Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (BACP approved) | Redlands Counselling and Training

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CPCAB Level 4
Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (BACP approved)

Select your Preferred location
BournemouthBournemouth
DorchesterDorchester
Duration
Day
Times
Course Dates
34 Days
Mon
9:15 am - 4:00 pm
Mon 2 Mar 2026 to 8 Feb 2027
34 Evenings
Tue
4:30 pm - 9:15 pm
Tue 3 Mar 2026 to 12 Jan 2027
*Evening option includes 8 Saturday sessions. There will be breaks during the year which coincide with school holiday breaks.
TBC
-
There will be breaks during the year which coincide with school holiday breaks.
Download Course Information

The CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (TC-L4) is a two-year part time course, which leads to a BACP approved practitioner Qualification. Successful completion of this course means you will be able to provide a therapeutic counselling service – initially within the context of an agency’s service framework but later (with experience and support from the supervisor, or by completing PC-L5 or its equivalent) you may progress to independent practice.

Examples of an agency setting are a Community Counselling Service, Doctor’s surgery, Community Mental Health Team or Treatment Centre.

This course is formally approved as a Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ). This qualification also meets all the requirements of SCoPEd Column A and provides candidates with a route to membership and accreditation with professional associations in counselling approved by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) e.g. BACP, NCPS, ACC.

Course Content

There will be modules on the following topics: 

  • Ethics
  • Theory – Integrating humanistic approaches to Counselling. This will cover Person Centred, Gestalt and Transactional Analysis themes,  the Counselling relationship and process, and also self/history/relationships
  • Skills – Using Counselling skills 
  • Difference & Diversity
  • Personal Development
  • Using supervision effectively
  • Research presentations on Mental Health Issues 
  • Developmental models – Erik Erikson, Sigmund Freud, Bowlby
  • Suicide & Self-harm
  • Grief & Loss
  • Professional and Personal Development
  • Counselling remotely online or by telephone
  • Tutor observed skills practice
  • Tutor observed case work
  • Written case studies
  • BACP Proficiency Test

Learning Methods

We teach through a variety of learning activities, which include: 

  • small and large group work
  • role plays
  • presentations
  • case presentations
  • exercises and seminars
  • lectures and workshops

Students are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning.

In addition to attending class, students must complete course work, attend supervision and their own personal therapy, as well as see clients, outside of class time. You should therefore carefully consider the significant commitment and investment of time that you will need before embarking on the course.

Please note:  We will deliver at least 75% of the course face to face. Any remote delivery will be through the online interactive learning platform Zoom or other suitable online platform.

Progression to Year 2 is subject to successfully completing Year 1 assignments and tutor approval.

This qualification has been approved by Skills England as a Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ). HTQ status confirms that the CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (TC-L4) meets nationally recognised, employer defined occupational standards, and that it prepares candidates effectively for skilled employment in the counselling sector. HTQ approval signifies the national recognition of the quality, relevance, and rigour of this qualification.
Entry requirements
Assessments
Placements
Fees & Costs
Additional costs
Application Process

Previous training

Students will need to have undertaken counselling skills training of 90 hours or more, e.g., CPCAB Certificate in Counselling Skills and counselling studies plus CPCAB Certificate in Counselling Studies or their equivalent.

CPCAB Requirements

CPCAB sets out two types of requirements, generic and specific. Students need to meet the generic CPCAB requirements and be 19 years or older. The specific CPCAB criteria for this course, based on the guidelines shown in the FAQ section, will also be considered when we are selecting applicants for the course.

Assessments

Students need to pass the Internal Assessment to be considered proficient. This assessment includes audio and recorded role plays, written assignments (including two case studies), presentations as well as feedback from peers, supervisor, and an agency manager. This ‘evidence’ is collated into a Portfolio which is completed by the end of the course.

From September 2024 there will not be an External Assessment for the course.

Client Hours

Students need to complete a total of 100 client hours with at least 5 clients in a placement setting whilst they are on the course, and in addition receive satisfactory supervisor and agency manager reports in order to be able to pass the course. A minimum of 51 of the clients hours need to be face to face. Up to 49 client hours must be completed remotely.

