Diploma in Counselling and Psychology

This diploma builds a thorough grounding in counselling, covering introductory psychology, counselling skills and techniques, and professional practice, along with two research projects and a workshop module. You will then choose electives from a wide range of subjects, including stress management, child psychology, conflict management and social psychology, allowing you to shape the diploma around your own interests. Suitable for those planning a career in counselling or a related helping profession.

Diploma level qualification in Counselling and Psychology Study counselling theories and principles with this 1500 hour diploma by distance learning An outstanding foundation for a career in Counselling or related areas. It is broader in scope and greater in depth than many other courses designed to train counsellors; and offers a wider variety of study options in electives (which allows you to develop unique specialist knowledge that will differentiate you from your competitors when you work in the industry). Study fifteen 100 hour modules, consisting of six core modules, three projects and six elective modules. So you choose the areas of psychology and counselling that suit you most. The six core modules consist of - Introduction Psychology, Psychology and Counselling, Counselling Skills I and II, Counselling Techniques and Professional Practice in Counselling. There are three projects where you research relevant areas of psychology and counselling. Your tutor will help and advise you throughout the project. You then choose six elective modules from a wide list including child psychology, stress management, sports psychology and many more. This course is recognised by the Complementary Medical Association. Modules Required: To complete the course you are required to complete fifteen 100 hour modules. There are six core modules, three projects and six elective modules. You can find more information on the modules by following the links below. 6 x CORE (COMPULSORY) MODULES: Introduction to Psychology Psychology & Counselling Counselling Skills I Counselling Skills II Counselling Techniques Professional Practice in Counselling 3 x WORKPLACE (COMPULSORY) PROJECTS: Research Project I Research Project II Workshops - Industry Meetings or Approved Work Experience (Workplace Projects) (For more information on Workshop requirements, please click here) 6 x ELECTIVE MODULES FROM: Conflict Management Industrial Psychology Biopsychology I Child Psychology Sports Psychology Human Health & Fitness I Human Nutrition I Additional options that may be accepted through A.C.S: Stress Management Aromatherapy Marketing Psychology Research Project III Grief Counselling Family Counselling Crisis Counselling Adolescent Psychology Aged Care and Counselling Life Coaching Relationships and Communication Counselling Core Module Outlines Introduction to Psychology There are seven lessons in this course, as follows: The nature & scope of Psychology Neurological basis of behaviour Environmental effects on behaviour Consciousness and perception Personality Psychological development Needs, drives and motivation Psychology & Counselling There are seven lessons in this module, as follows: Stress Abnormal Behaviour Individual Behaviour Group Behaviour Methods of Dealing with Abnormalities Conflict Resolution Interpersonal Communication Skills Counselling Skills I The course is divided into eight lessons as follows: Learning Specific Skills Listening and Bonding Reflection: Paraphrasing Questioning Interview Techniques Changing Beliefs and Normalising Finding Solutions Ending the Counselling Counselling Skills II The course is divided into eight lessons as follows: The Counselling Session Focus on the Present Telephone Counselling Dealing with Crises Problem-Solving Techniques I: Anger Problem-Solving Techniques II: Depression Problem-Solving Techniques III: Grief and Loss Problem-Solving Techniques IV: Suicide Counselling Techniques The course is divided into eight lessons as follows: Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy l: Freud (& Erikson); Jung Psychoanalytical Psychotherapy ll: Adler Humanistic/Existential Approaches I: Gestalt Therapy; Fritz Perls Humanistic/Existential Approaches II: Person-Centred Counselling; Carl Rogers Rational Behavioural Therapy: Albert Ellis Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: Aaron Beck Behavioural Therapy: Solution-Focused Counselling Professional Practice in Counselling The course is divided into seven lessons as follows: Understanding Counselling: The client-counsellor relationship; Effective counselling; Counselling the counsellor; Counsellor’s values; Multicultural counselling Ethics & Confidentiality: Needs; A code of ethics; Informed consent; Right to privacy; Legal requirements; Use of psychometric tests; Ethics and multiple relationships; Keeping records. Understanding the Self: Self-awareness; Self-monitoring; Self-concept; Social Perception; Attribution theory; Implicit personality theory; Relationships; Social exchange; Love and intimacy. Personality: What is a healthy personality?; Trait approach; Psychodynamic approach; Humanistic approach; Social learning and cognitive approaches. Emotions & Behaviour: What are emotions?; Emotions and Counselling; Effect on communication, Aspects of emotions, Emotional expression and counselling. Supervision: Why supervision?; Working with others; Quantity and effectiveness of supervision; Personal counselling; Dependency; Types of supervision. Referral Practice: Counselling v mental health issues; Secondary care counsellors; Abnormal psychology; Anxiety; Depression; Schizophrenia; Personality disorders. Nominal Duration: 1500 hours (Note: The fee for this course is lower than our standard diploma fee. This is because it had been developed in liaison with industry representatives who required it to be less hours than the standard ACS diploma. Of course this situation has resulted in an advantage to our students. In effect you are getting a diploma for an associate diploma level fee) Counsellors Should Treat the Whole Person There is a great deal of overlap between physical illnesses and mental disorders. This can be well illustrated through the Royal College of Psychiatrists who reported in 2010 that the rates of depression are double in people with: Diabetes Hypertension Heart failure Coronary heart disease. Also, rates of depression are triple in people with: End stage renal failure. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Cerebrovascular disease. Furthermore, they observed that: Depression doubles the risk of developing coronary heart disease. Increased psychological distress increases the risk of a stroke by 11%. Depression earlier in life also is a predictive factor in back pain, irritable bowel syndrome and colorectal cancer later in life. When you look at people with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, they die on average 25 years earlier than the general population. This is mainly because of physical health problems associated with their mental health disorders. They have double the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, triple the risk for respiratory disease, and four times the risk of contracting infectious diseases. Clearly there is a complex relationship between physical and mental health. ACS Student comment: I am currently working on my Diploma in Psychology and Counselling via ACS. I have always wanted to do a course in this field and finally decided to take the plunge about two years ago. I was interested in the subjects ACS offered and liked the idea of being able to study via long distance and at my own pace. I have learnt a lot from this course and have enjoyed it immensely. I left my job in the Telco industry in 2010 in order to pursue my passion in counselling. I have been doing some volunteer work to complement my studies, and I am loving it! These volunteer roles have enabled me to practice some of what I have learnt from the course and the experience has been invaluable. I am still learning a great deal! Just when I think I understand what counselling is all about, something new comes up and I am put right back into student mode. ACS is very flexible in their approach which I have found extremely helpful when it came to some of my assignments. For example, in my Child Psychology module where I didn't always have access to interviewing children, my tutor mentioned that I could do alternative research instead to answer the questions, which is great. Sharon Alsop, UK, studying Diploma in Psychology and Counselling course. If you are interesting in improving your knowledge of counselling and psychology to diploma level, then this excellent course could be the one for you. WHAT NEXT? Register to Study - Go to “It’s Easy to Enrol” box at the top of the page and you can enrol now. or Get Advice – Email us at info@acsedu.co.uk OR Use our FREE COUNSELLING SERVICE to contact a tutor CLICK TO CONTACT US