A survey of UK Master′s courses in counselling

Surveys courses in counselling and reveals that the routes practitioners have taken towards British Association for Counselling (BAC) accreditation or British Psychological Society (BPS) chartered status often show a wide diversity. Suggests that eventually BPS and BAC accreditation will produce a convergence of training goals as individual courses seek accreditation. Considers whether standardization will suit everyone and indicates that is is up to professional bodies to encourage variety; therefore a fitting programme would be a course with a standard core, but with sufficient freedom for individual flair. Questions the current Master′s level counselling courses in the UK and assesses various aspects of 15 post‐graduate counselling courses. Results reveal some convergence; concludes that there is a consensus on syllabus and teaching methods. However, the range of skills taught is limited.