How to become a family counsellor, what courses to take?

KD80

Hi there, I've been unemployed for the last few months and come from a sales, customer care background. I'm 31 and realised that i may be better suited to being a counsellor. More specifically family or child counselling. My question is what is the best route to take for a career in this field? I see there are some courses in DBS that last for 10 weeks. Are these a waste of time? Is it better to do a degree course in Psychology or in Counselling & Psycotherapy? I'd like to start a course asap.

JuliusCaesar

The Family Therapy Association of Ireland would probably be your first stop. There are specific courses in Child and Adolescent Cognitive Behaviour Therapy or Psychoanalysis or Art Therapy or Clinical Psychology* in Ireland but no generic training afaik. You'd need to ask the various organisations - Irish Council for Psychotherapy, Irish Assoc for Counselling & Psychotherapy, Psychological Society of Ireland etc. (There's a list in the Find A Therapist sticky)


*CAMH is part of Clin Psych training.

KD80

JuliusCaesar wrote: »

The Family Therapy Association of Ireland would probably be your first stop. There are specific courses in Child and Adolescent Cognitive Behaviour Therapy or Psychoanalysis or Art Therapy or Clinical Psychology* in Ireland but no generic training afaik. You'd need to ask the various organisations - Irish Council for Psychotherapy, Irish Assoc for Counselling & Psychotherapy, Psychological Society of Ireland etc. (There's a list in the Find A Therapist sticky)


*CAMH is part of Clin Psych training.

Thanks for your help.

bisset

There are very few actual jobs with the title Family Counsellor .You might look into doing a B.A. in Applied Social Studies with a view to working for Barnardos or a similar organisation and then doing post graduate training in some therapeutic approach that interests you. Good Luck

KD80

Thanks for the advice. I've found a course which i think is geared towards what I want to do. I'm going to do a certificate in counselling & psychotherapy in PCI college part time. It's a stepping stone to the diploma and then on to a degree.