Studying Counselling and Psychotherapy at Salford
So you’ve applied to study Counselling and Psychotherapy, we've made you an offer, but you’re still deciding or have further questions?
We want to make sure you have all the information you need as you get ready to study at Salford. We hope the information below helps you in your decision making. If you have any further questions, simply get in touch with us here.
Why should you study Counselling and Psychotherapy at the University of Salford?
You will have the opportunity to graduate as a fully trained professional counsellor.
92% of our students said staff have made the subject interesting and 94% of students agreed their placements were valuable in helping their learning (NSS 2022 data).
You will work in a real-world placement, as well as our specialist Counselling Centre on campus, honing your counselling skills and will be guided by a very experienced and friendly team.
Our Facilities
We have recently opened a specialist Counselling Centre which is used to help train students to become professional counsellors and psychotherapists.
The suite, featuring therapeutic areas where one-to-one, family and group interactions can occur, is open to members of the local community. The University is working closely with local organisations to make best use of the facility, and the Centre provides placement opportunities for our students.
WHAT OUR STUDENTS SAY:
"Salford offers more of a variety of the types of therapy in comparison to other universities, and this was something I was really interested in. Salford quickly train you up as a person centred therapist but give you options or ideas when it comes to other modalities and that’s what I loved. If you speak to any of the therapist tutors here all of them have varying degrees of experience and different modalities and they’re all very research focused as well."
What can I expect my timetable to look like?
In the first semester students will complete the following modules:
- Counselling and Psychotherapeutic Approaches
- Introduction to Counselling Philosophy and Research
- Counselling and Communication Skills
The times and days of these sessions will vary across the programme but will consist of a mixture of lectures and group sessions. Class contact for the full time option is around three half days per week for three modules per semester.
Do we need to provide our own DBS check?
DBS checks are completed at the University during the registration period. Information about DBS checks will be sent to you at this time.
Are there any books you recommend that would help me prepare?
Here is some of the recommended reading from the Counselling and Psychotherapeutic Approaches module:
- Kahn, M. (2003). Basic Freud: psychoanalytic thought for the twenty first century. New York: Basic Books.
- Mearns, D. & Thorne, B. (2007). Person-centred counselling in action. (3rd edn). London: SAGE.
- Sanders, P. (2011). First Steps in Counselling: students’ companion for introductory courses. Ross-on-Wye: PCCS.
What are the group sizes like on the course?
This depends on the module, but lectures are bigger groups of students, for example the lectures for Counselling and Psychotherapeutic Approaches will have over 100 students but the skills groups that focus on the learnings from these lectures will be smaller with around 20 students. For skills practice later in the course, you will be working in smaller groups of around 10-15.
Where will I complete the professional practice aspect of the course?
There are a number of different placement opportunities available. A large percentage of our students work in schools with children via Place2Be, and other work within the NHS. We have a Placement Co-ordinator who posts information about the various placement opportunities available and you will have a choice with which client groups you work.
Offer Holder Hub
Find out more about accommodation, finance, and wellbeing and support on our Offer Holder Hub.