TC-L4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (BACP approved) | Redlands Counselling and Training

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CPCAB Level 4
TC-L4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (BACP approved)

Select your Preferred location
BournemouthBournemouth
DorchesterDorchester
Duration
Day
Times
Course Dates
34 Days
Thu
9:15 am - 4:00 pm
Thu 25 Sep 2025 to 2 Jul 2026
34 Evenings*
Thu
4:30 pm - 9:15 pm
Thu 25 Sep 2025 to 2 Jul 2026
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
*Evening option includes 8 Saturday sessions. There will be breaks during the year which coincide with school holiday breaks.
34 Days
Tue
9:15 am - 4:00 pm
Tue 23 Sep 2025 to 30 Jun 2026
34 Days
Mon
9:15 am - 4:00 pm
Mon 2 Mar 2026 to 8 Feb 2027
There will be breaks during the year which coincide with school holiday breaks.

UPDATE *We are delighted to announce that EVERY student we prepared

passed their external CPCAB exam in September 2024! *

 

The CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling is a two-year part time course, resulting in BACP approved practitioner qualification. It aims to enable students to provide therapeutic counselling from a humanistic integrative perspective, within the framework of an agency such as a Community Counselling Service, Doctor’s surgery, Community Mental Health Team, Treatment Centre etc; but not within independent practice.

As of 10 June 2025, this course has been formally approved as a Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ).

Course Content

Course content will include modules on:

  • Ethics
  • Theory – Integrating humanistic approaches to counselling: Person Centred, Gestalt and Transactional Analysis – relationship and therapeutic relationship and process, self/history/relationship
  • 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

You will learn through a variety of learning activities including: 

  • 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 will be required to complete course work, attend supervision and their own therapy, and see clients outside of class time. They should therefore carefully consider the significant commitment and investment of their time that will be required 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.

Entry requirements
Assessments
Placements
Fees & Costs
Additional costs
Application Process

Previous training

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

CPCAB Requirements

Students also need to meet the generic CPCAB requirements and be aged 19 years or older. The specific criteria for this course, based on CPCAB guidelines shown in the FAQ section, will also be considered in selecting applicants for the course.

Assessments

Students need to pass the Internal Assessment to be considered proficient. Internal assessment includes audio and recorded role plays, written assignments (including two case studies), presentations and feedback from peers, supervisor, and 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 receive satisfactory supervisor and agency manager reports to pass the course. A minimum of 51 of these clients hours need to be face to face. Up to 49 client hours must be completed remotely.

Adjustments

Reasonable adjustments are available 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 40 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 which you will need to budget for the duration of your client work. The number of clients 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.

2025/2026

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 5th February 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.

 

A payment plan is available for this course – please contact us for further details

 

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 40 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.

 

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.
  3. If you meet the initial entry requirements we will offer you a conditional place on the course and send you a Training Contract.
  4. To accept your offer of a place you will need to sign and return your Training Contract together with a £625 non-refundable* deposit.
  5. We will then seek a reference from your Level 3 course tutor and arrange an interview with one of our Level 4 tutors.

* The deposit is non-refundable unless either i) the course is cancelled or ii) The Level 3 course reference is not satisfactory/the interview is not successful. In these cases a refund will be issued.

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.

Can I use this course towards an OU degree?

Yes, our Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling is recognised by the Open University as carrying 120 credits towards their Bsc (Hons) Counselling Degree, thus fulfilling requirements for Stage 1.

The CBT-L5 and PC-L5 are recognised as carrying 30 credits each towards the same degree.

 

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