Advanced Counselling Skills

Counselling is a complex skill requiring a sound knowledge base and excellent communication and interpersonal skills. As a counsellor you will meet clients presenting with a wide range of problems and of varying severity; it is vital therefore that you understand not only how to work with these issues, but also the factors that lead to these issues developing.

Advanced Counselling provides an in-depth look into the different models and types of therapy, and the skills you will need in order to help you work with clients effectively. The course explores development and attachment theories, communication skills (such as empathy, clarification and challenge, goal setting, and listening) as well as values and anti-oppressive practice. The course also addresses the current issues surrounding regulation of the profession and how this will affect trainee and qualified counsellors, as well as information regarding setting up your own practice.

At UK Open Learning we pride ourselves on our friendly and supportive tutors. Your tutor support will start as soon as you receive your course and will be valid for 12 months. All our tutors are highly qualified with extensive experience in supporting distance learning students. You contact your tutor via email and they are responsible for marking assignments answering your questions and guiding you through the course to ensure you are ready for your examinations.

Students wishing to enrol on the Advanced Counselling course must have a minimum of a Level 3 or 4 in Counselling and Psychotherapy, or have completed a 10 day Introduction to Counselling course.

We recommend you spend approximately 110 hours of your time studying for the NCFE Level 4 Advanced Counselling Award. The pace of study is completely up to you. To give an example, if you dedicate 2 hours a week to the course it would take you a year to complete but if you could spare 4 hours a week you could complete it in six months.

Unit 1 - Models of Therapy. Unit 2 - Types of Therapy. Unit 3 - Working as a counsellor. Unit 4 - Being assertive. Unit 5 - Ethics and Dilemmas. Unit 6 - Crisis work.

This course is marked through a process of continuous assessment guided by your tutor. This means that your qualification will be awarded according to your performance on assessments rather than by taking an exam.

NCFE is recognised as an awarding body by the qualification regulators ('regulators') for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The regulators are the Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (Ofqual) in England, the Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (DCELLS) in Wales and the Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) in Northern Ireland.

Students are assessed through a series of tutor marked assignments based on their application of the course content there is no final exam.  The assignments take the form of a series of structured questions. There is no word count for these assignments, however you have to prove to your tutor that you have fully understood the questions asked.