Course Overview

This program provides clinical training in counseling and psychotherapy for children, adolescents, and their families. Those successfully completing the MA will be eligible to apply for individual practitioner registration with BACP as counselors/psychotherapists working with children, adolescents, and families. This three-year part-time postgraduate degree is designed to provide you with the skills, knowledge, and expertise necessary to have a positive impact on children and young peoples emotional and psychological health, as well as their overall development. The program is designed to support your development as a therapeutic practitioner able to work one-to-one with child and adolescent clients who present with diverse psychological issues in a variety of settings including both mainstream and special education, child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) as well as youth and community support services. You will develop the skills necessary to be critically reflective about your own developing practice, along with an enquiring attitude to theory, research, and evidence-based practice in complex areas of therapeutic work with children, adolescents, and their families. The program is based around an integrative approach to therapeutic interventions with children and adolescents, incorporating aspects from three main therapeutic and theoretical traditions; humanistic, psychodynamic, and cognitive-behavioral. We take a developmental approach to think about the client, as we explore the developing world of the infant and growing child from a variety of important perspectives, including that of attachment theory, psychoanalytic theory as well as neuro-biological and systemic lenses. You will be encouraged to explore psychological processes and experiences from these different perspectives and recognize the theoretical, personal, and cultural assumptions which influence your own thoughts and work as a practitioner.

General Eligibility

You should usually hold a second-class honors degree (certain programs may require a 2:1) from a recognized British or overseas university. Specific entry requirements 1a) Professional Qualification: Applicants hold a relevant professional qualification relating to working with children. These include: Social Work (DipSW, BA in Social Studies with DipSW, Masters in Social Work MSW) Nursing (Nursing BN, Nursing BA/BSc) Teaching (PGCE, B.Ed, MA/MSc in Education) Occupational Therapy (BSc, MSc) Speech and Language Therapy (BSc, MSc) Counselling/Psychotherapy Postgraduate Diploma, MA, MSc) Clinical Psychology/Educational Psychology (PhD, MSc) OR 1b) Academic Learning: Applicants hold a good second-class honours degree (2.2 or above) in Psychology or related subject. AND 2) Professional Experience: Applicants must have considerable experience of working directly with children and families. This must include a minimum of two years post qualifying experience (from professional qualification or degree). AND 3) Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure: Applicants must present an appropriately clear and up-to-date Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) (formally CRB) check prior to starting the Masters programme. All applicants must successfully complete an interview with academic staff. For non-native speakers of English, IELTS 6.5 or equivalent is required.

Part Time Work Details

20 Hours of Work permit weekly for international students.

Language Requirement

• IELTS 6.5 overall with a minimum 5.5 in each component.