What is wrong with online counselling courses?

Why you need to qualify face-to-face.

Online courses have opened up study opportunities that people a few decades ago couldn’t have dreamed of. We can learn from people the other side of the world at little or no cost, and broaden the range of subjects we’re familiar with.

However, some subjects are unsuited to online learning due to their experiential and relational nature. Counselling falls into this category. We can learn about theories and techniques online — and there are some truly excellent courses that make for great continuing professional development (CPD) — but qualifying as a counsellor is something that needs to be done face-to-face.

This is so widely recognised in the counselling profession, that most UK membership bodies will not accept people who trained online. The only one that will — the ACCPH — doesn’t hold a Professional Standards Association (PSA) Accredited Register to show that its members meet certain standards and are safe to practice with the public. You can find a full list of membership bodies that do hold PSA Accredited Register here. If you want to be employed as a counsellor by an agency or the NHS then most will expect you to be a member of one, and you’ll struggle to advertise with directories such as Psychology Today if you aren’t.

Training face-to-face requires being able to get to a training centre at the same time every week. It’s less convenient, and more of a commitment, than taking the same course online. So why do it?

Counselling is all about the relationship between the client and counsellor. Face-to-face counselling training revolves around the relationship with your tutors and other students. It’s about being vulnerable and opening up in a group; exploring your own background; and developing self-awareness. This can’t be done in the same way online. You’ll also be practising your counselling skills with fellow students. Some online courses encourage students to record sessions with friends and tutors then offer comments on these, but it’s simply not the same as being in the room together, week after week.

The personal growth and development you will experience on the two-year, part-time Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling cannot be replicated online, and that’s why you need to do it face-to-face to be considered qualified and accepted into membership bodies.

When choosing a Level 4 course, make sure it includes at least two years of part-time classroom-based tuition; a 100-hour supervised clinical placement. If you’re unsure whether the course is going to be accepted then contact the membership body you would like to join and ask them.

If you’d like to expand your knowledge then by all means take advantage of some of the thousands of online courses that can introduce you to new concepts and theories. Some online courses offer great content at a cost-effective price, and they’re well worth taking to continue your professional development. You can find some of them advertised here, along with face to face courses in the South West UK.

Update: The pandemic moved teaching online and has caused training providers and membership bodies to review their requirements. The BACP are now requiring that Level 4 courses include at least 70% face to face classroom-based tuition and up to 30% live synchronous online training. This last point is important. Cheap online courses require you to teach yourself using the course materials provided and don’t offer live online tuition with a teacher and other students. The CPCAB have published a letter to centres allowing them to apply to deliver courses live online. However, Level 4 courses must include at least 75% face to face teaching.

Read next: How to become a counsellor in the UK.