
L4 Certicate in Counselling
Level 4 Certificate in Counselling


Sept 2021 - July 2022 - ONLINE with 6 Attended Skills Practice Days per year

If you use counselling skills regularly as part of your role this Nationally recognised qualification will enable you to enhance those skills, increase knowledge and provide a stepping stone to those wishing to pursue a career in counselling.
Overview
Who is the course for?
This course provides a further step for those having studied counselling skills at an introductory level or those with experience of using counselling skills and will provide an opportunity to:
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Use counselling skills within your existing professional or voluntary role with a greater degree of efficacy and professionalism
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Provide you with a firm stepping stone onto either a Level 4 Diploma or level 5 foundation degree in Counselling (after which you would be able to see clients as a counsellor, become a member of the BACP and work towards accreditation)
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Use the course as personal development to change your personal and professional life and expand future opportunities
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What will the course cover?
There are 4 modules to cover:
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Developing practical counselling skills
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Personal development
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Theoretical approaches to counselling
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Working Ethically
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Learning Outcomes
A full list of learning outcomes is available on request but briefly by the end of the course you will:
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Know yourself better
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Be able to create a safe and conducive place for a person to talk with you
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Develop practical skills and knowledge to cope with a range of presenting problems
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Understand basic ethics and application in the work place and when and how to refer on
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Know about and differentiate between the major modalities of therapy
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Write level 4 assignments
Course Format
All the work will have strong links to practice and there will also be an academic element. Learning methods will include: skills practice in different formats, learning journal, large group work, personal development groups, lectures, exercises and essays, Case studies and scenarios, tutorials and study groups. There is a strong emphasis on personal reflection and sharing and therefore a lot of work goes into creating a safe space to facilitate that. All sessions, including weekly skills practice and small group work will be undertaken online using Zoom video conferencing (using the breakout rooms facility). Help and support is offered to assist people to set this up and ensure it is working correctly before the course commences. In addition, there will be six attended skills practice days (Saturdays) in Carlisle, Cumbria and, subject to demand in the West Midlands. Attended Saturdays will be subject to Covid restrictions and, if neccessary, will be undertaken online.
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Accreditation
Students will be registered with Open College Network West Midlands, a National Awarding Organisation regulated by OfQual for 4 Units with a total of 21 Credits. The total GLH (Guided Learning Hours) for this course is 150 hours and as such, meets the entry requirements for the Level 4 Diploma. On successful completion students with be awarding a national qualification 'Open College Network West Midlands Level 4 Certificate in Counselling'. This qualification is listed on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF), No. 601/3700/9
Placement Requirement
As part of this course there will be a placement requirement of approx. 20 hours. This is a placement outside of the course where you can practice some of the skills used by counsellors, but is not formally contracted counselling. Working with family and friends will not be sufficient for a placement. A placement is a situation in which you take on a helping role that involves the use of counselling skills. This might be within your paid employment if your work requires a helping role, such as a nurse, pastoral work as a teacher, carer etc. It does not apply to paid employment where the focus is not helping – for example bar work, hairdressing etc. If you are employed and your employer is not suitable, you will need to research agencies or charities where you may become a volunteer in good time for starting the course. You may be required to have DBS checks etc which can take time, and you may be required to do some specific agency training.
"Thank you Hope for a well organised, sensitively delivered course which has refined my skills and helped me understand myself more" - Judy Pitt
​This course has had a profound affect personally and has given me the confidence to progress" - Tess Moran
"It was truly excellent - a standard setter" - Coops

Progression
This course gives students a broad experience in counselling skills and is also preparation for undertaking a L4 Diploma or Foundation degree. The progression diagram to becoming a BACP registered counsellor with Hope is below:

