MSc Person-Centred and Experiential Psychotherapy
MSc Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy
Postgraduate Student Loan Funding:
We are now Office for Students (OfS) registered. This means we meet the OfS requirements for course quality, academic standards, student support, student protection and more. For more information, please visit www.officeforstudents.org.uk
MSc students (year 2 onwards) are able to access student support and apply for a Postgraduate Masters Loan. Disabled Student Allowance is available for all 4 years of training via the Student Loans Company (SLC) https://www.gov.uk/masters-loan
PG Masters Loan eligibility criteria is only linked to university validated MSc courses as SPTI students are not registered with Staffordshire University for year one (the preparatory year), eligibility for years 2,3 and 4 (the Masters component). Hence first year students will always be required to self-finance the first year of tuition fees.
Each programme:
- Is part-time, designed to fit alongside current occupations.
- Has a maximum of 28 training days a year.
Is suitable for those who:
- Want to train to become professional psychotherapists and/or counsellors or
- Want to develop the counselling or psychotherapy component in their current work and/or
- Want to make a serious commitment to furthering their own self-development
All lead to eligibility for accreditation with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and/or the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
Our Undergraduate and Postgraduate Degrees are awarded by Staffordshire University.
Structure of the Courses
Our Postgraduate programmes comprise four stages each spanning one academic year (usually September to July) and holding accreditation and/or validation status with specific Professional Bodies.
- The first year of training, i.e. the Preparatory Stage, is accredited by the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). During this stage of training you will be registered as a student member of SPTI. Successful completion of all components of the Preparatory Stage will lead to enrolment with Staffordshire University.
- The subsequent stages (years 2 – 4 respectively) are accredited by the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and awarded by Staffordshire University. During these stages of training you will be a registered student member of both SPTI and Staffordshire University.
Successful completion of the full four year programme leads to a professional registration as a psychotherapist with UKCP.
Successful completion of the years 2-4 will lead to a Staffordshire University Masters degree.
For each of the above courses:
For Years 1, 2 & 3:
- There are 7 or 8 training workshops each year, each being 2-4 days long. (Total of 24 training days annually).
- This is to allow for in-depth study with sufficient space between workshops to allow for the assimilation of experience, both content and process.
- 2 3-day workshops are Friday – Sunday
- 3 4-day workshops run Thursday-Sunday
- Training days begin at 9.30 a.m. and finish at 5.30 p.m.
Year 4:
- This is the independent studies stage for final year students completing their MSc.
- Comprises 2 3-day workshops, and 6 tutorial days, spread through the year, offering intensive support for the dissertation work.
Personal Therapy
Students are required to be in weekly personal therapy throughout the programme.
The therapist’s approach should the same or similar to the programme being studied.
Clinical Practice and Supervision
Students begin working with clients as trainee therapists/counsellors, usually on a voluntary basis initially, in Year 2. For this the student needs to be in regular clinical supervision with an accredited and approved Supervisor.
Mental Health Placement Programme
At some point during the training students who have little or no experience of working in a psychiatric setting are required to attend a 5-day theoretical workshop on Aspects of Modern Psychiatry (offered at the Institute at suitable intervals) and to complete a total of 5 days (10 half-days) observation in Public Sector Mental Health Units.
The cost of Personal Therapy and Supervision are not included in the course fees.
Written Assignments
Students are required to keep a personal learning journal throughout the first three years. Time will be allowed for this on training days.
For years 1 to 3, students are required to submit 4 written assignments a year. (Each assignment is 2,500 – 3,500 words) The final dissertation for the MSc is a research project of 12,000 – 18,000 words in length. During the final year students also need to submit a case study, taken from the trainee therapist’s clinical practice, and a tape recording of a therapy/counselling session with annotated transcript.
Pre-Course Requirements
While students are normally expected to have a first degree, we are very willing to consider other qualifications. Personal qualities, commitment and motivation are of the utmost importance to our consideration of an applicant’s suitability for our courses.
Applicants will be required to show a certain level of personal awareness, an ability to empathise with others and to make positive relationships, prior to beginning the course, with a willingness to commit to personal development in these areas during training. Ideally, they will already have undertaken some personal therapy or counselling, although this is not essential.
Openness to addressing issues of prejudice and oppression of minority groups, including attitudes of one’s own that may be out of awareness, is an expectation.
Selection will be by application form and personal interview. Applicants who do not meet the ideal academic requirements may be asked to complete a short essay. Applicants who have the potential to study at this level but are not yet ready should refer to our Foundation Certificate Course
Dates and Fees
The dates of the training modules, and details of the training fees, are available separately.
We’re always happy to answer further enquiries by phone or come to one of our ‘Free Information Days’.
MSc Person-Centred and Experiential Psychotherapy
MSc Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy
Click here to apply for these courses.
International Students: SPTI is not a UK Home Office Registered Sponsor with approval to admit overseas students. We can only consider applications from applicants who satisfy HOME fee residential status criteria
EU students from 2021: Following the UK’s exit from the EU, the UK government has made changes to eligibility for Student Finance where students are beginning their training in 2021 entry. EU students will not be treated as home students and will require student visas. Therefore, we will not be able to accept applications from EU applicants for 2021 entry onwards.
DBS: Applicants to SPTI clinical training programmes are reminded that all offers are subject to a satisfactory Criminal Records check by undertaking and obtaining an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) certificate, and then registering it with the DBS update service. Click here for the DBS Policy and DBS01 Declaration
Our Undergraduate and Postgraduate Degrees are awarded by Staffordshire University.