Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy

Modules and Teaching

• Three years part-time, on campus, starting in October 2026 or January 2027

  Course structure

  You must complete nine modules worth a total of 270 credits.

  • Year 1 gives you an introduction to psychodynamic theory and practice, teaching observation and basic counselling/psychotherapy skills and processes, and professional/ethical issues.
  • Years 2 and 3 look in more depth at psychodynamic theory, in particular the contributions of Freud, Klein and Winnicott, and you will study forms of emotional disturbance, diagnosis and formulation, organisational dynamics, techniques, skills and principles of psychodynamic practice. You will also undertake clinical placements. Supervision is usually provided, but in some circumstances, such as where it does not meet course requirements, you may be asked to source additional private supervision.

  You are required to be in personal psychodynamic or psychoanalytic psychotherapy from the start of the course, and preferably for up to six months before starting. If you are considering an application you can ask for a copy of our personal therapy requirements.

  Year 1

  • Introduction to Clinical and Observational Skills
  • Introduction to the Analytic Attitude
  • Introduction to theoretical & organizational concepts

  Year 2

  • Basic Psychodynamic Competencies and Professional Attitude
  • Basic Psychodynamic Skills & Principles/Techniques of Practice
  • Basic Psychodynamic theory and Organizational Understanding

  Year 3

  • Clinical Thinking
  • Evidence Based Practice (Level 7)
  • Psychosocial and Psychodynamic Practice

• Three years part-time, on campus, starting in October 2027 or January 2028

  Course structure

  You must complete nine modules worth a total of 270 credits.

  • Year 1 gives you an introduction to psychodynamic theory and practice, teaching observation and basic counselling/psychotherapy skills and processes, and professional/ethical issues.
  • Years 2 and 3 look in more depth at psychodynamic theory, in particular the contributions of Freud, Klein and Winnicott, and you will study forms of emotional disturbance, diagnosis and formulation, organisational dynamics, techniques, skills and principles of psychodynamic practice. You will also undertake clinical placements. Supervision is usually provided, but in some circumstances, such as where it does not meet course requirements, you may be asked to source additional private supervision.

  You are required to be in personal psychodynamic or psychoanalytic psychotherapy from the start of the course, and preferably for up to six months before starting. If you are considering an application you can ask for a copy of our personal therapy requirements.

  Year 1

  • Introduction to Clinical and Observational Skills
  • Introduction to the Analytic Attitude
  • Introduction to theoretical & organizational concepts

  Year 2

  • Basic Psychodynamic Competencies and Professional Attitude
  • Basic Psychodynamic Skills & Principles/Techniques of Practice
  • Basic Psychodynamic theory and Organizational Understanding

  Year 3

  • Clinical Thinking
  • Evidence Based Practice (Level 7)
  • Psychosocial and Psychodynamic Practice

• Teaching

  We encourage innovative and engaging ways of teaching to help ensure you have the best learning experience and provide a range of different modes of learning to help you juggle study with work and other commitments.

  Find out more about our teaching and teaching hours.

  What are the methods of teaching?

  Seminars, work and case discussion group, practice exercises, experiential groups. In Years 2 and 3, week-long studies of how organisations function.

• How will I be assessed?

  Year 1: two theoretical essays (total 5500 words), a take-away examination (3000 words) and student review (assessment of professional development).

  Year 2: two theoretical essays (total 5500 words), a case study (5000 words) and student review.

  Year 3: two theoretical/clinical essays (total 10,000 words), a case study (5000 words) and student review.

  Please see individual modules for more details.

  Find out more about assessment at Birkbeck, including guidance on assessment, feedback and our assessment offences policy.

Entry requirements

Our standard postgraduate entry requirement is a second-class honours degree (2:2 or above) or an equivalent international qualification, however, professional qualifications and/or relevant work experience are taken into consideration positively and may be accepted in place of a degree. We actively support and encourage applications from mature learners.

You will need to have a minimum of six months' experience of regular, weekly or fortnightly work in a helping role. You should also have completed a counselling/psychotherapy course at Certificate of Higher Education level or equivalent. 

