Frequently Asked Questions

A Level 5 qualification is a nationally recognised professional-level credential, equivalent to a Higher National Certificate (HNC) or the first year of an undergraduate degree in terms of academic rigour.

In counselling, Level 5 signifies that you have completed advanced training in theory, professional ethics, and supervised client practice. Graduates who have completed their required placement hours are recognised as qualified counsellors and hypnotherapists and are eligible to practise professionally - including in private practice, voluntary sector roles, employee assistance programmes, and workplace wellbeing settings.

This is the level of qualification that professional registers such as NCIP and BACP require in order to apply for full Registered Member status.

• Level 3 Counselling skills certificate. Covers introductory counselling theory and active listening skills. Suitable for people who use counselling skills in their existing work (HR, teaching, social care), but not a qualification to practise independently as a counsellor.
• Level 4 Counselling diploma (intermediate). Covers core therapeutic models in more depth. Some practitioners work in specific voluntary sector settings at this level, but it is generally not considered a full practitioner qualification for independent private practice.
• Level 5 Professional practitioner diploma - this course. Comprehensive training in theory, skills, ethics, and supervised placement. Graduates who have completed placement hours are qualified to practise independently and are eligible to apply for professional register membership (NCIP, BACP).

Two nationally recognised qualifications, awarded together over two years:

• Level 5 Diploma in Integrative Counselling, accredited by the NCIP and ACCPH.
• Level 5 Practitioner Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy, accredited by the NCIP and ACCPH.

Both qualifications are awarded on successful completion of assessments and the required supervised client hours. On completion you receive two separate certificates and are eligible to apply for professional register membership.

Graduates work in private practice, voluntary and charitable sector roles, employee assistance programmes (EAPs), workplace wellbeing services, and education settings. Those who meet the required hours and supervision can also pursue NHS Talking Therapies pathways.

As an integrative counsellor and clinical hypnotherapist you have a broad toolkit, which opens more avenues than a single-modality qualification. Many graduates build a private practice alongside employed work, or transition into counselling from a different career entirely.

You are also eligible to apply for professional register membership with the NCIP and BACP, which strengthens your credibility with clients and opens additional employment routes.

Yes. Qualified counsellors are welcome to continue with UK Therapy Guild Counselling Services after completing their training. You remain fully self-employed, practising under your own professional registration, and UK Therapy Guild provides a platform to connect with clients.

BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) is the UK's largest professional membership organisation for counsellors and psychotherapists. Joining the BACP Register as a Registered Member means you have met their verification requirements for training, experience, and ethics - and you have agreed to their Ethical Framework and Continuing Professional Development requirements.

Employers in sectors such as NHS Talking Therapies, employee assistance programmes (EAPs), schools, and the voluntary sector often specifically ask for BACP registered membership as a quality benchmark when hiring counsellors. Clients and members of the public can also search the BACP's public register to verify a counsellor's qualifications and professional standing.

BACP registration is not mandatory to practise as a counsellor in the UK, but it significantly strengthens your professional profile. It is one of several routes our graduates pursue alongside NCIP membership.

The Professional Practitioner Programme runs for two years part-time. There are 370 guided learning hours in total, including 120 hours face to face. Most students describe the commitment as manageable alongside full-time employment, though this depends on your personal circumstances.

In addition to contact hours you will need time for reading, assignments, and client work during your placement. The specific day and time of classes is confirmed at the enquiry stage.

Teaching takes place at Our Lady's & St Swithin's RC Primary School, Parkstile Lane, Croxteth, Liverpool, L11 0BQ. Classes are mainly in person with some online sessions.

The course schedule and session days are confirmed at the enquiry stage.

The integrative curriculum covers Person Centred, Psychodynamic, Gestalt, Transactional Analysis, CBT, Attachment Theory, Narrative Therapy, Grief Counselling, Family and Couples Counselling, NLP, and more. The hypnotherapy component covers clinical hypnosis techniques, solution-focused approaches, and specialist applications.

An integrative approach means you learn to draw from multiple models and select what is most appropriate for each client, rather than being limited to a single therapeutic school.

Counselling: written and verbal assignments, case studies, and skills assessments including an audio-recorded session with written critique. Feedback is detailed and formative throughout.

Hypnotherapy: practical demonstrations, written assignments, and a recorded client session with reflective commentary.

There are no formal written exams. Assessment is portfolio and practice-based, designed to reflect the real work of a counsellor in practice.

