Mental Health Gap Year
Hi! Im 17 years old and will leave high school and start studying at uni at 2026. This leaves me with a lot of time out so Id like to take a gap year! I’m wanting to do something mental health care or childcare related and I was just wondering if anyone had done something similar and have any advice? Ideally, Id like it to be abroad
Original post by MarthaDocherty
Hi! Im 17 years old and will leave high school and start studying at uni at 2026. This leaves me with a lot of time out so Id like to take a gap year! I’m wanting to do something mental health care or childcare related and I was just wondering if anyone had done something similar and have any advice? Ideally, Id like it to be abroad
Im 17 years old and will leave high school and start studying at uni at 2026.
Congratulations. Which country are you from just to clarify?
I’m wanting to do something mental health care or childcare related and I was just wondering if anyone had done something similar and have any advice?
If you have done the equivalent of A Levels (assuming you're from the UK), I don't recommend getting anything that is higher than an NVQ Level 3, otherwise you would have issues with your student finance.
The go to qualifications that I would look into for the gap year would include:
•
Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Skills (you won't need Level 2 or 1 to do Level 3 usually; you can find out more about the recommended training to become a counsellor from the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP))
•
Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People's Workforce (or similar courses for roles as a nursery manager later on)
•
NCFE CACHE Level 3 Diploma in Child Care and Education (for nursery nurse roles)
•
BTEC National Diploma in Children's Care, Learning and Development (for nursery nurse roles, if you can do this in 1 year)
•
NVQ Level 3 in Children's Care, Learning and Development (for nursery nurse roles)
Otherwise, you can work as a nursery assistant with minimal qualifications i.e. just apply for the role.
Ideally, Id like it to be abroad
Each country would have their own regulations and laws for their specific roles. For example, you can't be a counsellor/therapist in the US without a master's degree vs you can do so with no qualifications but ideally with at least Level 3 qualification in counselling in the UK. You can't really generalise this for every country in the world.
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