Adjustments

Reasonable adjustments will be made to students who need them e.g., non-native English speakers or students with learning difficulties.

Students are required to receive their own weekly therapy for a minimum of 30 sessions.

Redlands Counselling Service

Successful enrolment on the course, enables you to apply for a placement with Redlands Counselling Service, subject to:

  • Satisfactory DBS check
  • Signed Placement Agreement with RCS
  • Agreeing to observe RCS’s Code of Conduct
  • Availability for client work
  • Confirmation from your personal tutor of your readiness to start client work, in term 3 of Year 1
  • Student membership of BACP
  • Personal Indemnity Insurance

Supervision

Once you start your placement in RCS you will be required to contribute £45 per month towards the cost of group fortnightly supervision. This is a cost for that you will need to budget for for the duration of your client work. The number of client hours required for the course is 100, but bear in mind that you may have ongoing clients in your placement at the point you reach 100 hours, when you will need to continue ongoing supervision.

Completing client hours

The period needed to complete your client hours will vary depending on your availability, client attendance etc. The maximum number of clients you will be asked to counsel at any one time in RCS will be 3. If you have an external placement in addition to a placement in RCS, the total number of clients you can counsel at any one time will 6 (including the 3 at RCS).

If you are considering completing client hours in an external placement you will need to ensure that it is a placement approved by RCS, and to obtain agreement from your tutor (and RCS supervisor if you have started your placement at RCS) before being able to count client hours in the external placement.

Client ages

This course qualifies you to counsel 18-year-olds and older.

If you are considering an external placement for counselling 11-18-year-olds, you will also first need to complete the Redlands short 5-day course ‘Working with Young People’. You can count 30 hours of client work with this age group towards the 100 client hours required to pass the course.

2026

Tuition fee: £3250 per year, plus

CPCAB registration fee: Currently £375 per year

 If the tuition fee and CPCAB fees for Year 1 March 2026 start are paid in full on or before 23rd January 2026 a £300 discount will be applied, making the tuition fee for Year 1 £2950.

For Year 1, you will need to pay an additional CPCAB registration fee of £25 to be registered on this BACP AQP version of the TC-L4 Diploma. This will be discounted from the tuition fee if you pay the tuition fee and CPCAB registration fee early.

 

BACP Membership

You will need to become a student member of the British Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP).
The cost of this is currently £90 per year.

Textbooks

Students will need to buy course textbooks which can be ordered from bookstores such as Waterstones, as well as Amazon.co.uk. The total cost of the course textbooks is approximately £140.

Therapy

Weekly personal counselling will also be required for a minimum of 30 sessions. The cost of this can vary between £30-50 per session.
You need to have started your own therapy before you can start client work. You must obtain written prior approval of your proposed counsellor, from your course tutor for your hours to count.

Client work

Depending on your readiness to start client work you can expect to start client work by the end of year 1.

Once you start client work you will need to arrange your own personal indemnity insurance.
If you are taking up a placement with the Redlands Counselling Service (RCS) you will need to budget for fortnightly supervision (see the tab ‘Placements’) and before your placement starts, we will need to obtain a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (formerly Criminal Records Bureau – CRB) check.
This will cost £75 which will need to be paid before the check is carried out.

Supervision

Once you start your placement in RCS you will be required to contribute £45 per month towards the cost of group fortnightly supervision.

 

Application Process

  1. Complete the ‘Register Your Interest’ form at the bottom of this page and we’ll send you the application form.
  2. Fill in the online application form with your personal statement and the name & email address of your Level 3 course tutor
  3. We will then seek a reference from your Level 3 course tutor and arrange an interview with one of our Level 4 tutors.
  4. If your tutor reference is satisfactory and your interview is successful, we will offer you a place by sending a Training Contract.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I apply for this course if I haven’t done counselling training but have relevant work experience?

