MSc Counselling and Positive Psychology

at University of Bolton

We use a diverse range of teaching methods, designed to complement each other and help you achieve the course’s intended learning outcomes. We offer lectures, seminars, workshops, group supervision and one-to-one sessions – but you’ll also be expected to undertake significant independent reading and investigation, as well as completing seminar-related work and preparing for workshops, presentations and group discussions. Some modules will require you to follow up taught sessions by using online resources and completing complementary tasks.
 

Assessment methods are also varied, allowing you to demonstrate your learning in a range of ways. For example, module assessments may require you to complete reports, essays, presentations, deliver counselling sessions, portfolio, literature reviews, or review journal articles, write up case interventions, treatment evaluations, complete short question and present reflective journals.
 

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

• Therapeutic Counselling
• Research Methods for Counselling and Coaching
• Foundations of Positive Psychology
• Positive Psychology in Practice
• Supervised Counselling Practice 1
• Qualitative Inquiry
• Positive Psychology Dissertation
   

• You should have an Upper Second Class (2.1) Honours degree (or higher) in Psychology or a relevant area. If you have a Lower Second Class (2:2) Honours degree in Psychology, then you may be accepted on to the programme.
• All suitable applicants will be invited to attend an interview and provide proof of one-to-one basis work experience in a helping role.
• You will also need to provide two satisfactory references (one for academic capacity and one for work/voluntary experience).
• We may also ask you to provide a portfolio of your work, as part of the application process.
• This course does not confer Graduate Basis for Registration (GBR) with the British Psychological Society (BPS) – if you are seeking to achieve GBR please consider applying for our MSc Psychology (Conversion) programme.
• We'll also consider applications where appropriate work experience can be demonstrated in lieu of, or in addition to, the published academic qualifications in line with the University’s Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL) procedures.
• If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). 

Overseas students starting this course in the first year will be required to pay a Overseas fee of £12,950

The MSc in Counselling and Positive Psychology focuses on the core counselling skills, counselling theories, and applications of positive psychology and psychotherapy in practice. It looks at the impact of counselling and psychotherapy on a person’s wellbeing and what makes people thrive.
 

The course is designed to develop your employability skills, including intellectual and thinking skills, problem solving, interpersonal awareness, communication skills, your ability to develop arguments supported by relevant evidence, and team work, IT and data handling skills.
 

Graduates can use the qualification as a stepping stone to enter a range of other careers, and for some of these roles, both relevant experience and/or postgraduate study may be required. Some of these careers include:

• Teaching and education
• Prison service counsellor
• Probation services
• Family mediation and support
• Child protection
• Social work
• Police
• Youth work
• Communications
• Sport and recreation
• Careers guidance
• Human resources