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Doctorate in Counselling Psychology (Teesside University)

Hi,

I am hoping to enroll for the Doctorate in Counselling Psychology at Teesside University and would like to know if there is anyone who is on the programme or had been a student in the programme.
How well the programme organised?
How do they support the students in placements?
What are the good things about the programme and are there anything you didn't like about the programme?


Many thanks

This would help me to make a decision.
(edited 5 years ago)

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Hi,I have only just seen this and it has been a year since your post so not sure if you still need any advice.I have done the doctorate and really enjoyed it. Will try to answer your questions as best I can.1) I felt the programme was organised well. All assignments are relevant and help you develop your confidence and skills. The modules are interesting and relatively well structured. You are in for classes 2 days a week and do about 5 modules altogether. Each one has an assignment. You learn CBT in first year, and the Psychodynamic in the second. Third year is all about learning to integrate and find your own therapeutic style.2) There is a member of the teaching team that is in charge of helping with placements every year. They post notices online about what is available, and you can contact them if you have any issues. Your placement needs to be checked and authorised by the course, therefore best to go with one they advertise. I managed to get my first placement interview in October of the first year and then started it in January. I would recommend starting really early with applying for placements as the process of getting things organised (eg DBS checks and inductions) takes ages!3) I think there are many good things about the programme. Many of the lecturers are very passionate about their modules, and give a lot of practical examples of how they have managed situations in their own counselling practice. The uni also has a lot of fantastic facilities, such as the library, so that makes it easy to access resources to help with assignments. The classes are quite small (about 10 people), so you get to know everyone really well and support each other. I made some friends for life.Regarding what I didn’t like, that is a tough one to answer. The course can be a bit chaotic at times. We had lots of lecturers leaving, meaning that everyone ended up changing research supervisor many times. The staff aren’t always brilliant at responding to emails because they are so overworked, so you have to chase them to get answers at times. Also, sometimes the assignment deadlines are really poorly planned, so you end up having 4 big essays due very close together.Overall, I loved it. But it was mentally and physically exhausting. There are points where you have no time for a normal social life as you are so busy with assignments and placements. But you get there. I would recommend getting a good personal therapist and sticking with them throughout the course. Obviously had to spend a lot of money on it, but it was invaluable in getting me through the stress.Hope that helps, and good luck. :smile:
Reply 2
I am currently applying for a doctorate in counselling psychology, any tips on what to put in a personal statement?
Reply 3
Hello :smile: I’m applying too for a September start. I’m really stressed out about it. Teeside uni seems to be my favourite program in my chosen course, Doctorate in Counselling Psychology. I really hope I get in. I believe we have to do an interview. Does anyone know if this is with one person or a few people? Has anyone been through the process and can ease our anxieties surrounding it all.
Original post by Soriya93
Hello :smile: I’m applying too for a September start. I’m really stressed out about it. Teeside uni seems to be my favourite program in my chosen course, Doctorate in Counselling Psychology. I really hope I get in. I believe we have to do an interview. Does anyone know if this is with one person or a few people? Has anyone been through the process and can ease our anxieties surrounding it all.

Hi,

I know this is easier said than done, but try not to stress about it too much. When I did my interview years ago for the Doctorate I was so anxious. But it wasn’t scary at all.

For my interview I was asked to prepare a short presentation (up to 10 minutes) about my therapeutic work with one client. This was not a PowerPoint or anything, so you just have to remember it off by heart. I chose a simple CBT case and talked about how important it was to value the therapeutic relationship, and work collaboratively with the client to support them. The Teesside Counselling Psychology Doctorate is really focused on the therapeutic alliance, so they love that.

Next, they asked me if I had any ideas about future thesis research. I told them the areas I was interested in, and they said that was good (You don’t need to give them lots of specific details. They just want to see that you have a field of interest that would fit with the course).

Finally, they asked a few self care questions to check that I would be able to manage the stress of the course. I just pretended that I eat and sleep regularly etc. They love hearing about how you manage boundaries.

The interview is with 2 members of the teaching staff. It is quite relaxed and informal, but obviously try to come across as professional as possible. I’m assuming any interviews over the next few months will be done remotely by video call due to Covid-19. The first couple of months of lectures will probably be similar, as the uni is keen to avoid the risk of students getting unwell.

