Psychotherapy and Counselling MA

Course overview

Train as a reflective, relational therapist with real clinical experience and a clear pathway to professional accreditation.

This programme offers a flexible, professionally accredited pathway into counselling and psychotherapy, supporting progression toward BACP or UKCP registration depending on your background and career goals.

Taught within a small, supportive cohort by experienced clinicians and researchers, the course combines advanced relational and intersubjective theory with extensive supervised practice.

Students’ complete placements within approved mental health, community, and therapeutics settings, gaining hands-on experience of working with adults experiencing complex and enduring mental health difficulties.

With pathways for Leeds MA graduates and external practitioners alike, the programme provides a structured, research led route to developing as an ethical, reflective, and relational psychotherapist able to work across diverse therapeutic and organisational contexts.

Course highlights

• Professionally accredited training that meets the requirements for BACP membership, with options to progress toward UKCP registration via UPCA or UKAHPP depending on your pathway.
• Clear professional pathways - Leeds is one of a the few in the UK that offers three professionally aligned pathways. Whether you aim for BACP accreditation through the MA, UPCA alignment through the completion of the Advanced Practice Portfolio Part 1 module and PGCert or UKCP progression via UKAHPP with the PGCert (for external equivalent MA graduates).
• Wide range of placement opportunities across approved mental health, community, and therapeutic services, coordinated through the University’s Practice Placement Unit.
• Relational, intersubjective teaching approach that centres the therapeutic relationship and reflects the evidence base on common factors in psychotherapy.
• Small, supportive learning community (up to 24 students), designed for deep experiential learning, reflective development, and strong tutor support.
• Advanced clinical and research training, enabling you to work with complex presentations, make independent clinical decisions, and conduct in-depth specialist research.
• Training alongside experienced clinicians, with teaching delivered by actively practising counsellors, psychotherapists, psychologists and clinical researchers.
• Safeguarding ready training, including learning in adult safeguarding procedures as part of the programme, preparing you to work safely and ethically across clinical settings.

Training Pathways at Leeds: Three Routes to Professional Recognition

The University of Leeds is one of a the few in the UK that offers flexible, tiered pathway to professional accreditation. These options give students the flexibility to choose the route that matches their prior training and long-term professional goals.

Pathway 1: Exit with MA Qualification

Students who complete the three-year MA in Psychotherapy & Counselling at Leeds are eligible for BACP registration meeting the full professional training requirements for practice as a counsellor or psychotherapist across a wide range of health, community, and therapeutic settings. This pathway is ideal for students seeking a recognised counselling and psychotherapy qualification without progressing further toward UKCP registration.

Pathway 2: Progression to PGCert in Psychotherapy

Students who wish to progressbeyond BACP toward UKCP registration via the UPCA route may choose to continue onto the PGCert in Psychotherapy where you will also complete the Advanced Practice Portfolio Part 1 (HECS5338) module.

This combination provides the full portfolio of evidence required for UPCA registration, aligning with SCoPEd Column C requirements and supporting registration as a UKCP Psychotherapist once all clinical, supervision, and personal therapy requirements are met.

Pathway 3: Entry Route for External Applicants with an Equivalent MA/MSc

Practitioners who hold an MA/MSc in Counselling & Psychotherapy (or equivalent) from another institution, with an equivalent core therapeutic modality (humanistic, relational common factors), may choose to complete the PGCert in Psychotherapy to support progression toward UKCP accreditation via UKAHPP.

This route is suited to experienced practitioners who already hold a Level 7 professional training but need:

• A recognised pathway to UKCP
• Advanced relational/intersubjective training
• Structured evidence of practice, supervision, and personal therapy
• A clinical portfolio aligned with SCoPEd Column C requirements

External applicants may need to complete additional portfolio elements depending on prior training structure and professional gaps.

Watch the course video

Discover more about our course community, hear about the programme journey from current students, and learn how skills are developed.

Accreditation

The MA Psychotherapy and Counselling has received British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) accredited course status which, on successful completion, will allow you to be added to their voluntary assured register of practitioners.

