
Nicholas Sarantakis
Senior Lecturer in Counselling Psychology & Programme Leader for the BSc Psychology (Counselling)
Psychology (Counselling) BSc (Hons)
COVID-19 Updates: For advice and updates for staff, students, and applicants who may have concerns about the coronavirus outbreak please visit our Situation Updates page.
UCAS Code:
BC98
Level:
Undergraduate
Duration:
3 years full time
4 years full time (with foundation)
4-6 years part time
Starting:
September
Fees UK:
Full Time: £9,250
Part Time: £1,465 per 20 credit module
Integrated Foundation Year: £6,780
Fees International:
Full Time: £13,000
Integrated Foundation Year: £13,000
Location:
Waterside
For questions regarding study and admissions please contact us:
study@northampton.ac.uk
0300 303 2772
If you are interested in pursuing a career in counselling or clinical psychology, or another helping profession where interactive skills are essential, this course is one of only a few national programmes that is designed specifically for you.
Our Psychology and Counselling course will introduce you to the central concepts of both psychology and counselling before moving on to explore the subject in more depth, according to your interests. You will have the opportunity to study areas as diverse as positive psychology, parapsychology and neuroscience of mind.
Professional Accreditation: British Psychological Society (BPS)
Updated 28/01/2021
If you’d like to see more of our Waterside campus, come and join us for a socially distanced CAMPUS TOUR.
This course offers you various volunteering opportunities, careers events and workshops which will enhance your employability once you have graduated.
You will have an opportunity to develop your understanding of the key theories and concepts in psychology and counselling, learning basic counselling skills and gaining an understanding of the professional context of counselling work. The applied nature of counselling psychology will be emphasised throughout the programme.
In addition to a focus on counselling concepts, issues and skills, this course will allow you to analyse and understand human behaviour, thought and emotions, from many different psychological perspectives. If you are looking to become a counsellor then this course provides you with a basis for professional level training.
If you are studying this course full-time you will take 120 credits each academic year. You will study a mix of core subjects and can choose from a range of modules which reflect your interests. At each level, you will take a core year-long module in Counselling combining three key elements:
At stage one, the core Counselling module is Introduction to Counselling which explores key concepts and research approaches in counselling, while developing your awareness of different counselling settings and developing your presentation skills. You are given an excellent grounding in counselling and psychology that you will continue to build upon throughout the course.
Stage two aims to provide you with a thorough grounding in the main theoretical models used in counselling (person-centred, CBT and psychodynamic) and an opportunity to develop your counselling skills and awareness of the therapeutic process through theory, group work and practicing with your peers.
You will also have the option of studying either a module on the psychology of wellbeing or taking a work-based placement: The Psychology of Learning and Teaching in Educational Settings. Please note that if you do select this work-based placement module then a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be required.
In stage three, you will undertake a module in counselling psychology theory and counselling skills which will introduce you to a range of issues worked with by counsellors. The knowledge and skills gained will be applicable in a range of therapeutic professions. You will also undertake an empirical dissertation, under the guidance of a psychology or counselling lecturer with particular expertise in your chosen area. You will immerse yourself in a topic of your choosing, subject to staff and ethical approval, and exercise the research skills you have acquired through the course.
It is important to note that this is primarily an academic course rather than a professional training course, and that those who complete the course will not be qualified as counsellors or counselling psychologists. However, on successful completion of the course, with a 2:2 or above, you should have the knowledge, skills and experience to enable you to pursue professional training in counselling or counselling/clinical psychology at postgraduate level.
BBC at A Level or DDM at BTEC Extended Diploma.
In addition, you will be expected to have achieved GCSE Maths at Grade C/4 or above. Domestic equivalencies are not accepted, apart from Access applicants who must take 12 credits of Maths Level 2 or 6 credits of Maths Level 3 as part of their Access course. International equivalencies will be reviewed on application.
The standard entry requirements for the Integrated Foundation Year are DEE at A level or MPP at BTEC.
If you would like more information on how to make an application as a Home or EU student, please visit our How to Apply page.
If you are an International student and would like more information on how to make an application, please visit our How to Apply page.
