My experience on the counselling course was thorough and thought provoking. The tutor and course leader were very supportive. Thank you
A.M
Equivalent to a Level 3
Take your first steps towards becoming a counsellor with our Foundation Certificate in Counselling. This Level 3 equivalent course fulfils the entry requirements for our Diploma in Integrative Counselling. You will learn a diverse range of models and approaches to counselling, develop your self-awareness, and enhance your interpersonal and communication skills, empowering you to make a real difference in people’s lives. Designed and run by specialists in the therapy field, our highly experienced tutors deliver this face-to-face course at our Clapham and Tooting training centres in South London. Embark on this rewarding career path and enrol today.
Our next course starts on 12th September. Courses can become oversubscribed, so we encourage early enrolment.
Foundation Certificate in Counselling: Course Content Overview
The Foundation Certificate in Counselling is delivered in three modules across two or three terms, each including the following main components:
- Theory lectures and discussion groups
- Skills practice workshops
- Personal development activities
Module 1: Helping & Counselling
This module focuses on developing your understanding of what counselling is and is not and includes a workshop on how to write essays using Harvard Referencing:
- What do we understand by counselling?
- How does counselling differ from other forms of help?
- Who can be helped by counselling?
- Standards and ethics in counselling
- The ‘core conditions’ of the person-centred model in counselling
Module 2: Ethics / Basic Human Development
This module introduces the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Profession (2018) and provides an overview of some key contributors in the field of basic human development:
- Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
- Erikson’s psychosocial model
- Freud’s psychosexual model
Module 3: Modalities of Counselling
This module of the counselling certificate introduces a range of theoretical models, including:
- Gestalt Therapy
- Transactional Analysis
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution Focused Therapy
- An introduction to clinical supervision in counselling
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions about the training process, our team is here to answer them – big or small. Don’t hesitate to call us!
Course Fees
Our Foundation Certificate courses contain the same amount of class time and assessments. The accelerated foundation course enables you to complete the course in a shorter time and (on successful completion) move on to our Diploma course without a break. This would be a suitable option for you if you are keen to train as a counsellor in a shorter period and can commit more concentrated time to your studies.
We are now interviewing. Courses can become oversubscribed, so we encourage early enrolment. Places on each intake will be offered to applicants on a first-come, first-served basis.
Foundation Certificate in Counselling (Accelerated Evenings)
September 2025 – March 2026
Friday evenings and three weekends, for six months
- Dates: 12th September 2025 – 6th March 2026
- Time: 18:00 – 21:30
- Location: TAC Clapham
- Fee: £2,600
Please note dates are subject to change
| 2025 | Fridays (6pm – 9:30pm) | Saturdays (10am – 5pm) | Sundays (10am – 5pm) | |
| Day 1 | 12th September | |||
| Day 2 | 19th September | |||
| Day 3 | 20th September | |||
| Day 4 | 21st September | |||
| Day 5 | 26th September | |||
| Day 6 | 3rd October | |||
| Day 7 | 10th October | |||
| Day 8 | 17th October | |||
| Day 9 | 24th October | |||
| Day 10 | 31st October | |||
| Day 11 | 7th November | |||
| Day 12 | 14th November | |||
| Day 13 | 21st November | |||
| Day 14 | 28th November | |||
| Day 15 | 29th November | |||
| Day 16 | 30th November | |||
| Day 17 | 5th December | |||
| 2026 | ||||
| Day 18 | 9th January | |||
| Day 19 | 16th January | |||
| Day 20 | 23rd January | |||
| Day 21 | 30th January | |||
| Day 22 | 6th February | |||
| Day 23 | 13th February | |||
| Day 24 | 14th February | |||
| Day 25 | 15th February | |||
| Day 26 | 20th February | |||
| Day 27 | 27th February | |||
| Day 28 | 6th March | |||
Foundation Certificate in Counselling (Accelerated – Evenings)
September 2025 – March 2026
Friday evenings and three weekends, for five and a half months
- Dates: 19th September 2025 – 13th March 2026
- Time: 18.00 – 21.30
- Location: TAC Tooting
- Fee: £2,600
Please note dates are subject to change
| 2025 | Fridays (6pm – 9:30pm) | Saturdays (10am – 5pm) | Sundays (10am – 5pm) | |
| Day 1 | 19th September | |||
| Day 2 | 26th September | |||