When and where is the course running?
The course will next run between September 2021 and July 2022 one evening per week (evening term time on Tuesdays) from 6.30pm - 9.30 ONLINE via Zoom. There will also be 6 Saturdays (Skills Practice) to be held from 9:00am - 5.00pm. These skills practice days will be held in Carlisle and, subject to demand, within the West Midlands (Subject to Covid restrictions - if necessary these will be held online)
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Entry Requirements and Attendance
The majority of sessions must be attended to receive accreditation and certification. Whilst every effort must be made to attend all sessions we understand illness and emergencies can happen. There is however a minimum requirement of 80% course attendance in order to achieve accreditation and certification.
Entry requirements:
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Minimum age for access to this qualification is 19 years
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Learners must be at a minimum of Level 2 in their literacy and communication skills and will need some experience of working with people. It is recommended that individuals who embark on a course of study leading to the award of this qualification will have already undertaken basic counselling skills training.
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Students should have sufficient IT skills to produce short assignments in either Microsoft Word or Mac Pages etc.
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Many Students find the course highly rewarding, exciting and also emotionally challenging. Applicants should therefore be in a fairly stable emotional state when applying (e.g. those with recent bereavement/loss/relationship breakdown/trauma may find they struggle with the emotional impact of the course).
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Students should also ensure their IT equipment is sufficient for working online with zoom (a good internet connection, web camera and microphone) - this will be tested during informal interview.
Informal Interview / short written piece
All applicants will be required to have an informal interview as part of the application process. Applicants should ensure they meet the entry requirements for the course before applying. A short written piece of work is also required as part of the application process.
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Course Fees
Course fees for 2021/2022 are £1439 + £56 OCNWMR registration fee = £1,495 (total). For those who wish to pay by instalments this is available over 9 payments of £149.50 (interest free) plus a deposit of £159.50
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Course Dates
S1&2, Saturday 25th September, 9:00am-5:00pm
S3, Tuesday 28th September, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S4, Tuesday 5th October, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S5, Tuesday 12th October, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S6&7, Saturday 16th October, 9:00am-5:00pm
S8, Tuesday 19th October, 6:30pm-9:30pm
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​HALF TERM
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S9, Tuesday 2nd November, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S10, Tuesday 9th November, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S11, Tuesday 16th November, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S12, Tuesday 23rd November, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S13, Tuesday 30th November, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S14, Tuesday 7th December, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S15, Tuesday 14th December, 6:30pm-9:30pm
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CHRISTMAS BREAK
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S16&17, Saturday 8th January, 9:00am-5:00pm
S18, Tuesday 11th January, 6:30pm-9:30pm
​S19, Tuesday 18th January, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S20, Tuesday 25th January, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S21, Tuesday 1st February, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S22, Tuesday 8th February, 6:30pm-9:30pm
HALF TERM
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S23, Tuesday 22nd February, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S24, Tuesday 1st March, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S25, Tuesday 8th March, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S26&27, Saturday 12th March, 9:00am-5:00pm
S28, Tuesday 15th March, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S29, Tuesday 22nd March, 6:30pm-9:30pm
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EASTER BREAK
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S30, Tuesday 19th April, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S31&32 Saturday 23rd April, 9:00am-5:00pm
S33, Tuesday 26th April, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S34, Tuesday 3rd May, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S35, Tuesday 10th May, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S36, Tuesday 17th May, 6:30pm-9:30pm
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HALF TERM
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S37, Tuesday 7th June, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S38, Tuesday 14th June, 6:30pm-9:30pm
S39&40, Saturday 2nd July, 9:00am-5:00pm
"The practice skills I've learned help so much now " - Dean Glover
HOW TO BOOK
In the first instance, please get in touch via email: nathan@psychological-services.org.uk to register your interest and arrange an informal interview. If you have been succesful at interview click on the 'book now' button below to register your place. You have the option to either pay the full course fee or deposit.
After booking, if you have paid a deposit and are paying by monthly payments, contact us to set up your 9 month subscription plan. You can start this plan in September 2021 (at the latest) or prior to if you wish to start making payments early.
