ABC Certificate in Counselling Skills Level 3

Course Marketing Title
ABC Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Skills

Overview
This course is for those who wish to start training to become a qualified professional counsellor, and for those who wish to acquire a repertoire of counselling skills for use in other work areas but who have no wish to become a professional counsellor, e.g. nurses, social workers and teachers.

Entry Requirements

Successful completion of an ABC Level 2 Award in Counselling Concepts

5 GCSEs *

A satisfactory reference from your Level 2 counselling tutor

A successful interview

* For students without formal qualifications a non-standard entry route is available.

Please note: if you have been in recovery we ask that you have been clear for a minimum of one year before applying for this course.

The course will run subject to minimum numbers being reached.

Composition of the Course
By the end of this course you should be able to:

Use a range of counselling skills competently and effectively

Accept and subscribe to the current BACP Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy and to recognise that you are not a trained and qualified counsellor

Respect other people's views, attitudes, belief structures and cultures

Demonstrate a commitment to anti-oppressive practices and non-discriminatory use of counselling skills

Show a working understanding of one counselling theory and an awareness of two others and of the need to avoid the danger of using techniques based on a limited understanding

Reflect constructively on yourself, your life experiences, and your interactions with others and evidence your personal and professional growth processes

The course runs over one academic year and is taught on a part-time basis with students being in college just one day per week, from 12.30pm to 5.00pm on a Tuesday.

The course includes a weekend residential early in the academic year. Attendance on this is mandatory as it forms an important part of the group process. You will be given the date for this at your interview.

The programme is delivered by experienced counselling practitioners who have many years' experience teaching at this level.

Four mandatory units of work must be achieved in order to pass the course:

Understand the context for the use of counselling skills

Understanding counselling theory

Using counselling skills

Personal development for users of counselling skills

All units will be internally assessed, internally and externally moderated via a learner's portfolio and other related evidence, against the unit outcomes and assessment criteria. You will be expected to assume an active responsibility for your own learning which will enable you to establish principles and good practice from a shared analysis with fellow learners and staff of experiences on the course and related experiences.

The programme takes place at our Town Centre campus.

Award Received
Upon successful completion of the course you will be awarded a Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Skills from ABC Awards.

Please note that regular and punctual attendance is a course requirement and final qualifications may be withheld if attendance is below 80%.

Progression
Successful completion of this course will provide you with one of the entrance requirements for a Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling, which is the final stage in counselling training, and qualifies successful candidates to practise as counsellors. Please note that progression from the Level 3 programme onto the Level 4 programme is not automatic. You are advised to check with centres regarding selection procedures which may require further evidence of a learner's suitability to progress to Level 4.

Course Fees
The fees for the course in 2016 are still to be confirmed. The fees in 2015 were £979. The fee includes the cost of the residential.

The fees will be due at enrolment. They can be paid either through an Advanced Learning Loan or by your personal funds (an instalment plan is available if paying yourself). If your employer is paying your fees you will need to bring a signed letter on headed paper stating this when you enrol.

Once you have enrolled you are liable for the full fee, regardless of whether you leave the programme.
Please note that the Advanced Learner Loan may not cover the whole fees. The exact amount that the loan will cover has not been released yet.

Quality Assurance (QA)
QA systems are embedded throughout the College and the College is regulated by ABC Awards.

The course is NOT accredited by the BACP.