| Day 3 | 27th September | |||
| Day 4 | 28th September | |||
| Day 5 | 3rd October | |||
| Day 6 | 10th October | |||
| Day 7 | 17th October | |||
| Day 8 | 24th October | |||
| Day 9 | 31st October | |||
| Day 10 | 7th November | |||
| Day 11 | 14th November | |||
| Day 12 | 21st November | |||
| Day 13 | 28th November | |||
| Day 14 | 5th December | |||
| Day 15 | 6th December | |||
| Day 16 | 7th December | |||
| Day 17 | 12th December | |||
| 2026 | WINTER BREAK | |||
| Day 18 | 16th January | |||
| Day 19 | 23rd January | |||
| Day 20 | 30th January | |||
| Day 21 | 6th February | |||
| Day 22 | 13th February | |||
| Day 23 | 20th February | |||
| Day 24 | 21st February | |||
| Day 25 | 22nd February | |||
| Day 26 | 27th February | |||
| Day 27 | 6th March | |||
| Day 28 | 13th March | |||
Foundation Certificate in Counselling (Accelerated – Weekends)
September 2025 – March 2026
Saturdays & Sundays, for five and a half months
- Dates: 13th September 2025 – 1st March 2026
- Time: 10.00 – 16.00
- Location: TAC Tooting
- Fee: £2,600
Please note dates are subject to change
| 2025 | Saturdays (10am – 4pm) | Sundays (10am – 4pm) |
| Day 1 | 13th September | |
| Day 2 | 14th September | |
| Day 3 | 4th October | |
| Day 4 | 5th October | |
| Day 5 | 18th October | |
| Day 6 | 19th October | |
| Day 7 | 1st November | |
| Day 8 | 2nd November | |
| Day 9 | 15th November | |
| Day 10 | 16th November | |
| Day 11 | 13th December | |
| Day 12 | 14th December | |
| 2026 | WINTER BREAK | |
| Day 13 | 17th January | |
| Day 14 | 18th January | |
| Day 15 | 31st January | |
| Day 16 | 1st February | |
| Day 17 | 14th February | |
| Day 18 | 15th February | |
| Day 19 | 28th February | |
| Day 20 | 1st March |
Foundation Certificate in Counselling (Accelerated – Evenings)
September 2025 – March 2026
Monday evenings and three weekends, for five and a half months
- Dates: 22nd September 2025 – 9th March 2026
- Time: 18.00 – 21.30
- Location: TAC Tooting
- Fee: £2,600
COURSE FULL
Please note dates are subject to change
| 2025 | Mondays (6pm – 9:30pm) | Saturdays (10am – 5pm) | Sundays (10am – 5pm) | |||||||
| Day 1 | 22nd September | |||||||||
| Day 2 | 29th September | |||||||||
| Day 3 | 6th October | |||||||||
| Day 4 | 13th October | |||||||||
| Day 5 | 20th October | |||||||||
| Day 6 | 25th October | |||||||||
| Day 7 | 26th October | |||||||||
| Day 8 | 27th October | |||||||||
| Day 9 | 3rd November | |||||||||
| Day 10 | 10th November | |||||||||
| Day 11 | 17th November | |||||||||
| Day 12 | 22nd November | |||||||||
| Day 13 | 23rd November | |||||||||
| Day 14 | 24th November | |||||||||
| Day 15 | 1st December | |||||||||
| Day 16 | 8th December | |||||||||
| Day 17 | 15th December | |||||||||
| 2026 | WINTER BREAK | |||||||||
| Day 18 | 12th January | |||||||||
| Day 19 | 19th January | |||||||||
| Day 20 | 26th January | |||||||||
| Day 21 | 2nd February | |||||||||
| Day 22 | 7th February | |||||||||
| Day 23 | 8th February | |||||||||
| Day 24 | 9th February | |||||||||
| Day 25 | 16th February | |||||||||
| Day 26 | 23rd February | |||||||||
| Day 27 | 2nd March | |||||||||
| Day 28 | 9th March | |||||||||
Foundation Certificate in Counselling
September 2025 – July 2026
Wednesday evenings, for ten months
- Dates: 24th September 2025 – 22nd July 2026
- Time: 18:00 – 21:00
- Location: TAC Tooting
- Fee: £2,600
Please note dates are subject to change
| 2025 | Wednesday (6pm – 9pm) |
| Day 1 | 24th September |
| Day 2 | 1st October |
| Day 3 | 8th October |
| Day 4 | 15th October |
| Day 5 | 22nd October |
| Day 6 | 29th October |
| Day 7 | 5th November |
| Day 8 | 12th November |
| Day 9 | 19th November |
| Day 10 | 26th November |
| Day 11 | 3rd December |
| Day 12 | 10th December |
| Day 13 | 17th December |
| 2026 | WINTER BREAK |
| Day 14 | 7th January |
| Day 15 | 14th January |
| Day 16 | 21st January |
| Day 17 | 28th January |
| Day 18 | 4th February |
| Day 19 | 11th February |
| Day 20 | 18th February |
| Day 21 | 25th February |
| Day 22 | 4th March |
| Day 23 | 11th March |
| Day 24 | 18th March |
| Day 25 | 25th March |
| EASTER BREAK | |
| Day 26 | 15th April |
| Day 27 | 22nd April |
| Day 28 | 29th April |
| Day 29 | 6th May |
| Day 30 | 13th May |
| Day 31 | 20th May |
| Day 32 | 27th May |
| Day 33 | 3rd June |
| Day 34 | 10th June |
| Day 35 | 17th June |
| Day 36 | 24th June |
| Day 37 | 1st July |
| Day 38 | 8th July |
| Day 39 | 15th July |
| Day 40 | 22nd July |
Payment options
Full payment: Initial deposit of £350 required on course agreement. Balance payment £2,250. Total – £2,600
Monthly payment: Initial deposit of £350 required on course agreement. 10 x monthly instalments of £250 by direct debit. Total – £2,850. (This increased fee includes administration costs).
