Psychology and Counselling

Psychology and counselling is a combination that brings together the scientific study of human behaviour and mental processes with the practical skills and therapeutic frameworks of counselling practice. Psychology provides the theoretical and research foundations, explaining why people behave as they do, how development unfolds across the lifespan, and what research tells us about effective approaches to supporting psychological wellbeing. Counselling adds the interpersonal and applied dimension, developing the skills to listen, empathise, and work therapeutically with people in distress.

At Abertay University this four-year, full-time programme develops your understanding of human behaviour alongside the approaches and methods used in counselling practice. You will learn why people behave the way they do, how research informs our understanding of psychological processes, and how the major counselling frameworks are applied in practice. The programme is designed for students who want both the rigour of a psychology degree and the practical interpersonal skills that counselling training develops.

A year abroad is built into the programme, broadening your academic experience and your exposure to different approaches to mental health and counselling across different cultural contexts.

Graduates of psychology and counselling are well placed for careers in mental health services, counselling practice, psychological wellbeing services, education, healthcare, and the third sector. Many use the degree as the foundation for further professional training, including postgraduate programmes in counselling, psychotherapy, clinical psychology, or educational psychology. Others move into roles in human resources, welfare services, community organisations, and public health, where the combination of psychological knowledge and counselling skills is directly relevant.

The ability to understand behaviour and engage therapeutically with a wide range of people is valued across virtually every sector of public and third-sector life.