DCounsPsych Counselling Psychology

The programme-specific open evening will be held on Monday 7th December 2026 at 5pm -7pm via Teams.

If you wish to attend, please complete the registration form to register your interest.

Apply online (From 1st October 2026)

Please ensure you read the supporting how to apply and DCounsPsych information documentartion prior to making an application.

Application deadline - 18/01/2027

Interviews - Week commencing 22/02/2027 (Exact dates will be confirmed with candidates who are invited to interview)

Your completed application should include:

• A personal statement (maximum 3,000 words, with appropriate academic referencing). This should outline your reasons for wishing to study on the programme, your academic experience, counselling training and theoretical knowledge, and your personal readiness. Candidates are required to follow the guidance (in the ' how to apply ' document) on this personal statement.
• A brief research proposal for your proposed thesis in counselling psychology (1500 words). This should include your proposed title, an overview of the rationale for the research, research question and proposed methodology (See ' how to apply '). You should include how it fits with the counselling psychology team at Manchester (see team details below), as well as highlighting connections to the Manchester Institute of Education research and scholarship groups. Please note - DCounsPsych candidates are not required to approach a particular research supervisor ahead of applying, as supervisors are allocated during the first year of training.
• Two references , one of which should be familiar with your academic work, on headed paper from the institution, signed, dated and stamped. Note that as part of your application you will be required to nominate two referees. Our automated system will contact your referees once your application has been submitted.
• Degree certificate(s) and transcript(s) for your all qualifications that meet the academic entry criteria.
• Evidence you hold Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership Status with the British Psychological Society or your current qualification deems you eligible.
• Evidence of your basic counselling skills training (such as training certificates);
• Evidence of your English language proficiency. In line with requirements of our accrediting bodies, this can only be evidenced via an IELTs.
• A detailed CV.
• A copy of the data pages of your passport.

You will also need to pass a Criminal Convictions Check, which is undertaken and paid for by the University if offered a place on the programme.

Admission to studying for a PhD or a Professional Doctorate is highly competitive, so please allow as much time as possible to prepare your application, browse our research pages and academics' profiles, and familiarise yourself with the application process and any important deadlines.

For further guidance please downloadour DCounsPsych information document.

We have a particular emphasis throughout the programme on understanding counselling psychology as relational, social and political, and we consider social justice, intersectionality and decolonisation throughout the doctorate.

The Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology (DCounsPsych) at The University of Manchester is the only Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and British Psychological Society (BPS)-approved doctoral programme in counselling psychology offered by a Russell Group university. The programme has four major components:

• the development of appropriate theoretical knowledge;
• the development of research skills;
• the development of therapeutic practice skills;
• and an emphasis upon personal development

Throughout the programme, you will be introduced in detail to a pluralistic approach of therapy, with a focus on humanistic counselling during the first year and cognitive behavioural therapy in the second.

Alongside assessed units, you will complete a minimum of 450 hours supervised therapeutic practice and 40 hours' personal therapy.

Current staff team

The current core staff team are as follows:

• Dr Ishba Rehman (Programme Director)
• Dr Andre Etchebarne (Placement Director)
• Professor Erica Burman
• Dr Sara Chaudhrey
• Professor Terry Hanley
• Dr Laura Winter

All members of staff are psychologists who are active in the fields of both research and clinical practice in counselling psychology.

In terms of clinical practice, their work is ongoing within NHS, private healthcare and third-sector settings.

Their training backgrounds include skills in humanistic therapies, cognitive-behaviour therapy, and group analytic approaches.

Staff members publish their research and write widely in the fields of counselling, counselling psychology, psychotherapy, applied psychology, and education, including exploring critical and methodological innovations between psychotherapy and education. For instance, Professor Terry Hanley and Dr Laura Winter have recently edited the fifth edition of the well-known SAGE Handbook of Counselling and Psychotherapy and authored the BPS and Routledge text Key Issues in Counselling Psychology.

In recent years they have been successful in receiving research funding to conduct work looking at topics such as how wellbeing is supported in educational settings, online therapeutic approaches, and the impact of austerity measures on the wellbeing and education of children and families.

The team also has excellent connections within the community of counselling psychology in the UK, as well as strong local links with voluntary sector organisations working around mental health provision for disadvantaged and minority populations.
Some examples include:

Dr Ishba Rehman is a HCPC registered, BPS Chartered Counselling Psychologist currently working within the NHS and third sector organisations for eating disorders and sexual trauma.

In the wider therapeutic fields, Professor Erica Burman is registered with the United Kingdom Council of Psychotherapists (UKCP), via the Institute of Group Analysis, as a Group Analyst.

Dr Andre Etchebarne is an HCPC registered Counselling Psychologist specialising in chronic pain and long-term health conditions.

Professor Terry Hanley is a Fellow of the BPS and was the Research Lead for the Division of Counselling Psychology and Editor of Counselling Psychology Review.

Dr Laura Winter previously established the division's Social Justice Networking and Special Interest Group, which she led until 2018 and is Deputy Chair of the Training Committee in Counselling Psychology for the BPS.

You will, upon completion, be equipped as a competent counselling psychologist who is eligible to apply for HCPC registration and BPS chartered status.

Education has been a discipline of study at Manchester since 1890.

Our Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology is the only Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and British Psychological Society (BPS)-approved doctoral programme in counselling psychology offered by a Russell Group university.

Staff working on the Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology conduct internationally recognised and world-leading research in the area of 'Education and Therapy', and they have a particular strength in research exploring the intersections between counselling psychology, inequality/social justice, and humanistic psychology and education.

Please see staff profiles for more information.

As a doctoral candidate in the Manchester Institute of Education , you'll also be part of the School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED), a unique interdisciplinary collaboration between the disciplines of Architecture, Education, Geography, International Development and Planning, Property and Environmental Management.

What unites us is a shared commitment to highlight and address the uneven relationships between societies, economies and the environment. We want to understand better the world in which we live, and to offer solutions to the problems within it.

We acknowledge that a complex and interconnected world presents many challenges for analysts, but researchers in SEED are pioneering new evidence, measures, concepts and theories in order to address these challenges in practice. SEED's world-leading research is rooted in everyday life but international in relevance and scope, addressing social, economic and environmental concerns across the globe.