Welcome to Counselling Skills at the University of Glasgow. We offer both online and face-to-face COSCA-accredited courses at Certificate level. Each course lasts one year and is taught in four blocks of ten weeks. New courses become available for booking throughout the year, so please check back if nothing suitable is currently available. For more information about the course, COSCA and other frequently asked questions, please see below.

Course overview

This course provides an opportunity for students to understand the theoretical approaches and reflective practices required to apply counselling skills across various inter-personal and professional contexts. It consists of four interlinked units that cover four main strands: listening skills (developed through substantial experiential practice with peers), knowledge of theoretical approaches, self-awareness, and understanding of ethics.

Successful completion of all four units and associated assessments results in students being awarded the COSCA Counselling Skills Certificate and 40 credits at SCQF level 8 (undergraduate level 2).

What our students say

“ Both the trainers were very knowledgeable and passionate about the course. The energy and positivity in every class made it easier to learn about the modules and myself. I feel because of all the positive conditions, the class gelled, and we were very supportive of each other. A very rewarding experience.”  COSCA student

Course structure and assessments

The course is taught in four, ten-week teaching blocks. Each week of teaching involves one, three-hour class. For the in-person course, classes take place on the University of Glasgow main campus. For the online course, classes take place live via Zoom. For more information on University teaching blocks, please refer to our Term dates page.

For each of the four units, students will complete an assessment portfolio consisting of a skills observation; oral presentation; and a written piece of work (for the latter, a reflective essay in units 1, 2 and 4). In unit 3 the written piece of work consists of a transcription and analysis of a peer skills practice session. Given the practical and reflective nature of the course, the assessments are marked as either satisfactory or unsatisfactory rather than using the University’s 22-point grade scale.

FAQs

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What is COSCA?

COSCA is Scotland’s professional body for counselling and psychotherapy. For more information, you can visit their website at https://www.cosca.org.uk/

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Who can take this course?

This course is available to anyone interested in learning more about, and developing, counselling skills, either for personal or professional development. There are no pre-requisites for enrolling on this course.

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How much does the course cost, and is there funding available?

Please check the individual course you wish to book on for the most up-to-date pricing information. Partial funding may be available from SAAS, further information on this and how to apply is available through our funding pages

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What if I miss a class – is there a minimum attendance criterion?

COSCA requires students to attend a minimum of 85% of classes to gain the certificate. Exemptions may be applied for in exceptional circumstances but cannot be guaranteed.Please check the individual course you wish to book on for the most up-to-date pricing information. 

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How much time can I expect this course to take up?

This is a part-time course, and you will be studying 10 credits over each 10-week block. As this is primarily an experiential course, the bulk of the content will take place in class. Outside of class, there will be some exercises to complete and an end of unit reflective assessment, but these shouldn’t take up more than a few hours per week.

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Do you offer any other counselling courses?

We currently offer one other counselling short course on ‘Working with Trauma’  This is a five-week, non-credit, introductory course on the subject of trauma. For more information about the course and when it’s next running, please click on the course link below.

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There are no online/in-person courses showing for booking, when will the next one run?

We run between two and four courses each academic year, with a mix of in-person and online iterations. All courses we run start at the beginning of one of our teaching blocks. For more information, please, visit out Term Dates page. If there are no courses currently showing, please check back again in a few weeks when more information should be available.

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Booking and further information

Please visit the links below for more information on COSCA. If there are available dates, they will be listed along with the course information.

COSCA Counselling Skills

COSCA

Other Psychology and Counselling courses

Working with trauma