Accelerated course full payment: Initial deposit of £450 required on course agreement. Balance payment £2150. Total – £2,600.
Accelerated course monthly payment: Initial deposit of £450 required on course agreement. 5 x monthly instalments of £480 by direct debit. Total – £2850. (This increased fee includes administration costs).
All fees are inclusive of 20% VAT. Deposits are non-refundable.
If you have any questions, give us a call to talk through course and payment plans on 020 3051 8235.
FIND OUT MORE
If you would like any further information, please contact the Training School team at [email protected] or call 020 3051 8235.
Our Foundation Certificate in Counselling offers a comprehensive overview of counselling in practice by discussing different theoretical approaches and processing your learning in skills practice. Students will explore their personal development within the group and write reflective journals to support their counselling journey.
To complete the course, students must attend 80% of the training and pass two written assignments of 3000 words. Students are supported by their lead tutor and peers throughout the course by having the space to reflect and process feedback. Students will also meet with their tutors for end of module tutorials. Our management team has an ‘open door policy’ to discuss any practical matters concerning your course.
To complete the course you will need to:
- Attend 80% of the training
- Complete a personal development journal
- Demonstrate satisfactory progress in theoretical understanding, counselling skills practice, personal development, and how theory relates to personal experience. You’ll receive reflections and feedback from your tutor and peers throughout the course
- Submit end-of-module reflective views
- Complete and pass two assignments (3000 words each)
- Attend end-of-module tutorials
- Be in personal therapy or have a minimum of twelve sessions of counselling with a qualified therapist during the first term of your course. (Students will fund their personal therapy)
Academic Writing Assistance (optional)
TAC works with Ash Phipps to give students access to tuition in academic writing. Ash has 10 years’ experience teaching study skills strategies to students who want to develop their writing skills and specialises in SpLDs (dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, ADD, Autism).
For any further questions and fees, please call 020 3051 8235 or email [email protected]
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions about the training process, our team is here to answer them – big or small. Don’t hesitate to call us!
Counselling: Course FAQs
Who does the teaching?
We ensure that all of our tutors are experienced counselling professionals. During the counselling course, you will attend face-to-face skills workshops and lectures provided by our specialist faculty. We strive to provide you with the most valuable training experience possible. Find out more about the faculty here.
Who can apply for TAC’s Foundation Certificate in Counselling?
You don’t need any previous qualifications or experience to enrol on this course.
What is the Enrolment Process?
Firstly, complete the online enrolment form, which includes a personal statement. You will then be invited to an online interview with a senior member of the Training School team. The interview is structured to give all students a similar experience. You will be asked questions to ensure that you have the time availability and emotional maturity to be able to commit to making the course a success.
How long is the Foundation Certificate in Counselling course?
Our Foundation Certificate in Counselling runs from one of our centres in Clapham or Tooting, south London. It is a part-time course, which provides 100 guided learning hours over ten months. You will attend face-to-face workshops and other training sessions during weekends throughout the year.
Will I gain practical experience too?
Yes. You’ll be practising counselling/helping skills with your peers throughout the course while also learning about clear, professional boundaries.
What can I study after the Foundation Certificate?
Following this course, you can enrol on the Diploma in Integrative Counselling and qualify as a professional counsellor. If you’re not sure about your next steps, you can always speak to a member of our team who will be able to answer your questions.
FIND OUT MORE
If you would like any further information, please contact the Training School team at [email protected] or call 020 3051 8235.
Student Reviews
Our Foundation Certificate in Counselling students have provided some great feedback on what developing your counselling skills can be like at The Awareness Centre. Read about their experience at The Awareness Centre Training School.
I started the Certificate in Counselling course with The Awareness Centre in January and I’ve enjoyed it so much. I feel I have learned so much in such a short time. Our tutor Bonny is excellent and is always ready to answer questions with a wealth of experience and knowledge; her passion for Counselling and for teaching our course really shines through. I’m lucky that I get to share the course with some brilliant people too, we have such a diverse and interesting group; I’ve really learned so much from everyone I’m working with.
Through the course my own personal development has been really interesting – to recognise my strengths but also areas that I was not aware of that needed more improvement, but this has still been a very positive process for me and I believe that although the work is always ongoing; I am a much better person for this course and look forward to continuing working on myself to become a good Counsellor in the future.
The training team has been excellent and very supportive and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend both TAC and the course to anyone.
I have recently completed the first module of the Awareness Centre Foundation Certificate. I think the quality of the teaching is very good, and the tutor has managed group dynamics very skilfully. She has ensured everyone gets an opportunity to contribute to discussions, and the way she has structured the training has maximised the opportunities for learning, both from her and from each other. I am enjoying the course and I recommend it to anyone who is keen to learn about person-centred counselling.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions about the training process, our team is here to answer them – big or small. Don’t hesitate to call us!
The Tutors
Click on the profiles below to learn more about our Foundation Certificate in Counselling tutors.
FIND OUT MORE
If you would like any further information, please contact the Training School team at [email protected] or call 020 3051 8235.