Programme Requirements

Applications

We are recruiting self-aware, empathic, and warm trainee therapists, who are committed to social equality and diversity.

We require all applicants to have a Level 3 qualification before the first day of term. Level 3 qualifications include A-levels, NVQs, access to higher education diplomas, amongst others. You can check whether your qualifications are level 3 on the Gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels. Your background and experience, and your aptitude for being a good listener, are more important to us than additional formal qualifications, although we do have students who have degrees already, including post-graduate and doctoral degrees.

If your application is accepted, you will also need to have an initial counselling skills training, such as the one offered at Metanoia (Certificate course). We also accept equivalent trainings of Level 2 or above. Please contact the Director of Studies (Nicola Blunden) for more information, and to find out if your training would be eligible.

Attendance

In each year of the programme, you will attend 10 teaching weekends (see Dates and Delivery link). Attendance on all weekends is compulsory. Either Unit Six or Seven will be a residential weekend lasting from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon at Cumberland Lodge, a beautiful Grade II listed country house in the heart of Windsor Great Park. There are no costs for accommodation and meals on this residential, which are fully included within your course fee.

In addition to the teaching weekends, you will need to set aside at least one day a week over the life of the programme, to commit to your studies. Once you are in placement, working regularly with vulnerable clients, you will need to set aside at least one half a day a week in addition. This is a full time training, and although you can complete it whilst you are working part time, it is important that you are able to ringfence one to two days a week to be able to get the most from this course.

Additional Costs

As with all counselling and psychotherapy trainings at Metanoia, you will need to be in weekly personal therapy throughout your training, and fortnightly clinical supervision whilst in placement.

Assessments

Assessments are varied. We make use of a broad range of assessment types, including group presentations, creative activities, essays, practice recordings, and practical assessments.  Your assessment schedule is spread out throughout the year, so that you are never overwhelmed with multiple tasks. We also prepare you and support you to be ready for every assessment.

Additional Support

Students who have, or suspect that they have, a neurodifference or other disability, are supported on this programme. We aim to adapt all our activities to make this course equally accessible to everyone.

Student Voice

Monthly community meetings online enable us to stay in touch, and for students to give personal feedback and have conversations with each other across the year groups, and with tutors and the director of studies. We also operate a range of additional ways for students to feed back to us, and help us to improve, including Student Representatives, Staff-Student Committee Meetings, anonymous feedback, and surveys. We take student feedback seriously, and we aim for students to have an excellent experience throughout this training.