Unfortunately we cannot take relevant work experience to meet this entry requirement. Our qualifications are awarded by the CPCAB, and it is their requirement that entry to the Level 4 Diploma course is dependent on having completed the Level 3 Counselling Studies course, which in turn is dependent on having completed the Level 2 Counselling Skills course.

However we are able to accept qualifications from other awarding bodies, as long as they consisted of 90 hours counselling skills and were provided as classroom-based training. (ie not online training)

Can I apply for Level 4 with you, if I didn't do my Levels 2 and 3 at Redlands?

Applying for Level 4 from another centre

We will accept any applications for our Level 4 courses where the student has Level 2 and Level 3 CPCAB counselling qualifications, no matter which training centre they were earned at.

CPCAB qualifications cannot be earned via distance learning, but synchronous, live online training with a tutor is acceptable, as well as classroom-based learning.

If in doubt, please ask us.

 

What are the specific CPCAB guidelines?

Criteria considered important in selecting applicants for a programme leading to TC-L4:

  • Identify reasons for training beyond just personal development.
  • Be aware of the time and other resources required to meet demands of the course.
  • Provide 1 personal and 1 professional reference.
  • Be academically and emotionally able to cope with this level of training.
  • Ability to work with difference and diversity.
  • Possess personal qualities, imagination, intuition, openness, and ability to benefit from self-development.
  • Possess the ability to form a helping relationship.
  • Have self-awareness, insight, honesty, and the ability to make links.
  • Possess emotional stability and the absence of personality disturbance.
  • Ability to challenge and be challenged.
  • Ability to respond sensitively and empathically to others.

What are the generic CPCAB requirements?

These are the requirements which apply to all CPCAB courses and are set out as follows:

Potential trainees must possess a level of literacy and numeracy that is sufficient for the programme concerned. Applicants should be aware that the qualification is not suitable for those who are currently in a state of severe emotional difficulty and/or severe psychological confusion, and that if this entry requirement is not adhered to, they will normally be asked to leave the training programme and seek professional support. This includes, for example, those:

  • Currently experiencing – without ongoing and appropriate professional support – a recent, major life crisis such as marital breakdown or a close bereavement.
  • Currently experiencing moderate to severe mental health problems including, for example, clinical depression, severe anxiety disorders, eating disorders, personality disorders or any form of psychosis.
  • Currently involved in substance misuse. (must be in recovery for 2 years)

You need to be aware that the course involves experiential elements which will involve some personal disclosure and associated personal development activities.

Where applicable, we would also advise applicants against joining the same training group as their partner or a close member of the family.

Is there funding for the course, including the Advanced Learner Loan?

As Redlands is an independent training provider, we are not part of the Government-Funded Advanced Learner Loan scheme. For this reason, our learners are self-funded.

We do aim to keep our costs at a level which make all our courses accessible, whilst maintaining excellent quality.  There is an early payment discount for this course, and the details and deadline for this is on the Fees and Costs section of the webpage.

Can I pay the course fees in instalments, or do you offer an early payment plan?

We do not offer a fees instalment plan; however we do have an early payment discount for this course, and the details and deadline for this are on the Fees and Costs section of the webpage.

What is the progression route?

Subject to tutor recommendation and CPCAB Guidelines, progression is to any of the Level 5 courses. We offer the CPCAB Level 5 Diploma in CBT Skills and Theory (CBT-L5), CPCAB Level 5 Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling (PC-L5)  plus our tailor-made courses, CPCAB Level 5 Certificate in Counselling Young People (YP-L5) and CPCAB Level 5 Certificate in Coaching for Counsellors (CC-L5).

Further CPD courses and how they relate to each other can be viewed here.

When I have completed the course, will I receive transcripts as well as a certificate?

As the CPCAB qualifications are not Higher Education courses, transcripts are not available. 

If a university is requesting this, you can forward them your completed Candidate Learning Record, which includes your learning outcomes, evidence of having achieved these and your tutor sign off.  If they request further details, you could offer them sight of your completed portfolio.

    Register your Interest

    To register your interest in applying for this course please complete the details below and a member of our team will be in contact to discuss more details.

    I am interested in studying