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Counselling and Applied Psychology Level 5 Higher National Diploma (HND) Full-time

Course Overview

Counselling and Applied Psychology Level 5 Higher National Diploma (HND) Full-time

The Counselling and Applied Psychology Higher National Diploma (HND), awarded by Pearson BTEC, offers you the opportunity to develop a range of skills and techniques, personal qualities and attributes which enable you to make an immediate contribution to employment. It also provides flexibility, knowledge, skills and motivation as a basis for future studies and career progression in the sector.

The Level 5 HND units gives you the opportunity to specialise in a counselling-related occupational area and to progress to degree-level study. They prepare you to move on to specific areas of education and further learning at Level 6 or to enter employment with the qualities and abilities necessary for roles that require professional responsibility and decision-making.

You will be able to develop and apply your own ideas to your studies, to deal with uncertainty and complexity, to explore solutions, demonstrate critical evaluation and use both theory and practice in a wide range of therapeutic situations.

By the end of course, you will have a sound understanding of the principles in your area of specialist study and will know how to apply those principles more widely in counselling and psychology practice. You will be able to perform effectively in their specialist area.

Course content

You will study the following mandatory units:

  • Core Unit 9: Counselling Skills Development and Practice

  • Core Unit 10: Working with Diverse Clients in Therapeutic Counselling

  • Core Unit 11: Risk and Assessment (Pearson-set)

  • Specialist Unit 17: Pluralistic Approaches to Counselling

  • Specialist Unit 15: Cognitive Behavioural Approaches to Counselling

  • Optional Unit 21: Counselling Young People

Please note: You will not be awarded the HND unless you have completed 170 placement hours.

Located at: Barnsley College University Centre

Course Start: September 2027

Course length: 1 Years

Study Mode: Full-time

Course Code: HHEACOUD

UCAS Course Code: CAPD

Awarding Organisation:

Pearson education ltd logo

Course Fees and Funding

How much does the course cost?

£6,995

Other funding information

Course Content

Other Resources

For further details, please contact our Information Unit by calling 01226 216 123 or emailing: info@barnsley.ac.uk

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Barnsley Sports Academy offers state-of-the-art facilities and diverse sports programs, enabling students to achieve academic and athletic excellence. Remember, you don't have to be studying Sport to join Barnsley Sports Academy.

Disclaimer: Please note we reserve the right to change details without notice. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

The course information on this page was last updated 06 March 2026.