Counsellors help people discuss their problems and feelings in a confidential environment.
£19,000 Starter
to£47,000 Experienced
35 to 40 a week
evenings / weekends attending events or appointments
You can get into this job through:
You could do a degree or postgraduate course in counselling or psychotherapy.
You should look for a course that includes practical skills training and supervised placements. You can search for courses through the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.
You'll usually need:
You can start by doing an introduction to counselling course, which can last up to 12 weeks. After that, you can extend your training by completing courses like:
Colleges will set their own entry requirements but most will expect you to have completed the introductory and Level 3 counselling courses to go further.
Entry requirements for these courses vary.
Paid or unpaid experience is essential for course and job applications. Many counselling bodies offer volunteering opportunities and you can find these on Do-it.
Counselling is often a second or third career, and life experience is highly valued.
Becoming a member of a body on the Professional Standards Authority's counselling register can improve your chances of getting a job.
You can find out more about careers in counselling from the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and the UK Council for Psychotherapy.
You'll need:
You'll need to:
In this role you could be:
You could work in a therapy clinic, at a GP practice, at a school, at a college or from home.
Your working environment may be emotionally demanding.
Competition for full-time paid work is strong and many counsellors do a mixture of part-time, voluntary and private work.
With experience, you could set up your own practice.
You could choose to train as a counsellor supervisor or trainer. You could also move into a management or administration role.
We can't find any apprenticeship vacancies in England for a counsellor right now.
The Find an apprenticeship service can help you with your search, send alerts when new apprenticeships become available and has advice on how to apply.
The Find a job service can help you with your search for jobs and send alerts when new jobs become available.
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