Counselling - Graduate Certificate

Keele University

Our part-time Graduate Certificate in Counselling offers a unique opportunity to begin your training - even if you’ve never studied counselling or attended university before. This programme is ideal for anyone with lived experience and a desire to support others and to decide if counselling might be a career for you or enhance a job that you already do. This course blends counselling theory, practical skills, personal development, and a strong emphasis on difference and diversity - helping you understand and work effectively with people from all walks of life. The Graduate Certificate in Counselling at Keele is grounded in humanistic philosophy, with person-centred practice at the heart of the programme. Inspired by Carl Rogers’ belief in the self-therapeutic capacity and wisdom of clients, the course encourages a deep respect for everyone’s potential for growth and healing. You’ll be supported to examine and question your own beliefs and assumptions and develop a personal, integrated theory of human development rooted in humanistic and phenomenological principles. To help you build strong therapeutic relationships, you’ll develop core counselling relational skills - not only to foster connection, but also to understand and navigate the barriers that can impact these relationships. The course includes intensive skills training and personal development work, creating a reflective and supportive environment where you can grow both professionally and personally. Progression to the MSc Counselling and Psychotherapy Upon successfully completing the course, you may progress directly to the MSc Counselling and Psychotherapy programme without needing to apply or attend an interview. You may also be eligible for a tuition fee discount such as the Keele alumni discount. To qualify for progression, you must: Achieve at least 60% in one written assessment, and Receive a recommendation from your tutor. Knowledge and skills We place a strong emphasis on the acquisition of counselling specific skills and academic learning. You will engage in a range of experiential learning activities including Active, reflective listening, working in the ‘here and now’ and following the client’s agenda Development of key professional and personal qualities and attributes in line with the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions Analysing and discussing person-centred counselling theory and applying this theory to counselling practice Self-knowledge and self-awareness Evaluating counselling skills practice Devising, developing and sustaining arguments, and/or solving problems, using ideas at the forefront of the counselling discipline Making informed decisions in complex situations, and sometimes with incomplete information Effective use of scholarly reviews and primary sources (for example, research articles and/or original materials appropriate to the counselling discipline) Development of person-centred therapeutic attitudes Identifying and evaluating person-centred counselling practice.