Dual Diploma in Integrative Counselling & Clinical Hypnotherapy
A unique two year professional training in Liverpool, 2026 intake
This is your chance to study a unique two year part time programme and attain two professional diplomas, a Level 5 Diploma in Integrative Counselling and a Level 5 Practitioner level Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy.
The Counselling diploma is accredited by the ACCPH and the National Council of Integrative Psychotherapists, and graduates are eligible to apply for NCIP membership and to sit the BACP Proficiency Test. The Hypnotherapy diploma is accredited by the General Hypnotherapy Standards Council and underwritten by the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council.
All advertising meets ASA standards, legal, decent, honest and truthful, updated September 2025.
Accreditation and Professional Recognition
NCIP and ACCPH
The Counselling diploma is accredited by the ACCPH and the National Council of Integrative Psychotherapists. On completion, students are eligible to apply for registered membership of the NCIP.
BACP Pathway
Students are eligible to sit the BACP Proficiency Test to gain Registered Member status, a key benchmark within the counselling profession and a route into BACP career pathways.
GHSC, GHR and CNHC
The Practitioner Level Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy is accredited by the General Hypnotherapy Standards Council. Graduates are eligible to register with the General Hypnotherapy Register and to apply for registration with the CNHC in line with the Hypnotherapy Core Curriculum.
A Foreword from our Founder
Nichola Doyle
MA Education and Teaching, BA Hons in Education with QTS, FdA Children’s Development and Learning, L6 Counselling Supervision, L5 Diploma in Hypnotherapy, L5 Diploma in Integrative Counselling
Founder and Course Director, Senior Accredited Member ACCPH, Registered Member BACP, Member NCIP
A Welcome from our Founder, Nichola Doyle
Welcome to UK Therapy Guild. I am so glad you have chosen to begin, or continue, your therapeutic journey with us. The ethos of the Guild is built not just on professional theory, it is grounded in lived experience.
My childhood involved instability and time in the care system, along with separation from my brother and a difficult relationship with my father which led me to cut ties for my own protection. Later, a series of bereavements left me in a spiral of grief.
My first experiences of counselling were disappointing. Frequent changes of therapist heightened my abandonment wounds, and later I felt unheard in sessions that offered little collaboration. That frustration led me to train as a counsellor myself and to discover the power of integrative counselling, especially psychodynamic work and attachment theory.
This journey is the foundation of UK Therapy Guild. At its heart is a simple truth, hurt people often go on to hurt others, creating a cycle of pain. Our fundamental goal is to break that cycle. The Level 5 Diplomas in Integrative Counselling and Clinical Hypnotherapy have been designed as the course I wish I could have found when I needed it most.
To extend that ripple of change into the wider community, we also created the UK Therapy Guild Counselling Service, a low cost service offering integrative counselling and clinical hypnotherapy delivered by carefully trained counsellors as they work towards their one hundred client hours.
By joining this course, you are not just learning to be a therapist, you are becoming part of a ripple effect of healing. I look forward to supporting you on that journey.
Warmly
Nichola Doyle
Director, UK Therapy Guild
M: 0151 272 1092 / 07368 363946
E:
nicholadoyle@uktherapyguild.org
W:
uktherapyguild.co.uk
Our Mission and Values
“At the heart of UK Therapy Guild is a simple truth, hurt people often go on to hurt others, creating a cycle of pain. Our fundamental goal is to break that cycle. We provide the space and the tools for people to stop, reflect and gain deeper insight into their own psyche. Reflection leads to learning, learning leads to change, and as we act differently we start to live differently.”
Our purpose is to facilitate transformation, creating a ripple effect that touches everyone. We strive for a gold standard of care and education and a community where both therapists and clients feel emotionally held and have the chance to heal, grow and live well.
High Quality Training
Teaching delivered by experienced therapists who remain active in practice, with learning structured to deepen understanding.
Supportive Climate
A safe and supportive learning environment with personalised help and guidance for every student.
Inspiring Curriculum
An integrative curriculum that provides a wide range of counselling and hypnotherapy approaches and resources.
Interactive Teaching
Live teaching, demonstrations, guest speakers and monitored practice sessions, alongside self reflective exercises.
Personal Growth
Emphasis on self awareness and reflection, with many students reporting significant personal development.