All International and EU students applying for a course with us must meet the following minimum English language requirements:
For information regarding English language requirements at the University, please see our IELTS page.
Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 21/22 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.
Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 20/21 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.
Travel costs to and from placements, and extra costs associated with placements, may be incurred throughout your studies depending on where you are based.
For information on the scholarships available to you, please see our scholarships page.
Our Psychology and Counselling course is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS)*, conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartered membership, provided that you achieve the minimum of a second class honours in your degree. This is the first step towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist.
* Accreditation applicable to undergraduate Single Honours Psychology degrees and Joint Honours degrees where Psychology is the major subject.
Our postgraduate courses are a great way to enhance the skills you have already learnt. Benefit from our 20% alumni discount on postgraduate fees to give you a CV that will catch the eye of employers.
At the University of Northampton, everything we do, from funded trips to paid internships, is to give you everything you need to make a difference when you leave.
If you join this full time degree at Northampton you will receive a laptop when your course begins. The laptops are built to a bespoke custom specification ideal for use in the seminar room, collaborative group work or studying at home.
Whatever your ambitions, we’re here to help you to achieve them. We’ll support you to identify the skills you’re learning during your course, find your strengths and secure practical experience so that when it comes to applying for jobs or further study you’ll feel confident in standing out from the crowd. We’ve created the Northampton Employment Promise because we are so confident that if you focus on your studies and complete one of our awards you’ll be highly employable by the time you graduate. Putting you in a great position to secure employment or continue your studies.
To check out the full list of perks visit our Student Perks page.
The Integrated Foundation Year (IFY) offers a new and exciting route into studying for a degree, attracting ambitious and driven students who are willing to learn and advance.
If you have non-standard qualifications or do not quite meet the admissions requirements we can offer you a fantastic opportunity to study a four year programme which includes an Integrated Foundation Year. The Integrated Foundation Year will help you develop the theoretical/practical and academic skills you need, in order to successfully progress to the full award.
Featuring a reduced tuition fee in the first year, our four-year courses will enable you to successfully follow the degree pathway of your choice while gaining essential study skills. The foundation year of your chosen degree will be studied on a full-time basis and is aimed at supporting the transition to higher education. Years two, three and four are then studied as a standard degree programme.
Facilities and equipment available:
Listed below are some of the key tests you can administer within our psychometrics library:
With a psychology and counselling degree, you can specialise within different pathways and develop within an area of your choice in the field of psychology. You may also choose to follow various career paths outside of the psychological profession, as you will have gained such an invaluable set of skills and a knowledge base that enables you to succeed in areas outside of psychology.
For example, our graduates are employed in education, the health service, the police force, human resources management, marketing, the civil service, broadcasting, social work and many other professions. The work-based elements of this course provide valuable careers-based skills.
As well as our annual Psychology Careers Event, at the University of Northampton, we also offer other volunteering opportunities through our Changemaker Hub, Employability Plus recognition, STEAM Opportunities and support from our careers team. Upon completion of this course, and depending on degree classification, you can progress to postgraduate training to obtain British Psychological Society (BPS) ‘chartered’ status (GBC) as counselling, clinical, educational, occupational, health or forensic psychologist. You could pursue a career as an academic psychologist, conducting research and teaching in higher education. More information about psychology careers can be found on the BPS website.
This course is a good ground for careers in chartered counselling psychology, or even clinical, occupational, education or forensic psychology. This course will prepare you for roles such as a coach, counselling psychologist, counsellor, psychotherapist and wider helping professions. As well as an introduction to counselling, this course will give you a deeper understanding of counselling theories, ethics and self-awareness. Furthermore, our changemaker team is available to help support you with work experience in the appropriate field from the start of your studies, until after you graduate.
Within this course, you will have the opportunity to choose modules from levels from 4, 5 and 6 which focus on counselling and wellbeing. These include, Introduction to Counselling, Counselling: From theory to practice, The Psychology of Wellbeing and Counselling in context. Furthermore, your level 6 dissertation project will focus on a counselling topic. These modules will focus on transferable therapeutic skills, self-awareness and knowledge required for a career in counselling.
