Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling (BACP Accredited)

Applications are now closed for September 2025

This is a well-established and accredited clinical training which leads to a professional qualification in psychodynamic counselling and provides all aspects of the training required to graduate as a psychodynamic counsellor.

The course includes academic teaching and discussion, clinical presentations, experiential groups and workshops together with a regular weekly supervised clinical placement within our own counselling service.

The course takes a minimum of two years to complete but you are offered a third year to consolidate your practice and attain the minimum 150 face to face counselling hours required, if necessary.

The Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling provides a clinical practice via a placement within CCF’s own counselling service, where trainees are valued members of our professional counselling team. Weekly supervision is also included, offering unique support and avoiding the difficulty of trainees having to find their own suitable placements and supervisors.

Trainees completing our training programme will have completed a BACP accredited training, and can apply for BACP Individual Accreditation, after completing the required 450 hours of client work.

We emphasise that we provide a training in counselling, not a course of instruction.  This means that our Assessment Committee must be satisfied that the trainee has reached a required standard, which is not just a matter of completing hours and assignments, before awarding a qualification.  Please note that progression each year is not automatic but dependent upon our assessment process.

Trainees who successfully complete the Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling will have completed a minimum of 150 hours of clinical work and can be offered the opportunity to remain  with the Foundation for up to a further three years as an Associate Counsellor. This assists trainees gaining hours towards the 450 required for personal BACP accreditation.

• Course Dates:  Sep 25 – Jul 26 
• Times:  Mondays 6.00pm – 8.45pm – Year One
                Tuesdays 6.00pm – 8.45pm – Year Two
• Location:  In person at CCF
• Fees: £4575 per year (subject to annual change)

What are the aims of the course?

• assist in the development of sufficient self-awareness to work as a counsellor, separating their own feelings from those of their clients’

• develop the skills to be able to listen acutely to clients’ communications at all levels, conscious and unconscious

• establish and sustain a counselling relationship

• integrate psychodynamic principles and theories into clinical practice

• gain skills to work effectively, safely and ethically as psychodynamic counsellors

• reflect on their work and use supervision to inform and illuminate this process

• provide the formal training foundation to enable a student to work towards individual accreditation from BACP once they have accumulated sufficient experience

What are the entry requirements?

All applicants must have completed an approved non-clinical course with Chelmsford Counselling Foundation or that is equivalent to our Certificate and Diploma in Counselling Skills courses. Please refer to our Accreditation to prior learning policy for further information, this can be found in the prospectus. All candidates will have an in-depth assessment to determine their readiness to work with clients.

It is important to point out that if you intend to apply for a place on our Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling, you must be in a minimum of once weekly therapy with a psychotherapist from our approved list (or an equivalent) for at least six months before starting the training, and continue in therapy for the duration of your training. The cost of weekly therapy is in addition to the course fee and is a private agreement between student and their therapist.

Application process

Selection is by means of application form and interview, to assess applicants’ prior learning, their personal attributes and intellectual and emotional capacity as well as their readiness to work with the content of the course. There is also an interview with our independent external psychotherapist.