Psychotherapy and Counselling MA

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.

Why study at Leeds

* Professionally accredited training that meets the requirements for BACP membership, with options to progress toward UKCP registration.

* Clear professional pathways - Leeds is one of the few universities in the UK that offers three professionally aligned pathways. Whether you aim for BACP accreditation through completion of the MA, or UKCP registration via the Universities Training College (University of Leeds students) or UKAHPP alignment (for external equivalent MA graduates).

* 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, prepares 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 the few universities 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. Read more at https://courses.leeds.ac.uk/j643/psychotherapy-and-counselling-ma