All students have access to a dedicated e-learning platform that supports and extends what is taught in class. It includes:

• Reading material aligned to each topic covered in your face-to-face sessions.
• Weekly video tutorials recorded by your tutor - short vlogs revisiting key concepts and supporting your independent study between sessions.
• Self-assessment quizzes after each topic. These do not affect your grade - they are purely for your own understanding so you can identify areas to revisit before moving on.
• Assignment submission - coursework is submitted directly through the platform. Your tutor assesses it there and returns detailed written feedback to you. Completed assessments and results are accessible via your student dashboard.

You also have access to the online student library, which holds all current and past tutorials in one searchable archive - a growing collection of documentation, video recordings, and audio resources built up across every cohort, available to you throughout your training.

Yes. When you start the course you are enrolled in the student forum - an online community for current students. Your tutor posts regular notices, topic discussions, and updates there, and students can post questions, share reflections, and support each other between sessions.

It is a genuinely active space, not just a notice board. Past students have described the peer support in the forum as one of the more valuable parts of the training experience.

A minimum of 80% attendance is required across all scheduled teaching sessions for each module and for the overall programme. Falling below this may mean you are ineligible to submit assessments, progress to the next year, or complete the qualification. If you anticipate difficulty meeting this requirement, please discuss it with us before applying.

The course is led by Nichola Doyle, Founder and Course Director, an experienced integrative counsellor and hypnotherapist with a background in education. She is supported by Nick Buchanan, Course Supervisor, an integrative counsellor and psychotherapist with extensive experience in clinical supervision. Guest practitioners contribute to specific modules throughout the year.

No. Prior counselling training at Level 2 or 3 is not required. Comprehensive training is delivered within the Professional Practitioner Programme itself, building from foundational skills through to advanced professional practice. Some applicants join with existing training; others join with none. Both routes work well.

We assess each application on its own merits, looking at education, prior qualifications, relevant life experience, employment history, and your future goals as a practitioner. There is no rigid academic entry requirement. What we are looking for is maturity, self-awareness, and a genuine commitment to becoming a practitioner. The eligibility enquiry and interview help us understand your background holistically.

We do not set an upper age limit. Many of our students come to counselling as a second career, drawing on rich life and professional experience. Applicants should be 19 or over at the point of starting the programme.

Lived experience can be a real strength in counselling work. We ask about medical and psychological background as part of the eligibility enquiry so we can have a supportive conversation about readiness for training. A history of mental health difficulty does not automatically exclude you - we look at your current wellbeing, your insight, and your support structures.

Yes. Counselling is a profession of trust and you will work with vulnerable people during placement. We ask all applicants to disclose criminal convictions on the eligibility enquiry. A previous conviction does not automatically bar you from the course, but we will need to discuss it as part of the interview process. A DBS check will also be required before you begin your client placement.

The Professional Practitioner Programme is delivered in person in Liverpool with some online teaching, so you will need to attend sessions at the Liverpool venue throughout the two years. We do not currently offer a fully remote option. You will need the right to study in the UK and strong written and spoken English, as all teaching and assessment is in English. If you have questions about suitability, please get in touch before applying.

You need to complete 100 client hours of supervised counselling placement. For hypnotherapy, a minimum of 20 practice hours is strongly encouraged, which can often be gained within your existing counselling placement.

Client hours are accumulated during the second year of the programme and must be completed under approved clinical supervision.

Students are responsible for sourcing their own placement. We actively support you in finding one and can recommend providers that accept student counsellors, including Marie Curie, which offers student placements and has previously worked with our students. We also provide guidance on approaching voluntary organisations and counselling charities. You will be supported throughout this process and will not be left to navigate it alone.

Clinical supervision is mandatory from the moment you begin any client work. The minimum requirement is 1.5 hours of supervision per month and at least one hour of supervision for every eight hours of client contact. Some supervision hours are included within the course; additional supervision beyond what is included is at your own cost and should be budgeted for.

Yes. Students must arrange student counsellor insurance before starting placement. A recommended provider is Holistic Insurance, which offers cover suitable for trainees on placement. Insurance costs are in addition to the course fee.

UK Therapy Guild operates under the BACP Ethical Framework and the Codes of Ethics of the NCIP, covering safeguarding, confidentiality, boundaries, data protection, and professional conduct. You will study professional ethics as a core thread throughout both years and will be assessed on your application of ethical principles to practice.

UK Therapy Guild Ltd is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office and complies with the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR. Your data is processed lawfully, fairly, and securely, and is not sold to or shared with third parties for marketing purposes. Full details are set out in our Privacy Policy.

UK Therapy Guild qualifications are accredited by the NCIP (National Council of Integrative Psychotherapists) and the ACCPH (Accredited Counsellors, Coaches, Psychotherapists and Hypnotherapists). Both are Professional Standards Authority (PSA) accredited registers, meaning they are independently assessed against public protection standards set by Parliament.

