DCounsPsych Counselling Psychology

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Application deadlines

• 15th January 2024 (interviews dates: 15, 16, 19 and 21st February)
• 15th March 2024 (interview dates: 16, 17, 18 and 19th April)

Applicants wishing to be considered for  SEED/PDS  funding must apply to the January deadline. 

Your completed application should include:

• two references, one of which should be familiar with your academic work, on headed paper from the institution, signed, dated and stamped; 
• a degree certificate and transcript for your bachelor's and master's degrees; 
• evidence of your English language proficiency; 
• a personal statement outlining your reasons for wishing to study on the programme, and the experience and skills you will bring (maximum 3,000 words). Candidates are required to follow the guidance (in the 'how to apply' document, below) on this personal statement;
• A brief (1500 words) research proposal for your proposed thesis in counselling psychology. This should outline your proposed title, an overview of the proposed research and how it fits with the counselling psychology team at Manchester (See the 'how to apply' document, below).
• evidence of your basic counselling skills training or professional experience of using such skills (such as training certificates); 
• evidence of Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership of the British Psychological Society; 
• a copy of the data pages of your passport; 
• a detailed CV.

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

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 on your personal statement, please download our  DCounsPsych information document  and the How to apply document.

Please note - the DCounsPsych candidates are not required to approach a particular research supervisor ahead of applying, as supervisors are allocated during the first year of training.

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.

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 fourth edition of the well-known SAGE Handbook of Counselling and Psychotherapy.

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

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 Jo Shuttleworth is an HCPC registered and Chartered Counselling Psychology, specialising in the field of trauma.

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.

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.