Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy BA (Hons) (Top Up)

Our BA Counselling Top Up programme is for students who have studied FdA Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy at the University Centre at Blackburn College who now wish to Top Up their foundation degree to Honours level by studying for an additional year, full-time.

This is a one year, full-time top up programme, and is validated by Lancaster University. It has been specifically designed to offer a progression route to students from FdA Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy from University Centre Blackburn College who hold a pass or higher.

The programme has been designed to build upon the subjects already learnt within the foundation degree but also to deepen understanding of the subject with a focus on graduate employability and higher level graduate roles. 

Successful completion of the honours degree programme will enable you to work at greater emotional depth, with groups as well as individuals and with children and young people. 

Guest speakers, workshops and small conferences are a feature of the programme. An exciting range of employer talks and conferences take place.

You will study five mandatory modules.

The course includes a module on group dynamics and group work – enabling you to work therapeutically with groups as well as individuals. The module on working with children and young people we expect to be particularly popular as it will deepen your understanding of developmental trauma and the more creative elements of counselling – such as art and play therapy.

All students will complete a dissertation which will allow you to specialise in an area of your choosing and build your research skills and ensuring you become a research-informed practitioner.

As part of the BA (Hons) programme you will need to continue in your placement and accrue, for the purposes of this programme, at least another at 50 hours of supervised counselling practice. This will help you achieve accreditation with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) in the future.

Level 6 Modules (all modules are mandatory):

• Dissertation
• Contemporary Issues in Professional Practice
• Group Dynamics 
• Counselling Children and Young People
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

During the programme you will find that there are some additional costs. These include:

• Student Membership of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) - £82
• Professional Indemnity Insurance – costs range between £45 and £150
• Monthly clinical supervision costs – between £20 - £60 per month.

As of the 2027 start year

You will need to complete five mandatory units:

• Diversity and Culture
• Contemporary Issues in Professional Practice
• Professional Practice & Supervision
• Dissertation Planning and Development
• Dissertation Application

Then one of two optional units (Modules running subject to interest):

Creative Therapies/OR/ Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (Subject to interest)

Completion of the FdA in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy – Pass grade or above gained at University Centre at Blackburn College. Completion of 100 counselling hours carried out as part of the FdA.

Applicants must demonstrate their ability to undertake research at the appropriate academic level. Normally this will be evidence via there level of achievement in the Fda Module Research 2/ Social research.   

Throughout the course a full range of assessment techniques will be used. You could be assessed by examinations, including open-book examinations, practical assessments, assignments, briefs, essays, presentations (including group presentations), reports and portfolio building. 

Each module is formally assessed through, for example, examination, open-book test, individual and group presentation, essay, observation of practice, assessment of course work e.g. art portfolio, written report, reflective practice and portfolios of evidence.  This formal assessment will count towards your module mark and feedback is usually given within 3 working weeks following the submission of your formal submission of work.

Additionally, some lecturers will provide informal feedback, for example, following an examination they may choose to work through the exam paper in a tutorial. It should be noted that feedback is part of the ongoing learning cycle which is not limited to written feedback. Other forms of feedback include one-to-one meetings with a personal tutor, dissertation and project supervision meetings, a lecturer responding to learner questions or responses during topic or situation discussions. 

Feedback is intended to help you learn and you are encouraged to discuss it with your module tutor.

You will be taught by an experienced teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course. The team could include senior academics, professional practitioners with industry experience, demonstrators and technical officers. You can learn more about our staff by visiting our staff profiles.

Timetables

We endeavour to make timetables available one month before you start your course. Please note that while we make every effort to ensure that timetables are as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week. Part-time classes are normally scheduled on one or two days per week. 

Overall Workload

You overall workload consists of class contact hours (Guided Learning), Independent Study, and assessment activity and any field trips which may take place.

Academic Support

We have a dedicated Student Engagement Team who will be able to provide support in the following areas;

• Study Skills (including reading, note-taking and presentation skills)
• Written English
• Academic Writing (including referencing)
• Research Skills

Upon completion of the course, graduates have gone on to work in a range of counselling roles within the statutory, voluntary and private sector. You will be equipped to work as counselling coordinators and managers, mental health workers, as counsellors within the NHS and in schools, within the drug and alcohol fields, the criminal justice system and in private practice.

Past students who have completed the course have progressed into roles including: Counselling Coordinator at Lancashire Women's Centre, Counsellor at Child Action North West, Private Counselling Practice, Outreach Drugs Worker for a local authority and a mental health specialist for the Police.

Fees

Studying for a degree is not as expensive as you think – especially if you stay local. There are no upfront fees to pay if you take out a Tuition Fee Loan from Student Finance England. 

Financial support

There is a range of financial support available to you, including generous support from the College.

Additional costs 

There may be additional costs to consider that are not included in the tuition fees. These costs can vary based on your course and personal choices. 

There are some general additional course costs to consider that can apply to all courses:

There are also some essential additional costs that are specific to this course. These are outlined below.
 

• Student Membership of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) – starting towards the end of the first year.
  
  Cost: £92 a year (current price).
  
  Depending on your circumstances you may be eligible for a reduced membership fee (currently £46 a year). For details, see BACP's reduced fee policy.
  
  
• Professional Indemnity Insurance costs, which vary depending on your choices.
  
  Costs: Typically between £70 and £150 a year.
  
  
• Clinical supervision costs to cover a minimum of one supervision session per month during the Year 2 placement.
  
  Costs: Typically between £30 to £60 per month.
  
  Students typically require between 12 and 16 months of supervision to complete the programme. You may choose to continue this afterward to maintain accreditation. 

This is a full-time course so you will undertake both Guided Learning and Independent Study.

• Guided Learning may take the form of lectures, seminars, workshops, field trips and visits, or 1-to-1 supervision/tutorial.
• Independent Study will take place in your own time, either on or off campus, and will be used for reading, research, and the completion of coursework.

Studies per module

In each academic year, for each module, you will receive approximately*:

• Level 4 (per module) – 60 hours Guided Learning, supported by 140 hours of Independent Study
• Level 5 (per module) – 50 hours Guided Learning, supported by 150 hours of Independent Study
• Level 6 (per module) – 45 hours Guided Learning, supported by 155 hours of Independent Study

Modules may take place in a semesterised design or a linear fashion:

• Semesterised design means they will run September until December (15 weeks), or January to May (15 weeks)
• Linear fashion means they will run the full year (30 weeks).
  On rare occasions modules may have a different weighting of credits, duration through the year, or both.

*Based on a 20-credit weighting. Please refer to module specifications for variations in this weighting.

Weekly study

Each week you will normally study for approximately:

• Level 4 (per week) – 12 hours of Guided Learning, up to 2 hours of tutorial (based on group size), and 28 hours of Independent Study
• Level 5 (per week)  – 10 hours of Guided Learning, up to 2 hours of tutorial (based on group size), and 30 hours of Independent Study
• Level 6 (per week)  – 9 hours of Guided Learning, up to 2 hours of tutorial (based on group size), and 31 hours of Independent Study

Further details

The amount of Guided Study, and how it is distributed per week, will be shown in your Timetables and Subject Outlines. You can determine the schedule of Independent Study yourself around your lessons.

The overall design of your modules and study hours is detailed within Module Specifications. These are available upon request.