One of the main draws for a degree in psychology and counselling, is that it does not limit you to just working within psychology or counselling. Of course those options are available (and more information about psychology careers can be found through the BPS website), but the skills that are acquired throughout a psychology and counselling degree are applicable to careers much more broadly. Such examples that you can expect to develop across the course include critical thinking and writing, computer literacy, effective communication via a variety of different channels, and thorough and ethical research practices. Many of the skills from a psychology and counselling degree are transferable across many different careers, and therefore gives you the opportunity to develop yourself towards any route you would like to pursue.
The BSc Psychology (Counselling) route here at the University is between 3-6 years, depending on your availability to study. This gives time to not only develop a foundational knowledge of psychology and appropriate research skills, but also for you to develop towards the areas that are of interest to you, and time to explore career opportunities and areas of expertise, alongside our staff team.
There are a couple of different places within the course where there are opportunities for work placements. During Stage One, there is a short work placement to complete as part of a module assessment. Following from here, there are work placement opportunities within our Education-focused modules at Stages Two and Three. We also run an optional placement year, between Stage Two and Stage Three, giving you the opportunity to strengthen career skills alongside your degree, should you so wish.
Taking this course does not automatically qualify you to become a counsellor. However, this course is accredited by the professional body that oversees Psychology in the United Kingdom, the British Psychological Society (BPS).
This means, that providing you meet the minimum standard of a lower second class honours (2:2) level you are eligible for the Graduate Basis for Chartered (GBC) membership of the BPS. GBC is considered the first stage necessary for becoming a chartered practitioner, in counselling psychology as well as several other areas. If you wish to pursue a counselling career or a related profession, such as a psychotherapist, you will need to complete core practitioner training that is at a minimum level of a psychotherapy or counselling diploma or masters.
Teaching methods on BSc Psychology (Counselling) include an innovative, active blended approach to learning which makes the acquisition of knowledge more dynamic and flexible for students than ever before. This involves face-to-face seminars, tutorials, practical or laboratory workshops and computer assisted learning. Independent and group work will be supplemented with online seminars, self-directed learning and virtual tasks.
You are encouraged to actively engage and participate with your course material both online and in class discussions to further enhance your learning and will be expected to complete independent study alongside attending your classes. Practical work represents an important component of the Psychology course in each of your three years of study.
Throughout the course, you are exposed to different research approaches, and will develop an ability to apply both quantitative and qualitative techniques to research questions. We have extensive online resources that support face-to-face contact in class. You are taught by experienced, well-qualified staff that are experts within their disciplines. Staff in the Subject Group are active researchers, producing research that is nationally and internationally recognised.
A variety of assessment strategies are used at each level to ascertain your level of competence in a range of academic and transferable skills. These strategies include essays, practical reports, multiple-choice tests, oral presentations, time-constrained essays, seen and unseen examinations, critical reviews, group project work, patchwork blogs, audio-visual presentations, and reflective reports, for example.
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Senior Lecturer in Counselling Psychology & Programme Leader for the BSc Psychology (Counselling)
Psychology (Counselling) BSc (Hons)
Senior Lecturer in Psychology
Psychology (Counselling) BSc (Hons)
Senior Lecturer in Counselling and Psychology
Faculty of Health, Education and Society
Lecturer in Psychology
Faculty of Health, Education and Society
Lecturer in Psychology
Karishma Jivraj is the programme leader for BSc Psychology (Counselling). Please feel free to direct any queries for this programme to Karishma.
This course prepares you for postgraduate training in counselling and counselling psychology as well as other areas. Upon completion of such a postgraduate course you can also obtain ‘chartered’ status as a counselling, clinical, educational, occupational, health or forensic psychologist.
Continue your studies and become a qualified counsellor by studying our MSc in Counselling Children and Young People or our MSc Counselling.
Choose to pursue a career as an educator as as an academic psychologist, conducting research and teaching in higher education.
Psychology degrees provide an excellent grounding for a diverse range of non-psychological careers. The listening and communication skills developed on this degree course will be highly valuable in a range of health and social care professions.
Our Developmental and Educational course is a specialist psychology programme that allows you to focus on human development and educational issues alongside general psychology