The MA Psychotherapy and Counselling combined with the Advanced Practice Portfolio Part 1 and the Post Graduate Certificate in Psychotherapy will enable students to be eligible for the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) register for Psychotherapists. Upon completion of these combined courses, you will be able to register as a UKCP Psychotherapist via the UPCA.

British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy

Course details and modules

Over the first two years you study nine modules: four theory and four concerned with development as a reflective practitioner, plus research methods. In the third year, you have the opportunity to undertake small-scale research.

On completion of the programme students will be able to demonstrate an advanced understanding of psychotherapeutic theory and clinical skills. You will be able to demonstrate self and intersubjective awareness as a humanistic therapist and incorporate a critical awareness of socio-cultural issues into your practice.

Teaching day and study time required

Teaching takes place on one day each week for all modules except research methods, so you can plan work and other commitments around taught sessions. We estimate that 2.5 days per week are necessary to complete the requirements of this course (teaching, private study, placement, supervision and personal therapy).

The teaching day for students starting the course on 24th September 2026 and will be Thursdays.

Undertaking a postgraduate qualification is a significant decision, especially when you are studying part time and have other commitments. If you would like to talk to us at any point please get in touch with:

• Dr Rachel Casper-White (Admissions Tutor): r.casper@leeds.ac.uk

• Dr Stuart Gore (Programme Leader): s.gore@leeds.ac.uk

Course structure

The list shown below represents typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our terms and conditions.

For more information and a full list of typical modules available on this course, please read Psychotherapy and Counselling MA in the course catalogue

Year 1 compulsory modules

Year 2 compulsory modules

Year 3 compulsory modules

Learning and teaching

Learning will be conducted through a variety of activities including structured teaching, experiential activities and applied practice. We will draw on the lived experience, knowledge, and skills of individuals within the group, along with readings and other external sources to assist effective reflection.

The majority of your teaching will take place on campus, with self-directed learning provided through online platforms to deliver a blended learning approach. You will receive in-depth and intensive clinical skills training where your practice will be recorded and observed by tutors and peers from the course.

On this course, you’ll be taught by our expert academics, from lecturers through to professors. You may also be taught by industry professionals with years of experience, as well as trained postgraduate researchers, connecting you to some of the brightest minds on campus.

On this course, you’ll be taught by our expert academics, from lecturers through to professors. You may also be taught by industry professionals with years of experience, as well as trained postgraduate researchers, connecting you to some of the brightest minds on campus.

Assessment

You will complete a range of authentic assessments which will have real world value when working as a professional psychotherapist/counsellor. The assessment methods will include written essays, MCQ, oral presentations, recorded clinical skills, psychotherapy reports, examination, clinical portfolios and a research dissertation.

Applying

Entry requirements

• A Bachelor's degree with a 2:2 in any subject or other proof of your ability to study at Masters level.
• Level 3 Counselling Skills course or equivalent. This should include 20-50 hours of practice with other students and tutor feedback.
• Two satisfactory references, one of which must normally be an academic reference.
• A level of maturity associated with personal reflection on a variety of adult and childhood experiences and developed interpersonal skills, to be assessed at interview.
• English language skills to be demonstrated by GCSE qualification at Grade 4/C or completion of undergraduate degree within a UK institution

English language requirements

For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications.

Improve your English

International students who do not meet the English language requirements for this programme may be able to study our postgraduate pre-sessional English course, to help improve your English language level.

This pre-sessional course is designed with a progression route to your degree programme and you’ll learn academic English in the context of your subject area. To find out more, read Language for Arts and Humanities (6 weeks) and Language for Social Science and Arts: Arts and Humanities (10 weeks).

We also offer online pre-sessionals alongside our on-campus pre-sessionals. Find out more about our six week online pre-sessional and our 10 week online pre-sessional. 

You can also study pre-sessionals for longer periods – read about our postgraduate pre-sessional English courses.