If you really want to get into the Doctorate, I would recommend making your application as strong as possible. If you have training/experience with therapy, focus on all of that. If not (I actually didn’t have so much as I came straight from a psychology undergrad degree), I would recommend doing an online course for an extra qualification. I paid about £50 for a diploma in CBT course and completed it all in a month. I also had experience on my cv working with people, but I believe the CBT diploma ticked the therapeutic knowledge box for them.

I hope that makes sense. Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions.

And Good Luck. You can do it! :smile:
Reply 5
Original post by Bear_beau
Hi,

I know this is easier said than done, but try not to stress about it too much. When I did my interview years ago for the Doctorate I was so anxious. But it wasn’t scary at all.

For my interview I was asked to prepare a short presentation (up to 10 minutes) about my therapeutic work with one client. This was not a PowerPoint or anything, so you just have to remember it off by heart. I chose a simple CBT case and talked about how important it was to value the therapeutic relationship, and work collaboratively with the client to support them. The Teesside Counselling Psychology Doctorate is really focused on the therapeutic alliance, so they love that.

Next, they asked me if I had any ideas about future thesis research. I told them the areas I was interested in, and they said that was good (You don’t need to give them lots of specific details. They just want to see that you have a field of interest that would fit with the course).

Finally, they asked a few self care questions to check that I would be able to manage the stress of the course. I just pretended that I eat and sleep regularly etc. They love hearing about how you manage boundaries.

The interview is with 2 members of the teaching staff. It is quite relaxed and informal, but obviously try to come across as professional as possible. I’m assuming any interviews over the next few months will be done remotely by video call due to Covid-19. The first couple of months of lectures will probably be similar, as the uni is keen to avoid the risk of students getting unwell.

If you really want to get into the Doctorate, I would recommend making your application as strong as possible. If you have training/experience with therapy, focus on all of that. If not (I actually didn’t have so much as I came straight from a psychology undergrad degree), I would recommend doing an online course for an extra qualification. I paid about £50 for a diploma in CBT course and completed it all in a month. I also had experience on my cv working with people, but I believe the CBT diploma ticked the therapeutic knowledge box for them.

I hope that makes sense. Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions.

And Good Luck. You can do it! :smile:

OMG!! Thank you so much, this was so informative and helpful, thank you. I applied, the deadline was on the 31 July 2020. However, I haven’t heard anything, how long did it take for you to hear back?
Original post by Soriya93
OMG!! Thank you so much, this was so informative and helpful, thank you. I applied, the deadline was on the 31 July 2020. However, I haven’t heard anything, how long did it take for you to hear back?

No problem. I always wished someone had been able to give me some advice and support when I was applying, so I’m happy to help others.

Well done on getting your application in. They usually get back to you within a few weeks. I know they interview people even up until the end of September, so hopefully you’ll hear back soon.

Good luck, and let me know how you get on 😊
Original post by Soriya93
OMG!! Thank you so much, this was so informative and helpful, thank you. I applied, the deadline was on the 31 July 2020. However, I haven’t heard anything, how long did it take for you to hear back?

Thanks for your patience @Soriya93 - we're taking a little longer than usual to process applications at the moment for a number of reasons, but we will be in touch a soon as possible! We hope we'll be seeing you soon :crossedf:
Reply 8
Hi
Has anyone heard anything yet?? If they Inform us so late that we got in, when will we have time to find accommodation?? Insane!
Reply 9
Thank you. Can you tell us when we will know?

Original post by Teesside University
Thanks for your patience @Soriya93 - we're taking a little longer than usual to process applications at the moment for a number of reasons, but we will be in touch a soon as possible! We hope we'll be seeing you soon :crossedf:


Original post by Soriya93
Hi
Has anyone heard anything yet?? If they Inform us so late that we got in, when will we have time to find accommodation?? Insane!


Hi @Soriya93 so sorry to hear that you haven't heard back yet and thanks so much for your patience. As you know there have been lots of changes to grading this year as well as other covid-related delays :frown:... everyone is working hard to get decisions to remaining applicants asap. There are still places remaining in university accommodation and we'll do everything we can to help you get sorted with this if and when you need it. Please head to our online chat tomorrow between 9-4 if we can help with anything. Thanks again for hanging in there. We hope we'll be seeing you soon.
Reply 11
Hello everyone,

So I’ve been offered an interview for the doctorate in counselling psychology at Teeside and I am freaking out! They said the duration of the interview will be 40-60 minutes my god! What an earth I’m I going to discuss for that long? Also they have not specified if it is a panel interview, I panic when I have multiple people interviewing me! Pray for me guys 😂

Also any tips from current or former students I would be so grateful for! Thank you xx
Hi,Can I ask where you did your CBT course? I’ve had a look online for some and can’t seem to find one less than £300! Thanks.
Original post by MelissaSorrel96
Hi,Can I ask where you did your CBT course? I’ve had a look online for some and can’t seem to find one less than £300! Thanks.

