About This Course
The Bangor University Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in Counselling Young People and Children is a rigorous, professional diploma for counsellors and psychotherapists who wish to extend their practice into this specialist area. Aimed at therapeutic work with children and young people, it is professionally aligned to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Competencies for Working with Children and Young People (4-18yrs).
This Counselling Children and Young People (4-18 years) post qualifying Diploma will prepare you to work therapeutically with children and young people aged 4-18 years. The course provides practical training in counselling skills for working with children alongside theoretical guidance on counselling concepts specific to young people.
You will learn how to work in a person-centred way from the Humanistic perspective, but you may also draw on other therapeutic methods (such as cognitive and behavioural) to adopt an integrative approach to working with children and young people.
Alongside this practical training, you will gain an understanding of child development and an insight into the world of the young person from a social, psychological, and educational perspective.
Alongside this theoretical education and skills practice, you will complete an assessed placement of 100 hours of supervised counselling with children and young people. This placement may be in a school, charitable organisation, or any other therapeutic setting for young people. This assessed placement and academic training will be aligned to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Competencies for Working with Children and Young People (4-18yrs).
This Counselling Children and Young People (4-18 years) course is delivered in a flexible way to make it fully accessible to all. Weekly classes will run online (videocall) one evening a week for 24 weeks. Resources (including recorded lectures) will be available to access on-demand each week. Regular weekly drop-ins will also be available to support you in your assessments.
This comprehensive training package will be delivered by our team of academic staff from across the College of Human Sciences, drawing on expertise from our School of Human and Behavioural Sciences (including Psychology and Counselling) and the School of Educational Sciences (including Childhood Studies).
While it is not a condition of admission onto the course, it is strongly recommended that applicants have a placement and supervisor established prior to the start date of the course.
Why choose Bangor University for this course?
- A rigorous and professional PGDip aligned to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Competencies for Working with Children and Young People
- You will complete an assessed placement of 100 hours of supervised counselling with children and young people which is aligned to the BACP Competencies for Working with Children and Young People of 14-18 years old.
- This is course is delivered in a flexible way with online classes one evening a week and regular weekly drop-ins.
Watch - Dr Nia Young introduces our Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in Counselling Young People and Children
Transcript for Dr Nia Young introduces our Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in Counselling Young People and Children Video
[00:01] Hi. I'm Nia Young.
[00:02]Here at Bangor University we're really excited to be offering our brand
[00:06] new postgraduate diploma in counselling children and young people.
[00:10] This course brings together the best of the techniques and the practises
[00:15] that will help you to work with children from four to 18 years of age.
[00:19] As well as looking at the theories and ideas that
[00:23] underpin an understanding of childhood,
[00:25] from their development to our social ideas about
[00:28] who and what children are. As a package then,
[00:31] this programme will really help you to think about your own practise
[00:35] and deliver the best provision for people in this age group.
[00:39] So, if you're a qualified counsellor, and are keen to branch
[00:42] out into working with children and young people,
[00:45] follow the links to find out more information about this course.
Course Content
Modules for the current academic year
Module listings are for guide purposes only and are subject to change. Find out what our students are currently studying on the Counselling Children and Young People (4-18 years) Modules page.
Course content is for guidance purposes only and may be subject to change.
Entry Requirements
Entry requirements for the programme will be as follows:
- Counselling qualification at the Diploma or Masters level
- Be a member of an appropriate counselling professional organisation, such as the BACP or UKCP
- Counselling experience of a minimum of 100 hours supervised practice with adult clients (evidence must be provided via a letter from the training provider if hours completed on placement or a letter from the relevant organisation if completed separate to placement)
- Two satisfactory references, and one must be from your counselling supervisor
If English is your second language, you will also be required to hold an IELTS of 7 (with no score lower than 7 across all criteria) and exhibit clear evidence of communication skills through the medium of English in the interview.
An Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check on the Child and Adult Workforce and Child and Adult Barring Lists and subscription to the DBS Update Service. (Overseas equivalent required for non-UK applicants).
Shortlisted applicants must pass an online interview which will incorporate a small group activity and individual assessment. Applicants will be assessed for practice as part of this interview process.
Applicants who successfully graduated from the Bangor University MSc in Counselling in the previous three years will be exempt from providing evidence of their counselling experience, references, and English language proficiency. These alumni will automatically be shortlisted for interview.
It may be possible to accredit prior learning for applicants who successfully graduated from the Bangor University MSc in Counselling in the previous three years . Those who successfully completed one or both of the following modules (within the previous three years) may be accredited for this 40 credits of learning on the current course: Introduction to Counselling for Children and Young People (20 credits), Advanced Counselling for Children and Young People (20 credits), Modern Families (20 credits), Understanding Childhood and Youth (20 credits). If approved, students will not take these modules again on this programme and the overall grade for this diploma will be calculated from the remaining credits.
While it is not a condition of admission onto the course, it is strongly recommended that applicants have a placement and supervisor established prior to the start date of the course. Applicants must be approved for placement as part of the admissions process and students will be expected to start placement within the first four weeks on the course. This is important to give enough time to gain the 100 hours of supervised practice required for the course within the programme time frame.
Please be aware that classes for this programme will run online via videocall, so you must have the facilities to access this class each week. You will also be expected to interact with the tutor and the rest of the class during these sessions, so it is essential that you have a working camera and microphone for these sessions.
Careers
The holistic curriculum covered on this programme will help you to build on your existing therapeutic skills to enable you to work safely and effectively as a counsellor for children and young people.
