Counselling Psychology

We’ll teach you about the wider issues affecting the counsellor and the client, focusing on their interpersonal relationship and the personal development needs of both.

You’ll develop an understanding of what causes psychological distress, but you’ll also explore positive aspects of human behaviour, uncovering what underpins optimal human functioning. Our lecturers have real-world experience of counselling and delivering behaviour change initiatives.

We’ll give you plenty of opportunities to get hands-on professional experience through work placements and volunteering opportunities. You’ll complete placements which will help you to develop a deeper understanding of vulnerable people and disadvantaged groups. You can even complete your placement abroad or take advantage of one of our Study Abroad opportunities.

In your third year, you’ll get the freedom to tailor your course to your interests, helping you to carve the path towards your future career which may be as a Chartered Counselling Psychologist or perhaps working in one of the other professional areas of psychology or in traditional graduate employment.

Why study with us?

• Start your journey to becoming a Chartered Psychologist. This degree is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) which makes you eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership on successful completion of the course.
• Learn from lecturers with real-world experience of the delivery, research and evaluation of counselling psychology interventions.
• Graduate with experience of supporting disadvantaged groups and observing psychology in the workplace, via the professional placements included with your degree.

Accreditation

This degree is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) (link opens in a new window/tab) which makes you eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership on successful completion of the course.

You will study a variety of modules across your programme of study. The module details given below are subject to change and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

Modules by Year

Year 1

Core modules (students are required to take): 

• Introduction to Counselling Psychology
• Core Psychology 1
• Professional Development for Psychologists 1
• Research Methods in Psychology 1

Year 2

Core modules (students are required to take): 

• Counselling Psychology in Theory and Practice
• Core Psychology 2
• Professional Development for Psychologists 2
• Research Methods in Psychology 2

Year 3

Core modules (students are required to take): 

• Psychology Research Project
• Applied Counselling Psychology
• Professional Learning Through Work

Students are required to choose two option modules from: 

• Qualitative Research Methods in Context
• Business Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Critical Psychology
• Cyberpsychology
• The Psychology of Teaching and Learning
• Forensic Psychology
• Health Psychology
• Health Behaviour Change in Context
• Psychology Negotiated Essay
• Psychobiology of Stress and Illness

Professional work placements

Experience matters. That's why we include professional work placements with every undergraduate degree.

How does it work?

Our Careers, Placements and Employability team will work with you to find your perfect placement or help you arrange your own, whether that's in Leeds, another part of the UK or even abroad. You will be able to take part in a series of workshops, events and live ‘employer challenges’ to boost your confidence and prepare you for your placement.

During your placement, you will have an opportunity to gain degree-relevant work experience, build your knowledge of career sectors and secure valuable employer references and industry contacts. This experience will help you to shape your career decisions and find the right path for you.

Recent placements have included working in health and care professions, supporting children with Leeds Children’s Services and shadowing psychologists at NHS Leeds. Our placement partners include Leeds Mind, Leeds Women’s Counselling and Therapy Service, Oxfam and Samaritans.

To find out how we can help you make your career ambitions a reality, visit:

Professional Work Placements

At Leeds Trinity we aim to provide an excellent student experience and provide you with the tools and support to help you achieve your academic, personal and professional potential.

Our Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy delivers excellence by providing the framework for:

• high quality teaching
• an engaging and inclusive approach to learning, assessment and achievement
• a clear structure through which you progress in your academic studies, your personal development and towards professional-level employment or further study.

We have a strong reputation for developing student employability, supporting your development towards graduate employment, with relevant skills embedded throughout your programme of study.

We endeavour to develop curiosity, confidence, courage, ambition and aspiration in all students through the key themes in our Learning and Teaching Strategy:

• Student Involvement and Engagement
• Inclusion
• Integrated Programme and Assessment Experience
• Digital Literacy and Skills
• Employability and Enterprise

To help you achieve your potential we emphasise learning as a collaborative process, with a range of student-led and real-world activities. This approach ensures that you fully engage in shaping your own learning, developing your critical thinking and reflective skills so that you can identify your own strengths and weaknesses, and use the extensive learning support system we offer to shape your own development.

