Applications for Level 4 open in February for September ’26 intake.
APPLYCPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling
Train as a professional counsellor through accredited, practice-focused training
Highly recommended. Tutors are supportive and helpful.
Online + in person
2 academic years
St Ives, PE27 3WS
Thurs eve + 1 wknd/month (Cohort 3) • Wednesday weekly (Cohort 4)
NCPS accredited and BACP-recognised Level 4 Diploma
The CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling is the recognised professional qualification required to practise as a counsellor. It prepares you to work ethically and competently with real clients through supervised placement, while developing your professional identity, skills and theoretical understanding.
Completion of this Diploma provides a recognised route towards NCPS Accredited Registrant membership and progression towards BACP membership.
As an Approved Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ), the course meets nationally recognised standards for practice-based training and is widely valued across health, community and wellbeing settings.
This course is suitable for those who are:
- Level 3 (or equivalent) counselling graduates
- Ready for supervised client work
- Committed to reflective, experiential learning
- Preparing for professional practice
Course tutors
This course is delivered by CPCAB-recognised tutors who are all qualified, practising counsellors so they teach from lived practice, not theory alone.
Together, our teaching team brings over 20 years of combined clinical and teaching experience.
Our tutors establish a warm nurturing learning environment where they genuinely care about your success. They work integratively, drawing on a range of therapeutic approaches and bringing real-world insight into ethics, client work, supervision and professional development.
The course also includes guest speakers, offering exposure to specialist perspectives, creative approaches and emerging areas of practice.
Professional outcomes after Level 4
After completing this course, you are qualified to:
- Begin professional counselling work
- Apply for BACP membership
- Apply for NCPS membership
- Apply for a PSA-accredited register
- Progress to advanced training, including Level 5 Relationship Counselling, Level 6 Counselling Supervision and ongoing CPD
Course timings and content
Course format, dates and schedule
- Applications are open for September 2026
- Both courses run over two academic years on a part-time basis
- Cohort 3: One weekend a month (Sat & Sun, 10am–5pm) plus weekly live online teaching every Thursday (6.00–9.00pm)
- Cohort 4: Wednesday day weekly in person (9am–3pm) at our centre in St Ives, Cambridgeshire
- Spaces are limited for both courses
This blended format allows you to build skills and theory steadily, while using in-person training for deeper experiential learning, skills practice and group connection.
What you will learn
This robust course covers extensive theoretical, professional and skills-based learning, including:
- Freud and the psychoanalytic approach
- Jung and the development of the psychodynamic approach
- Transactional Analysis
- Carl Rogers and person-centred counselling
- Saunders, Mearns, Thorne, McLeod and Cooper – the tribes of the person-centred approach
- Tudor and Watson
- Creative and nature-based (eco) therapy
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Understanding relationships and maintaining boundaries
- Working with sex in the therapy room
- Difference and diversity in counselling
- Using arts and crafts therapeutically
Training reflects an integrative approach to counselling practice throughout.
Learning outcomes
The course is structured around seven CPCAB learning outcomes, which you must evidence to qualify:
- Working ethically, safely and professionally as a counsellor
- Working within a counselling relationship
- Working with client diversity in counselling work
- Working within a user-centred approach to counselling
- Working with self-awareness in the counselling process
- Working within a coherent framework of counselling theory and skills
- Working self-reflectively as a counsellor
Core skills and values you will develop
This course supports you in developing:
- Safe and effective client–therapist relationships
- Therapeutic presence, empathy and attunement
- Confidence and professional competence
- Clear, ethical communication in therapeutic contexts
- Skilled use of generic and advanced counselling skills
- An integrated therapeutic model grounded in practice
How you will learn
Our training is relational, supportive and grounded in real-world counselling practice. Throughout the two years, you will:
- Take part in tutor-led theory sessions
- Practise counselling skills in small groups and triads
- Engage in experiential learning and personal development work
- Explore case material, ethical dilemmas and relational dynamics
- Complete written assignments, presentations and reflective work
- Prepare for placement through skills development and supervision readiness
- Integrate theory and experience into your developing professional identity
How you will be prepared for placement
You will learn how to:
- Work safely and ethically with real clients
- Manage risk, safeguarding and professional boundaries
- Maintain professional records and case notes
- Use supervision effectively
- Reflect on your practice and personal process
- Enter and work responsibly within an agency placement
Course structure: Year 1 and Year 2
Year 1 – Foundations and readiness
- Ethical practice, legislation and professional frameworks
- Core counselling theory and integrative foundations
- Self-awareness and personal development
- Group communication and reflective practice
- Preparation for placement and readiness assessment
- Students typically begin placement in Term 3, subject to tutor approval
Year 2 – Practice, integration and depth
- Advanced integrative theory and application
- Case studies and reflective practice
- Creative therapy approaches and guest speakers
- Introduction to nature-based and experiential approaches
- Ongoing placement work with supervision
- Integration of theory, skills and professional identity
Course fees and what else you may need
The current course fee is £5,650, with a £1,000 deposit payable on offer of a place. A payment plan may be available. Please enquire to discuss your options.
