Essex counselling course receives landmark accreditation

The MA in Psychodynamic Counselling course offered by our Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies has received accreditation from the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

Dr Matt ffytche, Head of  our Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies, said: “Gaining this accreditation has been a key ambition since we became a Department in the autumn of 2017 and we’re delighted to have met the many rigorous benchmarks stipulated by the BACP.

“At a time when many mental health support services are struggling, we are proud to be able to offer our students this level of quality.”

The BACP website states: “BACP course accreditation is recognised by training providers, employers and students as the mark of a high quality, professional practitioner training course. For prospective counsellors and psychotherapists, it guarantees a standard of training accepted for BACP membership, registration and accreditation.”

Executive Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Professor Sasha Roseneil, said: “We are delighted that the Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies has secured accreditation from the BACP for the MA in Psychodynamic Counselling.

“This recognises the high quality of the training that we are providing at Essex, and ensures that our graduates are well placed to embark on working lives as counsellors with recognition from one of the leading professional bodies in the field.”

The news is also significant for the external partners that work alongside Essex, taking students from the course into their organisations on placements to work as counsellors.

Julia Speechley from the STEPs Counselling Service at The Ramsey Academy said: “We have worked in collaboration with Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies for a few years now. We are so pleased they have been awarded accreditation from the BACP. This acknowledges the high standard of training provided for the students.

“All the students we have been lucky enough to have on placement with our in-house counselling service (STEPs) have been such a valuable resource, enhancing our support for young people with mental health issues. This has made such a positive impact on the lives of our young people and we know it is much appreciated.”

Jo Morton-Brown is an Emotional Health Practitioner at the North Essex Multi-Academy Trust (NEMAT), and currently has one Essex student on a placement with her. She said: “We find that the University of Essex places students into our Secondary School who are professional, reliable and knowledgeable. We are extremely grateful to have such a great partnership with such a fantastic university.”

The accreditation will be backdated to 1 May 2018.