Annual Salary
£24,000 to £46,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
Swap to Medical or Social care or go back to all job sectors
Swap to Medical or Social care or go back to all job sectors
Counsellors help people talk about their situation and feelings in a safe and supportive way, and help them to cope and make positive changes.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings / weekends; attending events or appointments
There will be
3.9% more Counsellor jobs in 2029.
As a counsellor, you could use different types of therapy to:
You could work with individuals, couples, families or groups.
You could work in a therapy clinic, at a GP practice, at a school, at a college or from home.
Your working environment may be emotionally demanding.
You can get into this job through:
You could do a diploma, degree or postgraduate course in counselling or psychotherapy.
You might be able to study counselling alongside another subject like psychology, sociology or criminology.
You should look for a course that includes practical skills training and supervised work placements.
You'll usually need:
You could start by doing an introduction to counselling course. This can last up to 3 months and can help you decide if counselling is the right career for you.
After that, you can do further training and complete courses like:
You can find out more about the recommended training to become a counsellor from the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
You'll find it useful to have paid or unpaid work experience in counselling. You can find counselling volunteering opportunities through Do IT and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO).
You can volunteer and do training courses with counselling organisations, such as Relate, Samaritans and Cruse.
This can be useful experience before you take up professional counselling training.
You'll need to:
There's a lot of competition for paid work. Many counsellors do a mix of part time, voluntary and private work.
Counselling is often a second or additional career, and life experience is highly valued.
You may be expected to undergo counselling yourself as part of your training and reflect on it with your course supervisor. This might be needed to become accredited.
You could become a member of an organisation listed on the Professional Standards Authority's counselling register. This may be helpful when looking for work, and for many jobs it is essential.
You can find out more about careers in counselling from:British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP); UK Council for Psychotherapy; National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society; Health careers
You can also explore other careers in the psychological professions.
If you're a new counsellor, It's important to get peer support to develop your skills.
With experience you could:specialise in an area like bereavement support, relationships or addiction; become a counsellor supervisor or trainer; move into management or consultancy; set up your own practice and work for yourself
You'll need: