How to become a counselling psychologist in the UK

To become a counselling psychologist in the UK you need the BPS Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC), then an HCPC-approved doctorate in counselling psychology, then registration with the HCPC. The other route, the BPS Qualification in Counselling Psychology (QCoP), is not taking new enrolments at the moment.

That last point matters, because a lot of older advice still describes QCoP as an open option.

What a counselling psychologist does

Counselling psychologists are HCPC-registered practitioner psychologists who work therapeutically with people experiencing a wide range of psychological difficulties.

The BPS job profile lists settings including:

• hospitals, including acute admissions, psychiatric intensive care and rehabilitation
• Community Mental Health Teams and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
• Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services
• prison and probation services, and other forensic settings
• private hospitals and private practice
• student counselling services, occupational health and employee assistance programmes
• voluntary organisations, education, research and industry

Step 1: Get GBC

Every route starts with the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership. You get it by completing a BPS-accredited psychology degree or an accredited conversion course.

The BPS says that if you started your degree after September 2006 you need a 2:2 or above and a pass in your psychology project. GBC on its own does not get you onto a doctorate, though. Courses usually ask for more than the GBC minimum. Manchester and UWE Bristol, for example, both ask for a 2:1 in psychology (Manchester also accepts a psychology master's at Merit, including a conversion MSc).

Step 2: Build counselling skills and experience

This is the requirement that most often surprises people coming from clinical psychology planning. Counselling psychology doctorates usually want formal counselling skills training before you apply, plus real experience of using those skills.

The details vary by course. Three examples from current course pages:

• Manchester: normally about 90 to 100 hours of counselling skills training, plus evidence of using counselling skills in paid or voluntary work. Candidates typically have at least a year of this experience before interview.
• UWE Bristol: a Certificate in Counselling Skills of at least 75 class hours, and at least one year of experience in a one-to-one helping role.
• Wolverhampton: a Level 3 certificate in counselling skills, and six months full-time or 12 months part-time in a face-to-face helping role, with roughly 100 hours of direct counselling work.

Helplines, peer support, student support roles and support work can all be relevant, but check how your chosen course defines a helping role before you rely on one.

Step 3: Complete an HCPC-approved doctorate

For most people this is now the only open route. These programmes are usually called a Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology, DCounsPsych, DPsych or similar.

Examples on the HCPC approved programmes list include:

• University of Manchester, Doctorate in Counselling Psychology (full time)
• University of Wolverhampton, Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology (part time)
• Metanoia Institute, Doctorate in Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy by Professional Studies, validated by Middlesex University (part time)

Always check that the exact programme is on the HCPC list, not just the university. You can search it here:

https://www.hcpc-uk.org/education/approved-programmes/

Full-time study is usually three years. Part-time takes longer: UWE Bristol lists four or five years, and Wolverhampton lists five.

What it costs

Counselling psychology doctorates charge tuition fees, and the course pages below do not describe any NHS-style funding, so check how each course is funded before you assume support. Fees on current course pages include:

• University of Manchester, 2026 entry: £9,700 a year for UK students, full time
• UWE Bristol, 2026/27: £9,180 for Year 1 for new home students full time, or £6,590 for Year 1 part time

Wolverhampton's course page currently lists fees only up to 2024-25, so check with the university for the current figure.

Course fees are not the whole cost. Personal therapy and, depending on the course, travel and placement-related costs come on top. UWE's page links to information on Postgraduate Doctoral Loans, which is worth reading early if you are planning how to fund the training.

Personal therapy and client hours

Personal therapy is a standard part of counselling psychology training, and you usually pay for it yourself.

• Manchester requires 40 hours of personal therapy.
• UWE Bristol requires at least 60 hours, with a therapist who is accredited and approved by the course, and states the cost is not included in the course fees.

Supervised client work is also a large part of the doctorate. Manchester, UWE Bristol and Wolverhampton all state a minimum of 450 hours of supervised therapeutic practice. UWE also requires one hour of clinical supervision for every eight client hours.

These numbers vary between programmes, so check the course handbook before comparing.

The QCoP route: what BPS says now

The BPS Qualification in Counselling Psychology (QCoP) is an independent route. You arrange your own placements and supervision, rather than enrolling on a university course. It is on the HCPC approved programmes list with the BPS as the education provider.

As of 5 November 2026, the BPS QCoP page says:

We are currently not accepting enrolments to this qualification due to the qualification being reviewed and an ongoing consultation of all BPS qualifications. Applications are currently on hold.

The page gives no reopening date.

The most recent dated BPS statement I could find is a news item from 29 July 2025. It reports that the Board of Trustees decided on 25 July 2025 that QCoP "enrolments will remain on hold whilst the qualification is reviewed", with an implementation plan still to be approved.

So for now, plan around the doctorate. If QCoP reopens, its structure and requirements may be different from what older guides describe.

Protected title and registration

"Counselling psychologist" is a protected title in law. The HCPC lists it among the protected titles for practitioner psychologists, along with "practitioner psychologist" and "registered psychologist".

You can only use the title once you are on the HCPC Register. Finishing an approved programme makes you eligible to apply. It does not register you automatically.

Counselling psychology vs counselling and psychotherapy

These are related but separate professions, with different training and regulation.

Counselling psychologists are psychology graduates with GBC who train at doctoral level and register with the HCPC.

Counsellors and psychotherapists usually train through courses recognised by professional bodies such as BACP or UKCP. You do not need a psychology degree for these routes.

• BACP describes a route of three to four years: an introduction to counselling, a certificate in counselling skills, then core practitioner training of at least Level 4 diploma standard. That training needs at least two years of classroom-based tuition and a supervised placement of at least 100 client hours.
• UKCP says psychotherapy training is postgraduate (Level 7), typically takes three to six years part time and includes around 450 hours of supervised clinical practice. Psychotherapeutic counselling training starts at Level 5. Trainees are expected to have their own therapy throughout.

"Counsellor" and "psychotherapist" are not on the HCPC list of protected titles. BACP and UKCP run their own registers, and BACP notes there are no compulsory training courses or qualifications for therapists.

https://www.bacp.co.uk/careers/counselling-and-therapy-as-a-career/training-to-become-a-therapist/

https://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/psychotherapy-training/train-as-a-psychotherapist/

If you are unsure which suits you, it helps to think about whether you want to work as a psychologist (assessment, formulation, research, psychometrics alongside therapy) or mainly as a therapist.

A realistic plan

1. Get GBC through an accredited degree or conversion course.
2. Complete counselling skills training of the length your target courses ask for.
3. Build at least a year of helping-role experience using those skills.
4. Shortlist HCPC-approved doctorates and check entry criteria, fees, therapy and placement requirements for each.
5. Budget for fees, personal therapy and supervision costs before you apply.
6. Keep an eye on the BPS QCoP page if the independent route interests you.

If you want to see which competencies your current experience already covers, you can map it free at https://www.clarifio.co.uk

Official sources checked

Last checked: 5 November 2026.

BPS: Qualification in Counselling Psychology https://www.bps.org.uk/qualification-counselling-psychology

BPS: Qualifications Board of Trustees review (29 July 2025) https://www.bps.org.uk/news/bps-qualifications-board-trustees-review

BPS: Counselling psychologist job profile https://www.bps.org.uk/counselling-psychologist-job-profile

BPS: What does the Graduate Basis for Chartered membership (GBC) mean? https://www.bps.org.uk/faqs/what-does-graduate-basis-chartered-membership-gbc-mean

HCPC: The professions we regulate (protected titles) https://www.hcpc-uk.org/about-us/who-we-regulate/the-professions/

HCPC: Approved programmes https://www.hcpc-uk.org/education/approved-programmes/

University of Manchester: DCounsPsych Counselling Psychology https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-research/programmes/list/08588/dcounspsych-counselling-psychology/all-content/

UWE Bristol: Doctor of Counselling Psychology https://courses.uwe.ac.uk/LC5811/2026/counselling-psychology

University of Wolverhampton: Professional Doctorate Counselling Psychology https://www.wlv.ac.uk/courses/professional-doctorate-counselling-psychology/

BACP: Training to become a therapist https://www.bacp.co.uk/careers/counselling-and-therapy-as-a-career/training-to-become-a-therapist/

UKCP: Train as a psychotherapist https://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/psychotherapy-training/train-as-a-psychotherapist/

Entry criteria, fees and BPS qualification arrangements change, so always check the specific course page and the BPS website before you apply.