We believe the secret to great learning and teaching is simple: it is about creating an inclusive learning experience that allows all students to thrive through:

• Personalised support
• Expert lecturers
• Strong connections with employers
• An international outlook
• Understanding how to use tools and technology to support learning and development

Programme delivery

Your time on campus, learning through in-person teaching, is at the heart of your academic experience and the way we deliver our programmes. This is supported and further enhanced by additional engagement activities and opportunities provided online and through digital teaching materials. This blended approach seeks to ensure a positive learning and teaching student experience.

Your programme of study has been carefully designed around a three-phase model of delivery:

1. Preparation: You will be given clear tasks to support you in preparing for live teaching. This could include watching a short-pre-recorded lecture, reading a paper or text chapter or preparing other material for use in class.
2.  Live: All your live teaching will be designed around active learning, providing you with valuable opportunities to build on preparation tasks, interact with staff and peers, and surface any misunderstandings.
3. Post: Follow-up activities will include opportunities for you to check understanding, for staff to receive feedback from you and your peers to inform subsequent sessions, and for you to apply learning to new situations or context.

Preparation, Live and Post teaching and learning and the digital materials used will vary by course, but will be designed to help you structure your learning, take a full and active part in your course, and apply and test your developing knowledge and skills.

Assessment

A variety of assessment methods are used, matched to the learning outcomes for your programme, allowing you to apply and demonstrate the full range of knowledge and skills that you have developed.

For more details on specific assessment methods for this course contact [email protected]

Leeds Trinity University is committed to recruiting students with talent and potential and who we feel will benefit greatly from their academic and non-academic experiences here. We treat every application on its own merits; we value highly the experience you illustrate in your personal statement.

The following information is designed to give you a general overview of the qualifications we accept. If you are taking qualifications that are not included below, including the recently introduced T Levels, please contact our Admissions Office who will be happy to advise you.

UK Home Students:

Tuition fees cost £9,250 a year for this course in 2022/2023.

Tuition fees cost £9,250 a year for this course in 2023/2024.

Part-time tuition fees will be prorated accordingly to the number of credits you're studying.

Depending on government policy, tuition fees may change in future years.

Living costs, e.g. accommodation, travel, food, will also need to be taken into consideration.

Leeds Trinity offers a range of bursaries and scholarships to help support students while you study.

International Students, including EU Students:

Visit our webpage for international students.

Part-time study is not available for international students on a Student Route Visa. 

Additional costs

We advise students that there may be additional course costs in addition to annual tuition fees:

• Recommended and required reading lists will be provided at the start of your course. All the books and e-books are available from our Library to borrow but you may choose to purchase your own.
• On some courses there may be additional costs, such as field trips, equipment, accreditations, that may be part-funded by the University. More details will be provided at the start of the course.
• You'll need to include placement/s travel and associated costs too, however the University will contribute a standard amount towards your total expenditure.
• The University provides students with a £6 printing credit each academic year which can be topped up either on campus or online.

For full-time undergraduate courses, you apply through UCAS. That's the University and Colleges Admissions Service.

On your application form, you'll need to know our institution code - it's L24 - and the course code. If you click through to the UCAS website using the button below, it'll take you to the right place with all the information you need.

Clearing is now open for applications for September 2022 entry for available courses. Find out more about Clearing.

If you require a Student Route Visa in order to study in the UK, then you must meet all the conditions of your offer and present all supporting documentation required for the visa application no later than Friday 29 July 2022.

You can now register and start your application for 2023, although you cannot submit it until 6 September 2022. The UCAS application deadline for courses starting in September 2023 is 25 January 2023.

You'll need to write a personal statement - we've prepared a guide to help you.

There's lots more information about the application process on the UCAS website, or you can get in touch with our admissions team who will be happy to help:

• call 0113 283 7123 (Monday to Thursday, 9.00am to 5.00pm, or Friday 9.00am to 4.00pm)
• email [email protected] 

Apply now

Graduate opportunities

Providing you with the opportunity to develop the professional skills and experience you need to launch your career is at the heart of everything we do at Leeds Trinity University.

You’ll gain an excellent grounding for counselling and related health and social care professions, including social work, care work, social services and teaching. If you want to become a Chartered Psychologist, a counselling psychologist or work in any other professional area of psychology, this course will prepare you for postgraduate study. It will also prepare you for traditional graduate employment.

After you graduate, our Careers, Placements and Employability team will help you as you pursue your chosen career through our mentoring scheme, support with CV and interview preparation and access to graduate employability events.

To find out how we can help you make your career ambitions a reality, visit:

Careers and Employability