Course accreditation means an independent professional body has reviewed the curriculum, assessment standards, and teaching quality and formally approved them as meeting the required level for practitioner training. It is not a guarantee of individual student outcome - that depends on completing all required assessments and placement hours.

The Professional Standards Authority is accountable to the UK Parliament and runs the Accredited Registers programme for voluntary registers. A PSA-accredited register must meet additional public protection standards above and beyond self-regulation. Membership of a PSA-accredited register (such as NCIP or ACCPH) demonstrates to clients, employers, and commissioners that you are subject to meaningful independent oversight - not just self-declared credentials.

On completion of the Professional Practitioner Programme you are eligible to apply for:

• Registered membership of the NCIP.
• The BACP Proficiency route, leading to BACP Registered Member status.
• The General Hypnotherapy Register (GHR).
• Other ACCPH-linked registers.

Register membership carries an annual subscription and requires ongoing CPD and ethical practice commitments.

The course is accredited by ACCPH and NCIP, both of which hold PSA Accredited Register status. Our curriculum has been independently assessed by BACP and confirmed to meet the requirements of the BACP SCoPEd Framework. This means that in BACP's professional assessment, the content and standard of our training is consistent with what the sector expects at practitioner level.

BACP course accreditation as such requires the awarding body itself to hold specific BACP recognition - which is separate from curriculum assessment. As a result graduates of this programme pursue BACP membership via the proficiency route, which is the standard route for graduates of non-BACP-accredited programmes.

Yes. BACP registration is part of what we help you work towards in Year 2 of the programme. The proficiency route is BACP's entry route for graduates of non-BACP-accredited courses and is the standard path for the majority of counsellors who trained outside BACP-accredited programmes.

Eligibility depends on BACP requirements at the time of application, including your completed placement hours and supervised practice. Your tutor will guide you through this process as part of the course.

No. BACP registration and ACCPH accreditation are entirely separate. ACCPH is the body that accredits your qualification. BACP is a professional membership organisation you choose to join. They operate independently and holding one does not affect the other.

Many qualified counsellors hold both: their ACCPH-accredited qualification and BACP registered membership. Joining BACP adds to your professional profile - it does not replace or override your ACCPH qualification.

SCoPEd is a sector framework that describes expected knowledge and capabilities at different levels of counselling and psychotherapy practice. As BACP aligns its membership routes with SCoPEd, having a Level 5 qualification that meets the BACP SCoPEd Framework puts you in a strong position in terms of professional recognition and progression. Your tutor will explain how SCoPEd applies to your specific situation as part of the Year 2 professional development strand.

Full course fee details are included in our prospectus, along with a breakdown of what is covered, what falls outside the fee, and the payment options available.

A payment plan is agreed with your tutor at the enquiry stage. Full details of all available options are set out in the offer letter you receive on acceptance. If you have questions about affordability before applying, please get in touch - we are happy to discuss options.

In addition to the course fee, you should budget for:

• Student counsellor insurance, required before placement begins.
• Clinical supervision costs beyond the sessions included within the course fee.
• DBS check (enhanced disclosure), required before client contact.
• Personal therapy (strongly recommended - some students are in therapy already).
• Professional register membership fees on qualification.
• Core textbooks (a recommended reading list is provided).

In line with UK Consumer Contracts Regulations, you have a statutory right to cancel within 14 days of accepting your place, provided the course has not yet started and you have not accessed digital course materials. Full details are set out in the terms and conditions included with your offer letter.

The Professional Practitioner Programme is a private professional qualification and does not currently fall under Student Finance England undergraduate loans. Some students fund their training through employer-assisted CPD or professional development budgets. We recommend exploring whether your employer has a training or CPD budget before applying.

The process has three stages:

1. Complete the online eligibility enquiry - no payment is taken at this stage.
2. If shortlisted, you will be invited to a personal interview with Course Director Nichola Doyle.
3. Successful applicants receive a written offer with full details of next steps.

The enquiry form takes around 10-15 minutes to complete. There is no application fee.

A grace period of one year is available after the planned course end date for students with outstanding requirements. In exceptional circumstances such as serious illness or bereavement, a one-time transfer to the following cohort may be considered on application to the Course Director. This is assessed case by case.

Yes. A graduation evening is held on the final evening of the course - an opportunity to celebrate your achievements with peers and tutors and to mark your new status as a qualified counsellor and hypnotherapist. Details are shared with students nearing the end of their programme.

Start your eligibility enquiry using the application form - no payment is taken at this stage. If you would prefer to talk it through first, you are welcome to book a call with Nichola.