Counselling and Psychotherapy

Counselling and psychotherapy are among the most human of all the applied disciplines, concerned with creating the conditions in which people in distress can explore their experience, make sense of their difficulties, and find their own routes toward change and wellbeing. Humanistic approaches, which include person-centred therapy and Gestalt among others, place the client's own experience and capacity for growth at the centre of the therapeutic relationship, emphasising empathy, authenticity and the quality of the human encounter as the engine of healing. This philosophy shapes not only the theory you will study but the way in which the programme itself is taught.

At the University of Derby this programme is offered on a part-time basis and includes a foundation year, making it accessible to students who are building the academic and personal readiness for this demanding and personally transformative course of study. The part-time structure allows you to integrate study with work and other commitments, which many students in this field find important. You will engage with the theory and practice of humanistic counselling, developing your understanding of psychological wellbeing, therapeutic relationships, clinical ethics, and the diversity of human experience.

The programme expects you to undertake personal development work alongside your academic and practical training, reflecting the humanistic conviction that effective therapists must first know themselves.

Graduates of counselling and psychotherapy degrees are equipped for practice in a wide range of settings. The NHS, IAPT services, private practice, voluntary sector organisations, employee assistance programmes, schools, universities, hospices, and substance misuse services all employ qualified counsellors and psychotherapists. Progression routes include postgraduate study toward accreditation with professional bodies such as the BACP or UKCP, or further training in specific therapeutic modalities.

The personal and professional development this programme involves is significant, and many graduates find it transforms not only their professional practice but their wider understanding of human relationships and communication.