We ask that students are established in personal therapy with an approved therapist for at least six months before starting this course and that they remain in therapy for the duration of the course. If you are considering an application, you can ask to speak to a training adviser who can explain the course requirements for a personal therapist. Therapy must be once-weekly and in person.

We will request a short assignment from non-standard entrants.

• What are the English language requirements?

  If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, our usual requirement is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests. We also accept other English language tests.

  If you don't meet the minimum English language requirements, please contact us or see our international study skills page for more details about how we can help.

  Visit the International section of our website to find out more about our English language entry requirements and relevant requirements by country.

• What are the visa and funding requirements?

  If you are not from the UK and you do not already have residency here, you may need to apply for a visa.

  The visa you apply for varies according to the length of your course:

  • Courses of more than six months' duration: Student visa
  • Courses of less than six months' duration: Standard Visitor visa

  International students who require a Student visa should apply to study on our courses full-time as these qualify for Student visa sponsorship. If you are living in the UK on a Student visa, you will not be eligible to enrol to study part-time courses at Birkbeck (with the exception of some modules).

  As a Student visa student, you should also apply to study on campus only, as online and flexible options of study  (if they are available for your course) may affect the conditions of your visa.

  For full information, read our visa information for international students page.

  Please also visit the international section of our website to find out more about relevant visa and funding requirements by country.

  Please note students receiving US Federal Aid are only able to apply for in-person, on-campus programmes which will have no elements of online study.

• Credits and accredited prior learning (APL)

  If you have studied at university (or have an HND or Foundation Degree), you may have accumulated credits. It may be possible to transfer these from your previous study to Birkbeck or another institution.

Fees

• Birkbeck's Lifelong Learning Guarantee

  If you've studied at Birkbeck before and successfully completed an award with us, take advantage of our Lifelong Learning Guarantee to gain a reduction on the tuition fee of this course.

• Can I apply for an international scholarship?

  We provide a range of scholarships for eligible international students, including our Global Future Scholarship. View Birkbeck's available scholarships.

• Additional costs

  As well as fees, you should expect to pay other study-related expenses, for travel to and from College, books, stationery, etc. Birkbeck provides advice and financial support for students who experience hardship in meeting the travel costs of essential fieldwork or study visits.

  On this course, you will also have to pay for the following additional costs:

  Students must be seeing a personal therapist at least once a week for the duration of this course. You will need to find your own therapist, although the course tutors can help you with this, and you will have to fund your therapy yourself. The cost of therapy can vary widely, depending on location, availability and income, but you should expect to pay £45-90 per therapy session.

  You may be asked to engage in additional private clinical supervision while on placement, should your placement not provide supervision which meets our requirements, or if your tutor advises you need extra support to meet the personal and professional development competencies. This would normally take place fortnightly. The fee should be negotiated with the individual supervisor at a cost range similar to that of personal therapy,

  You may also be asked to take out personal indemnity insurance while on placement, which may incur an annual cost of £55-100.

  Discover the financial support available to you to help with your studies at Birkbeck.

Careers and employability

On successfully graduating from this MSc Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy you will have gained an array of valuable transferable skills, including in:

• listening
• clinical thinking
• critical thinking
• academic writing
• observation
• reflexivity
• effective group/organisational participation.

Graduates can pursue career paths in counselling, human resources or education. Possible professions include:

• counsellor
• psychotherapist
• careers adviser
• human resources officer
• market researcher.

Birkbeck graduates have gone on to work in the following organisations:

• East London NHS Foundation Trust
• Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
• Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust
• Queen Mary Advice and Counselling Service, University of London
• King's College Student Counselling Service, University of London
• Waterloo Counselling
• Age UK

Read about how you can become a professional counsellor or psychotherapist.

Student support

How to apply

• When should I apply?

  You are strongly advised to apply now, to ensure there are still places left, and to give you enough time to complete the admissions process, to arrange funding and to enrol.

  You don't need to complete your current programme of study before you apply - Birkbeck can offer you a place that is conditional on your results.

• How can I get help with my application?

  Get all the information you need about the application, admission and enrolment process at Birkbeck.

  Our online personal statement tool will guide you through every step of writing the personal statement part of your application.

• International agents

  If you are an international agent applying to Birkbeck on behalf of an international student, please use Birkbeck's agent portal.