Counselling and Psychotherapy

Overview

This course is a professional practitioner training in Counselling and Psychotherapy. Its aim is to develop reflective and skilled practitioners who will have attained the requisite knowledge, personal development and competence to provide Counselling and Psychotherapy in a professional manner. The core theoretical orientation of the course is integrative. The core humanistic elements are Person Centred, Gestalt and Transactional Analysis. The course also draws substantially from the relational end of Psychoanalysis. Some elements from the Cognitive and Behavioural traditions are also included.

Work with Clients

Students will be required to carry out 120 hours of Counselling work with clients during the training. They will be required to obtain supervision for this work from a supervisor nominated by MTU. Payment for supervision will be made directly by students and is not included in the course fee.

Personal Therapy

Students will be required to have undertaken at least 100 sessions of personal therapy before the completion of their training. The cost of this is separate to the course and is arranged directly between the student and the therapist.

Dual Relationships

Due to the personal and experiential nature of the course, it is generally not possible to have staff or students with significant existing personal or professional relationships in the same course groups. Where possible, every effort is made to overcome this difficulty by placing them in separate groups. Oftentimes this solution is not possible, and in these instances, a dual relationship may prevent the applicant from being offered a place on the course at that time.

Course Delivery

• Full-time (delivered evenings and weekends/career-friendly hours).

The course is offered over two semesters from September to May each year. Each semester has 5 modules. The regular sessions will be held on two evenings per week 6.30pm to 9.30pm. Alternatively, some of the evening sessions could be transferred to Saturday. When a Saturday is involved it would replace two evening sessions. During BA 1, there will be two EGP weekend workshops in addition to the regular weekly sessions.

The course has five key elements which are integrated in the training, using a strong experiential and practical focus. These are:

• Counselling and Psychotherapy Theory and Application
• Practitioner Development
• Experiential Group Process/Personal Process Integration
• Supervised Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice
• Counselling and Psychotherapy integration

Award

On successful completion of the full programme, students will be awarded a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Counselling and Psychotherapy. On achieving the honours degree, graduates will be equipped to carry out Counselling and Psychotherapy in a structured setting with the support of supervision. The BA honours degree is a fully validated professional Counselling and Psychotherapy training programme which satisfies the accreditation requirements of the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

What will I study?

Modules

Year 1:  The One-Year Certificate in Counselling Skills

Year 2: The Higher Certificate in Arts in Counselling Skills

Year 3: Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Counselling & Psychotherapy – BA 1

Year 4: Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Counselling & Psychotherapy – BA 2

Entry Requirements

Applicants must:

• Be 26 years of age or older on 1st January of year of application;
• Have successfully completed the Higher Certificate in Arts in Counselling Skills;
• Be assessed through interview or progression assessment for internal students;

National Vetting Bureau: MTU uses the National Vetting Bureau (NVB) to help assess the suitability of all applicants on this programme. It is important to note that participation in or completion of this programme may be affected by subsequent disclosure/discovery.

Please download and complete this Supplementary Information Form – B.A. (Honours) in Counselling and Psychotherapy - BA1.

When completed, upload this form to the section titled “Supporting Documentation” in your online application.

Do not upload any other documentation at this time. It is NOT necessary for current students of the Higher Certificate in Arts in Counselling Skills to complete the Supplementary Information Form.

An assessment panel will review all applications. 

An assessment panel composed of the current tutors of the Higher Certificate in Arts in Counselling Skills will be involved in the assessment decisions regarding readiness to progress for current students. These applicants are not required to attend for interview.

Applicants who have previously completed the Higher Certificate in Arts in Counselling Skills at MTU (formerly CIT) will be invited for interview. 

What is RPL?

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is when formal recognition is given for what you already know prior to starting on a programme or module. With recognition of prior learning the focus is on learning and not on experience as such. You can apply for RPL in any MTU accredited programme or module. Programmes which are accredited by professional bodies or any external awarding bodies may have their own procedures for RPL which you should refer to.

Fees

BA 1: €2,975

BA 2: €2,975

• Applicants will be required to pay an acceptance fee of €500 online if a place on a course is offered. This fee is deductible from the overall course fee.
• Note: You will not be charged for applying for the programme by clicking the 'apply online' button, you are only asked to pay an acceptance fee if a place is offered to you and you wish to accept it.