Course summary

Psychology and Counselling Studies is an ideal combination of subjects for those wishing to move into a career in the helping professions or those intending to undertake postgraduate training in applied psychology professions. Students on this course will gain knowledge and understanding in all the core domains of Psychology alongside carefully curated counselling modules which link theory, research and skills to the therapeutic context and reflective practice. Psychology is the study of human behaviour and involves the scientific examination of how we think, how we see other people, how children develop, how relationships are formed and how we can help people in mental distress. This course enables students to explore professional and ethical issues in psychology and counselling context, and it is applicable to many professional contexts where listening, and understanding are important, such as teaching, nursing and social work. Whilst it is important to note that the course does not provide a professional training as a counsellor, it does place students in an excellent position to apply for such training on successful completion of this programme. This programme is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), such that students gaining at least a Lower Second Class Honours Degree are eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) with the BPS, which means you will have taken your first step towards becoming a professional psychologist. Why study this course? • This programme is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS). • Students on the Psychology & Counselling Studies programme gain knowledge, understanding and skills in all the core domains of psychology, whilst also studying key areas of counselling theory, ethics, and their applications. • Due to the wide range of generic skills, and the rigour with which they are taught, training in psychology & counselling is an excellent foundation that supports entry into a broad range of careers. • The psychology subject area aims to lead the way in their support of students’ employability development. The subject area has its own employability coordinator and enmeshes employability at all levels of the degree programme. • The psychology subject area aims to enact best practice in supporting students’ learning. At the start of your programme you will be allocated a member of the academic Psychology team who will be your personal tutor and who will take an active interest in your academic progress and experience on the programme throughout your three years of study. What does the course cover? During the first year of study (level 4), students are introduced to psychology and counselling studies as related yet distinct disciplines. During this year of the study, students are introduced to the core domains and applications of psychology and learn a range of study skills and research methods that will form the building blocks for their studies at levels 5 (second year) and 6 (final year ). Alongside this, students are introduced to core counselling theories and the associated skills taking under consideration the professional and ethical issues within psychology and counselling context. In the second year of this programme (level 5), quantitative and qualitative approaches of scientific inquiry are further explored, providing deeper understanding of research methods. In the final year (level 6) students undertake an empirical dissertation in psychology and counselling studies.