Birmingham Counselling Training

What are the criteria for being accepted onto the course?

We offer places to eligible applicants in date order of application. You need to meet the criteria listed on our website, and in the course specification for CSK-L2 listed on the CPCAB website, but we do not "cherry-pick" candidates or compare applicants with each other. Where the course is close to its start-date, we may prioritise applicants who respond promptly to our request for an interview over those who appear not to be responding, due to the time-constraints of the interview process.

Counselling trainings stretch candidates emotionally, and you may find yourself out of your comfort zone at times. Your interviewer may explore whether you are in a life-situation where you can cope with this. For example, they may check how robust your support network is outside the classroom setting, how heavily your other life-responsibilities currently weigh on you, and for life-events which are contra-indications to setting out on the training (eg. a recent bereavement). In some cases we may suggest that you reapply later or (normally for those progressing on their existing training path) we may make your offer conditional on your engagement in personal therapy.

What is the difference between CPCAB and BACP?

The Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body (CPCAB) is the awarding body for your qualifications. We work with CPCAB to ensure that our courses and tutors are independently and rigorously assessed, and that we meet CPCAB's professional standards. CPCAB is the only awarding body in the UK run by counsellors for counsellors, which makes it ideally placed to assess the standards to which its centres operate.

The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), is a major professional membership body for UK-based counsellors and psychotherapists. It has a role in setting standards and protecting the public and represents the interests of the counselling profession. .

Can I do my entire training online?

Not entirely. If you follow the CPCAB training route, then you can train online for levels 2 and 3, at which point (Level 4) CPCAB require that there should be an element of face-to-face training. We currently offer starter-level trainings, at Level 2, as a fully online option, as well as an online Level 3 follow-on course. For CPCAB's Level 4 counselling training, the majority of your training would be on location, so at that point you would need to enrol with a local provider. If you intend to progress through a non-CPCAB training route after Level 3, or are looking for a more specialised training (eg. for pastoral care, working with children, or where the provider has a special requirement for face-to-face experience) you should check with your chosen provider to make sure you will meet their requirement at that point in your training.

What qualifications and experience does your tutor team have?

Our trainers are all highly experienced counsellors and are both and CPCAB-approved and BACP-registered. All our team members have over a decade's background as practitioners in counselling and psychotherapy. Our teaching staff have years of experience in leading other teaching teams and have taught counselling training groups in multiple training contexts at Levels 1-6. Our team members have previously programme-led or taught counselling-courses for Abingdon and Witney College, Guildford College, Banbury Counselling Academy, Newbury College and University of Greenwich.

Are there any extra costs involved in the training?

You will need a reliable internet connection and a computer to engage with our trainings, as well as a private, reliably-available space for classwork. For online sessions we use Zoom, which you can download and use for free. Your assignments are submitted via online web-forms, or Powerpoint-compatible files for presentation materials, which you can create and edit in Microsoft Office, or if you prefer, a compatible free alternative such as LibreOffice which can be downloaded and used for free from the internet.

There are lots of options out there for training. How do I select the right one? To work out where to start, you need to think about where you want to end up. If you want to be recognised by a particular professional body, to specialise with a particular training, or be acceptable to a particular employer, check with the professional body, training school, or employer in question, and find out what they need from you to be accepted.

Make sure, if you are selecting a starter-course, to check that it will be a stepping stone to your next-level qualification. Not all Level 2 trainings are equivalent, and may not necessarily be what you need to be accepted on a CPCAB Level 3 training. To know if a prior training is acceptable for entry to a further course, ask the centre providing the further training, not the centre offering the previous one (as they may not have up-to-date information, or may not reliably know the current status).