What this Course Offers
UK Therapy Guild trains people to a high standard in Counselling and Hypnotherapy. The Dual Diploma allows you to obtain two diplomas over two years, a Level 5 Diploma in Integrative Counselling accredited by the NCIP and a Level 5 Practitioner Level Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy validated by the GHSC.
The course provides three hundred and seventy guided learning hours, including one hundred and twenty hours face to face. Sessions are delivered mainly in person with some online teaching, and are designed to be interactive as well as informative.
Students cover a wide curriculum including CBT, Person Centred, Gestalt, Psychodynamic approaches, Transactional Analysis, grief therapy, family counselling, couples counselling, NLP and Hypnotherapy. The integrative model equips you with a flexible toolkit that allows you to tailor your work to each individual client.
The course balances theory and process within a clear framework:
- Regular opportunities for observation, practice, discussion, review and feedback.
- Structured opportunities to apply theory during monitored practice sessions.
- Ongoing monitoring and assessment of your development as a trainee counsellor and hypnotherapist.
Course Curriculum
The Dual Diploma combines a comprehensive integrative counselling programme with a practitioner level hypnotherapy training. The outline below shows the units of study for each diploma.
- Unit 1, The Self Structure concepts of self, social and cultural influences, the Johari Window, change and personal development.
- Unit 2, Determinism or Free Will soft and hard determinism and free will, humanist and behaviourist perspectives.
- Unit 3, Professional and Organisational Issues empathy, boundaries, ethics, confidentiality, transference, crisis work and supervision.
- Unit 4, Counselling Skills and Theory Update structure of counselling, theoretical approaches, paraphrasing, summarising, reflecting and challenging.
- Unit 5, Psychodynamic Counselling key concepts, defence mechanisms, structural theory, transference and countertransference, object relations.
- Unit 6, Attachment Theory and the Strange Situation Bowlby and Ainsworth, stages and styles of attachment, links with life positions.
- Unit 7, Gestalt Therapy wholeness and integration, awareness, unfinished business, empty chair work, closure and resolution.
- Unit 8, Phenomenological and Humanistic Approaches phenomenology, Rogers, Maslow and existential approaches.
- Unit 9, Transactional Analysis ego states, life positions, scripts, Karpman’s Drama Triangle, contamination and exclusion of ego states.
- Unit 10, Grief Counselling stages of grief, attachment and loss, mourning processes, Worden and the Dual Process Model.
- Unit 11, Narrative Therapy social discourse, problem saturated stories, externalising and deconstruction.
- Unit 12, Family Counselling family sculpting, Bowen systems theory, strengths based family therapy, techniques and applications.
- Unit 13, Couples’ Counselling unconscious dynamics of relationships, TA and couples, the Gottman Method.
- Unit 14, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy the evolution of behaviour therapy, cognitive approaches, REBT.
- Unit 15, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion ethical practice around age, disability, gender and other protected characteristics, mental health and safeguarding.
- Unit 16, Preparing for Placement case studies, practice sessions, fit to practise letters, four way agreements and supervision.
On completion of the counselling element, students are expected to articulate their own philosophical approach, demonstrate integrated use of counselling skills and show a strong commitment to ethical and anti oppressive practice.
- Unit 1, Introduction to Hypnosis history, common misconceptions, everyday hypnosis, depth stages and criteria.
- Unit 2, Session Structure suggestibility tests, induction methods, permissive and authoritarian styles, closure and full session script.
- Unit 3, Effective Voice Usage embedded commands, intonation, emphasis, use of distraction and recap.
- Unit 4, Components of the Mind structural theory, conscious and subconscious minds, prime directives and anchoring.
- Unit 5, Safety, Modalities and Sub Modalities precautions, suppression, repression, abreaction, legal and ethical issues and safe sub modality work.
- Unit 6, Self Hypnosis methods, indirect language scripts, teaching and performing self hypnosis.
- Unit 7, The Therapeutic Relationship and Parts Integration congruence, professionalism, rapport building, parts integration and motivation.
- Unit 8, The Power of Suggestion and Expectancy ego strength, laws of suggestion, post hypnotic suggestions and positive suggestion management.
- Unit 9, Phobia Treatment anxiety and panic, V and K dissociation, rewind technique, systematic desensitisation, future pacing and swish patterns.
- Unit 10, Regression age regression, past life regression, progression, chunking up and down and sub modality scripts such as Movie Screen and Hall of Doors.
