflective abilities in relation to responding to personal, moral, ethical and legal dimensions within the therapeutic relationship.

Client Issues in Therapeutic Practice

Client Issues in Therapeutic Practice introduces you to the theoretical concepts associated with diverse client issues and considers different theoretical responses to a range of client issues, linking theoretical knowledge to practice. The focus will be to consider the most appropriate approach to use when dealing with specific issues and concerns.

Counseling Research

Counselling Research introduces you to the relationship between theory, research, and practice through consideration of a range of research methods appropriate to counseling. You develop an enhanced ability to critically evaluate research papers and articles, skills in research design, and the confidence necessary to conduct a small-scale empirically-based research study.

Dissertation

You will write a dissertation on an aspect of counseling of particular interest to your practice. Once a proposal has been agreed you will be assigned a dissertation tutor for regular tutorial support. The topic must have a clear relevance to the work of the counselor and will be based on a small scale piece of field research.

Theory and Practise of Group Counseling

Theory and Practice of Group Counselling introduce you to the competencies required for working in therapeutic groups. It does not provide training to work as a group therapist but instead highlights the complexities of working therapeutically with groups. You examine basic elements of the group process, theoretical approaches to group counseling, integration, and application. You consider group leadership including recognizing diversity in groups, ethical and professional issues, and stages in the development of a group, psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, and person-centered perspectives of group work, goals of counseling groups, and the evolution of a group.

How you are assessed

To achieve the BA (Hons) Degree in Therapeutic Counselling candidates need to both demonstrate a high level of academic competence and the ability to think critically about their own counselling practice. This is achieved through a variety of written academic assignments, oral presentations, observation and reflection of practice together with a research dissertation exploring a topic relevant to their practice.

Career opportunities

Possible progress would be on to postgraduate degree courses. Successful candidates may also wish to pursue British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy accreditation.