How to apply

Application deadline: 30th June 2026

Interview dates

The interviews will take place between April and July 2026. Exact dates to be confirmed.

The ‘Apply’ link at the top of this page will take you to information on applying for taught programmes and to the University's online application system.

If you're unsure about the application process, contact the admissions team for help.

Admissions policy

Admissions Policy for Clinical and Practice Courses in the Faculty of Medicine and Health 2026-27

This course is taught by

School of Healthcare

Contact us

School of Healthcare Admissions Team

Email: admissions@healthcare.leeds.ac.uk

Fees

UK: £18,250 (Total)

If you're self-funding, you must pay in full before or on the day of registration for that year or set up an instalment plan where tuition fees are payable in two instalments. Please read more on tuition fee payment schedule.

Part-time fees
Fees for part-time courses are normally calculated based on the number of credits you study in a year compared to the equivalent full-time course. For example, if you study half the course credits in a year, you will pay half the full-time course fees for that year.

Additional cost information

Personal therapy and clinical supervision – practitioner costs

Personal therapy and clinical supervision are a compulsory requirement of this programme with costs payable directly to the practitioners. Fees may vary from approximately £35 to £75 per hour with an average cost of £50. You will need to complete:

• Personal therapy (minimum 70 hours)
• Clinical supervision (minimum 18 hours)

British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) membership

You will need to register as a student member of BACP (£92 per year for the 2025/26 academic year). Find out more about BACP student membership.

Professional indemnity

You will need to take out professional liability insurance each year of the course for your supervised practice. The cost of this depends on the amount insured (estimated at £75 per year).

Others

There may be additional costs related to your course or programme of study, or related to being a student at the University of Leeds. Read more on our living costs and budgeting page.

Scholarships and financial support

There are a range of funding options which you may be eligible for, including:

• 10% tuition fee bursary for University of Leeds graduates.
• Leeds Masters Scholarships. If you are a self-funding UK student from an under-represented group, you may be eligible for a scholarship worth £7,000 over the duration of your masters. Find out if you are eligible to apply.
• Government loan. For full details and how to apply visit the government masters loan information page.

Take a look at the university’s Masters funding overview for more tips and the latest information.

Career opportunities

Since finishing the course, over 90% of our Psychotherapy and Counselling graduates believe what they are doing now fits their future aspirations (Graduate Outcomes Survey 2024).

Many of our graduates go on to combine counselling and psychotherapy with their existing professions, such as nursing or education. Some continue to work in a voluntary capacity to build sufficient supervised client hours to join the advanced category of individual BACP accreditation, while others set up in private practice.

Our graduates are highly sought after by employers within the region, many of whom are closely associated with the course as practice providers or supervisors.

Many of our graduates have gone on to hold positions of responsibility as counsellors or psychotherapists within the NHS and voluntary bodies, and some have returned to us to undertake PhD research or teaching.

Work placements and industry experience

Clinical placements are a core part of your professional development and a key route to building the competence and confidence required for safe, ethical therapeutic practice. As a student on this programme, you’ll complete supervised practice hours in real clinical environments, supported by the University’s experienced Practice Placement Unit and an extensive network of approved providers.

• Highly supported placements across community, statutory, and third‑sector therapeutic services, coordinated through the University’s Practice Placement Unit and its extensive list of approved providers.

• Minimum 100 supervised client hours required for BACP eligibility, completed in real clinical settings with qualified supervision.

• Adult safeguarding training embedded in the programme to prepare you for safe and ethical clinical work.

• Option to complete some placement hours with children & young people, in line with BACP competency requirements and with appropriate training and supervision.

Developing Your Professional Identity

Your placement is not just about accumulating hours - it’s a space to integrate theory, relational practice, and intersubjective awareness. You’ll learn to work with clients presenting with a range of emotional and mental health difficulties, develop professional boundaries, and apply reflective skills that underpin safe, effective therapeutic work. These experiences prepare you for roles across the NHS, community organisations, specialist services, and independent practice.