Additional costs include:
- CPCAB registration fees (currently £379 per annum, subject to change)
- Personal therapy (approximately 40 hours over two years)(split over the two academic years)
- BACP or equivalent student memberships (please enquire about student rates)
- Supervision
- Indemnity insurance (ranging from £30–£70 per year)
- Textbooks
Entry, study and assessment requirements
Entry requirements
To join Level 4, applicants must have completed CPCAB Level 2 and Level 3 (or equivalent), be at least 21 years old and be literate in English.
During the interview and application process, we will explore your:
- Motivation and commitment to becoming a counsellor
- Emotional stability, self-awareness and reflective capacity
- Ability to differentiate between your own material and the client’s
- Understanding of boundaries, time-keeping and the therapeutic frame
- Competence in core counselling skills
- Capacity for empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard
- Openness to feedback and awareness of defensiveness
- Willingness to engage in experiential learning and personal development
- Awareness of difference, diversity, power and social context
We will discuss your practical readiness, including time, support and personal resources. We will also seek to confirm your readiness to engage in personal therapy, supervision and placement. Applicants are expected to have begun exploring placement options prior to starting the Diploma.
Study and attendance expectations
The course comprises 450 guided learning hours over two academic years, alongside additional independent study each week. Consistent engagement during and between classes is required to meet professional standards.
This is an emotionally demanding training involving personal reflection, experiential learning and personal disclosure, requiring appropriate self-care and support throughout.
- Minimum 90% attendance across all taught sessions
- Around 7–8 hours per week of independent study
- 100 supervised client hours completed in placement
- 40 hours of personal therapy over the duration of the course
Due to the amount of course work, it is important to take into consideration how you will work this around your family life and work, in order to afford yourself time to complete and commit to the course.
Placement requirements
To complete the Diploma, you must undertake a supervised counselling placement in line with CPCAB requirements, ensuring safe and ethical experience of real client work.
Key requirements include:
- A minimum of 100 client contact hours
- Placement begins once you are assessed as ready for client work
- Ongoing supervision throughout all client work
- Placement within an approved agency or setting
- Adherence to safeguarding, ethical and fitness-to-practise standards
For full details, please visit our Placements page.
Assessments
To complete the Diploma, you must pass both internal assessment with Aloe and an external assessment set by CPCAB.
Internal assessment is continuous and portfolio-based and includes:
- Reflective learning journals and self-review
- Written assignments and research tasks
- Case presentations and written process reports
- Tutor, peer and group feedback
- Group discussions, group work and group supervision
- Fitness to practise in placement
- Placement and supervision reports
External assessment takes place in Year 2 and consists of a CPCAB-set Case Review. Successful completion demonstrates your ability to work safely, ethically and effectively with clients at Level 4.
How you’re supported and monitored
Your progress is monitored continuously through formative assessment across both years. Tutors build a holistic picture of your development through your participation, written work, skills practice, reflective capacity and engagement beyond the classroom.
Tutor teams meet regularly to review progress, including consideration of personal therapy, placement development and supervisor reports. Reflective practice is central to the training, with emphasis on your ability to reflect realistically, give feedback non-judgementally and receive feedback openly.
What our students say
I’m really pleased I chose to study my Level 4 at Aloe. The tutors are knowledgeable, supportive and bring real practical experience into the learning, which gave me confidence in my development as a counsellor. The course is challenging, but it’s well taught and well organised.
The tutors are approachable and genuinely invested in your progress. The group size felt just right, allowing everyone to be included, heard and supported. It’s a warm, focused learning environment that really prepares you for professional practice.
This course is intense but incredibly rewarding. The teaching is clear and structured, and I’ve felt well supported throughout both the academic and personal development aspects of the training. Studying alongside committed peers has made the experience even more valuable.
Apply for the September 2026 intake
Applications open at the end of February 2026. Places are limited.
