Psychosocial Studies with Principles of Psychodynamic Counselling

Psychosocial studies with principles of psychodynamic counselling is a degree that takes seriously both the inner life of the individual and the social structures that shape it. Psychosocial studies draws on psychoanalytic thought, sociology, and social theory to understand how personal experience is always formed in relation to cultural, historical, and political forces, asking how social life gets inside us, and how the individual subject is constituted through relationships, institutions, and power. The psychodynamic counselling strand adds a practical and applied dimension, grounding your learning in the theoretical and clinical principles that underpin psychodynamic approaches to therapeutic work.

This three-year full-time programme at Birkbeck, University of London reflects Birkbeck's distinctive character as an institution oriented towards mature and returning students. The programme is intellectually serious and draws on Birkbeck's strong tradition in psychoanalytic studies, social theory, and the humanities. With a typical tariff of 88 points, the programme is designed to be accessible to students who may not have followed a conventional academic pathway and who bring life experience as well as formal qualifications to their studies.

You will engage with a rich body of theoretical and clinical material, developing critical thinking alongside reflective self-awareness that is central to any form of counselling or therapeutic practice.

You will study psychoanalytic theory, the sociology of selfhood and subjectivity, group dynamics, the ethics of counselling work, and the principles that underpin psychodynamic approaches to understanding distress and change. The combination develops both intellectual rigour and the kind of reflective capacity that working with people in difficulty requires.

Graduates move into further professional training in counselling, psychotherapy, or social work, or into roles in mental health, social care, education, and the voluntary sector. Some continue to postgraduate study in psychosocial studies, counselling psychology, or social theory. The degree is also valued by people in a wide range of human-facing professions who want a deeper understanding of the psychological and social dimensions of the work they do.