- Unit 11, Aversion Therapy weight loss, smoking cessation, hypnobirthing, gastric band work and case studies.
- Unit 12, Definition of NLP strategies and theories, principles for success, presuppositions, communication model and language models.
- Unit 13, Favoured Representational Systems sensory preferences, eye patterns and pattern charts.
- Unit 14, Return to Anchoring stacking, chaining and collapsing anchors, achievable outcomes and ecology.
- Unit 15, Metaphor Outline pre mapping, mapping strategies and therapeutic metaphor.
- Unit 16, Confidentiality boundaries, data protection, GDPR and contracts.
- Unit 17, Introduction to Strategies types of strategies, theory and the TOTE model.
- Unit 18, Setting up a Practice marketing, membership of professional bodies and insurance.
Hypnotherapy outcomes align with the CNHC National Occupational Standards, enabling students to work safely and competently as hypnotherapy practitioners on completion of the course.
What is Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy
Healing through trance states or altered awareness is one of the oldest therapeutic practices and appears in many cultures. Modern hypnotherapy regards hypnosis as a focused state of attention, often supported by relaxation, in which the subconscious mind can work more directly with the conscious mind.
Hypnotherapy uses hypnosis alongside other counselling and therapeutic techniques to support change in thoughts, feelings, behaviours and perceptions. It can help with stress, anxiety, phobias, sleep difficulties, unwanted habits, pain management and performance issues. The course emphasises evidence aligned practice, clear ethical boundaries and work within competence.
You will explore who can be hypnotised, how depth of trance relates to change and how to apply techniques responsibly within agreed safeguarding and professional frameworks.
Assessment, Supervision and Ethics
Assessment for Counselling
Ongoing assessment ensures that students are developing the skills and attitudes expected of an integrative counsellor. You will complete written and verbal assignments, case studies based on genuine classroom and placement work and skills assessments including an audio recorded session with written critique.
Feedback is detailed and formative. Where written work presents barriers, alternative assessment arrangements can be agreed with the Course Director.
Assessment for Hypnotherapy
For the Practitioner Diploma you will complete at least three case studies, including single session and multi session work, alongside ongoing observation of practical skills in class. You will also submit an audio recorded hypnotherapy session with written critique.
Coursework includes research and theory assignments. Overall assessment is made by the course tutor and sampling is carried out by an independent assessor.
Supervised Placement
Counselling, students must complete one hundred client hours. Supervision follows BACP and NCIP guidance at a minimum of one hour of supervision for every eight client hours, usually one and a half hours per month, totalling around twelve and a half hours overall. Group supervision is permitted within stated ratios. UK Therapy Guild offers monthly supervision from Year Two using a seven eyed model at a reduced cost.
Hypnotherapy, a minimum of twenty hours of hypnotherapy practice is strongly encouraged. These hours may be gained within existing counselling placements where appropriate.
Ethical Framework
UK Therapy Guild abides by the Codes of Ethics of both the NCIP and BACP. These frameworks guide teaching and assessment in relation to moral, ethical and legal issues including safeguarding, confidentiality, boundaries, data protection and professional conduct.
Students are expected to uphold these standards throughout training and during placement work.
Student Experience and Support
Student Conduct and Support
A climate of mutual support is important. Students are encouraged to listen carefully to others and to tutors and to maintain a respectful, non judgemental stance that reflects the values of the profession.
A minimum of eighty percent classroom attendance is required. Where attendance falls below this level, additional work or repeat learning may be agreed with the Course Director. In rare cases a student may be asked to leave the course if the demands or responsibilities cannot be met. A pro rata refund may be considered.
Students who experience personal difficulties that affect study are encouraged to speak to a tutor as early as possible so that support can be offered.
Complaints Procedure
Concerns can be raised informally with a tutor by email, phone, letter or face to face. Where this does not resolve the issue, a formal complaint can be made to the Complaints Sub Committee made up of two course staff.
A meeting will be held, minutes will be taken and a written response will be provided which is also shared with the NCIP.
Student Voice
“It has been a wonderful and challenging experience which I have grown from and I know it will lead to a new direction for my life. Any concerns I had before I started quickly eased when I met the tutors, and college evenings quickly became the highlight of the week.”
Paul, Dual Diploma student
“With each topic I have learned something new about people and about myself which has been the best part of this course. I now feel confident heading into placement as I have the tools to help others.”
