MPhil/PhD in Psychotherapy & Counselling Studies
Master of Philosophy or Doctor of Philosophy
This course is validated by
The University of Wales
Introduction
SPCP was the first UK institution to offer a MPhil/PhD in
Psychotherapy and Counselling and our emphasis has always been
on welcoming students from a wide range of academic
disciplines relevant to psychotherapy, psychology and
counselling studies.
This is an academic degree and does not lead to registration in
psychotherapy and/or counselling, nor to chartered counselling
psychology status. Candidates will usually have a Masters degree;
and normally professional registration or accreditation in
psychotherapy and/or counselling.
Objectives
The objectives of the programme are:
- to advance the conceptual thinking in the field, where
appropriate, through making the link between psychotherapy and/or
psychology and/or counselling and other related disciplines
including philosophy, social science, history and social
anthropology;
- to contribute to the comparative study of psychotherapeutic and
psychological theories and their applications whilst paying
attention to the underlying philosophical assumptions and the
philosophical coherence of the theories;
- to develop a critical and reflective understanding of debates
and controversies within their chosen area of study;
- to advance the development of research methods and models
relevant to psychotherapy, psychology and counselling;
- to conceptualise, design and implement a project for the
generation of new knowledge, applications or understanding;
- to generate innovative connections between theoretical
knowledge and its application to practice.
Duration
MPhil period of registration
Part-time minimum: 2 years
Part-time maximum: 5 years
Full-time minimum: 1 year
Full-time maximum: 3 years
PhD period of registration
Part-time minimum: 5 years
Part-time maximum: 7 years
Full-time minimum: 3 years
Full-time maximum: 5 years
Research
Students research in-depth a
topic of interest to them and with relevance to psychotherapy,
psychology and counselling studies, under the guidance of
an expert academic supervisor.
Research topics can be of a clinical,
conceptual, philosophical or historical nature and may draw on any
of the theoretical traditions of psychotherapy, psychology and
counselling.
Students are encouraged to use the research
methods most appropriate to their research
question.
Research Training
The research training module undertaken early
in the PhD aims to encourage a reflexive approach to
research, to give students the opportunity to work on their
chosen subject within a group setting and to consider important
issues in research at this level.
The overall aim to enable students to
produce a PhD thesis that will make an original contribution to the
creation, interpretation and/or application of new knowledge in the
field of psychotherapy, psychology and counselling studies - either
through conceptual and/or applied research.
* This degree is validated and awarded by the
University of Wales, UK. For further details regarding the
University and its validation services, please log on to www.wales.ac.uk/validation
or email validation@wales.ac.uk.
Page last updated 10/14/2011