Course details

Summary

The AUT postgraduate programme in Counselling Psychology provides a pathway towards application for registration as a Counselling Psychologist with the New Zealand Psychologists Board.

Counselling Psychology is a sub-specialty within psychology that focuses on health and wellbeing, and collaboration between psychologist and client to achieve desired mental health outcomes. Counselling psychologists acknowledge the importance of medical, psychosocial and cultural perspectives in understanding and explaining both the formation of mental illness and problem behaviour, and in understanding, explaining and implementing the treatment and caring regimes to sensitively address illness and problem issues.

For counselling psychologists research and practice are not distinct activities. Counselling psychology is committed to building on the concept of scientist-practitioner by producing:

• Practitioners informed by research findings

• A science informed by practice issues

Students who successfully complete the Bachelor of Health Science (Honours) in Psychology, followed by the Master of Health Science in Psychology, may enrol in the Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling Psychology, subject to registration with the NZ Psychologists' Board as an intern psychologist, and the securement of a suitable internship position (AUT has a number of internship providers, but agencies tend to interview for these positions).

Note that in some cases, a further interview for selection into the Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling Psychology may be required.

Direct entry into the PgDip in Counselling Psychology is not possible as the MHSc/PgDip is offered as an integrated package.

The Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling Psychology internship is an integral part of the programme and is a full year of practice (4 days a week working in a practice setting - the equivalent of 1,500 hours as required by the Psychologists' Board) and 1 day a week on campus at AUT North Campus.

Students complete the following papers alongside the 1,500 practice hours:

• PSYC812 Theories of Counselling Psychology (15 points)
• PSYC813 Professional Frameworks, Issues and Applications (15 points)
• PSYC814 Counselling Psychology Internship A (45 points)
• PSYC815 Counselling Psychology Internship B (45 points)

Entry criteria

You need to have completed one of the following in a relevant field:

• Bachelor's degree
• Professional qualification equivalent to a 3-year bachelor's degree
• Professional experience equivalent to a bachelor's degree or recognised professional qualification

English Language requirements:

Minimum IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 overall with all bands 6.0 or higher; TOEFL iBT score of 90; Certificate in English for Academic Study (CertEAS) with A grade; GIE with B+ grade; CAE minimum overall score of 176; PTE minimum overall score of 58.