Hi,

I did a CBT diploma through the Centre of Excellence online. I believe they have a lot of cheap courses still available now. You literally just need a qualification in counselling to get onto the doctorate so choose something simple.

Hope that helps :smile:
Reply 14
Hi Sally58,
May I know when did you submit your application for Teeside? I submitted mine in January but still haven’t heard from them :frown:

Original post by Sally58
Hello everyone,

So I’ve been offered an interview for the doctorate in counselling psychology at Teeside and I am freaking out! They said the duration of the interview will be 40-60 minutes my god! What an earth I’m I going to discuss for that long? Also they have not specified if it is a panel interview, I panic when I have multiple people interviewing me! Pray for me guys 😂

Also any tips from current or former students I would be so grateful for! Thank you xx
Reply 15
Hi Kycha,

I applied in September 2020, I heard back in February 2021, they invited me for an interview. However, prior to that they contacted me to fill in other forms so they can gather further information. I would suggest you contact [email protected] with your details and ask them when they will process your application, they will get back to you. Please do not worry, due to the current climate everything is just moving along a little slower than usual. I will be back here to inform you how I got on with my interview. If you want anymore information or advice feel free to ask :wink: all the best.
Reply 16
Thanks Sally58! The information is extremely helpful. I will check with them to find out about the current status of my application. Since I am applying as an international student, I do hope to hear from them sooner, so I got enough time to relocate..

Good luck with your interview! I would love to hear more from you. All the best!

Original post by Sally58
Hi Kycha,

I applied in September 2020, I heard back in February 2021, they invited me for an interview. However, prior to that they contacted me to fill in other forms so they can gather further information. I would suggest you contact [email protected] with your details and ask them when they will process your application, they will get back to you. Please do not worry, due to the current climate everything is just moving along a little slower than usual. I will be back here to inform you how I got on with my interview. If you want anymore information or advice feel free to ask :wink: all the best.
Reply 17
Original post by Kycha
Thanks Sally58! The information is extremely helpful. I will check with them to find out about the current status of my application. Since I am applying as an international student, I do hope to hear from them sooner, so I got enough time to relocate..

Good luck with your interview! I would love to hear more from you. All the best!

Hi Kycha,

I hope they finally got back to you!

As promised I wanted to update you on how my interview went at Teeside University and the outcome of that interview...

I did a lot interview prep but unfortunately most of what I prepared didn’t even come up ahah! Also one of the interviewers kept pulling a lot of faces and at one point began looking out the window which completely threw me off! Eventually a few weeks later I was informed I wasn’t successful which is what I expected but it was still upsetting.

Nevertheless, I will keep applying and eventually someone somewhere will want me on their course... I hope ahah!!

I wish you all the best with your application :smile:
Xxx
Reply 18
Original post by Sally58
Hi Kycha,

I hope they finally got back to you!

As promised I wanted to update you on how my interview went at Teeside University and the outcome of that interview...

I did a lot interview prep but unfortunately most of what I prepared didn’t even come up ahah! Also one of the interviewers kept pulling a lot of faces and at one point began looking out the window which completely threw me off! Eventually a few weeks later I was informed I wasn’t successful which is what I expected but it was still upsetting.

Nevertheless, I will keep applying and eventually someone somewhere will want me on their course... I hope ahah!!

I wish you all the best with your application :smile:
Xxx


Hi Sally58,

Thanks for the update, and so sorry to hear that it wasn’t successful for you this time. Did you ask your interviewer for some comments on your interview? They are usually willing to give some comments and tips, which helps your next interview or application.

All the best!!!
Original post by LJ1997
I am currently applying for a doctorate in counselling psychology, any tips on what to put in a personal statement?


Hi LJ1997

hope your well! I was reading through your thread and was wondering if you made it onto the course? I’m looking at applying but they have taken the course off which is disappointing!

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