Erin, Dual Diploma student
“This has been one of the most enjoyable programmes I have ever been involved in. The tutors are knowledgeable and supportive and the group work has helped me to develop. I would highly recommend this course.”
Annette, Dual Diploma student
Course Logistics and Practical Information
Venue and Schedule
Courses take place at:
St Mary’s Millennium Centre
West Derby, Liverpool, L12 5EA
View on Google Maps
Duration, two years part time, term time study
Teaching day, Saturdays, 1pm to 4pm
Attendance, minimum eighty percent
Course Materials and Reading
A comprehensive course manual is issued at the start of the course. You will also have access to a wide range of online resources and learning materials via the website.
Reading lists are provided for both counselling and hypnotherapy. You are not expected to buy or read every title and can dip into relevant chapters as you progress.
Insurance and Data Protection
UK Therapy Guild is fully insured under public liability to provide training. Students are expected to arrange student counsellor insurance before starting placement. A recommended provider is Holistic Insurance (www.holisticinsurance.co.uk).
Students are encouraged to register as Student Members of the BACP at the start of their second year of study.
UK Therapy Guild is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office and complies with the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR. Students’ personal data is processed lawfully, fairly and securely. Once on placement, students are encouraged to obtain individual ICO registration when they begin to store client related information even in anonymised form.
Course Fees and Payment Options
Total Course Fee
£3,750
This covers the full two year Dual Diploma including both the Level 5 Integrative Counselling Diploma and the Practitioner Level Hypnotherapy Diploma.
Payment Options
- Pay in full, £3,750 payable up front.
- Deposit and balance, a non refundable deposit of £500 is due on acceptance of your place. The remaining £3,250 is due by 31 August 2026, payable by bank transfer or via PayPal or Klarna plans or your own credit arrangements.
Course Fee Policy
Once you commence the course in September the full course fee of £3,750 becomes payable and is non refundable, in line with the student contract.
By choosing a PayPal or Klarna payment plan you agree to complete all payments in full even if you withdraw from the course, so please read their terms and conditions carefully.
Flexible payment options available
How to Apply
Course Requirements
In the first instance you will complete an application using the website. If you prefer a traditional application form you can email the admin team and one will be sent to you.
Your application is assessed to decide whether this course is a good fit. If shortlisted, you will be invited to a personal interview with the Course Director, Nichola Doyle. Suitability is considered in relation to education, qualifications, relevant life experience, employment history and future goals.
Prior counselling training at Level Two or Three is not required as comprehensive training is delivered within the Dual Diploma.
All decisions concerning acceptance or non acceptance are final and cannot be challenged.
Start your Application
Complete the eligibility form to start your application or to find out more about whether the Dual Diploma in Integrative Counselling and Clinical Hypnotherapy is right for you.
Complete eligibility formYou can also download the full 2026 handbook for detailed information about the course structure, assessment and policies.
Download 2026 handbook (PDF)For questions contact admin@uktherapyguild.org or call 0151 272 1092 / 07368 363946.
Course Tutors and Graduation
Nichola Doyle
MA Education and Teaching, BA Hons in Education with QTS, FdA Children’s Development, L5 Diploma in Integrative Counselling, Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy, EMDR, trauma informed training and Alcoholic to Alchemist Licensed Practitioner.
Founder of UK Therapy Guild and Course Director, Senior Accredited Member ACCPH, Registered Member BACP and Member NCIP.
Nick Buchanan
Level Five Diploma in Integrative Counselling, Certificate in Counselling Supervision, Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy, EMDR Diploma, NLP Master Practitioner and teaching background in community education.
Course Supervisor and tutor providing integrative counselling and hypnotherapy supervision and specialist input.
Erin Rawlings Doyle
BA Hons in Sociology, Level Five Diploma in Integrative Counselling, Level Four Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy.
Administrator and teacher providing academic support and student liaison for the Dual Diploma cohort.
Completion and Graduation
Meeting the requirements of the course as set out in the handbook usually leads to the award of the Level Five Diploma in Integrative Counselling and the Practitioner Level Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy. In some cases additional work or repeat learning may be required where attendance or assessment criteria have not yet been met.
A grace period of one year after the planned end of the course is available for students to complete any remaining requirements. Those students will be invited to attend the next graduation evening.
A graduation evening is held on the final evening of the course for students. This is an opportunity to celebrate your achievements with peers and tutors and to recognise your new status as a qualified counsellor and hypnotherapist.