Annual Salary
£28,000 to £50,000
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 discuss their problems and feelings in a confidential setting.
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
3.8% more Counsellor jobs in 2027.
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 to work out 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 can volunteer and do training courses with organisations like 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'll also be expected to do counselling yourself and reflect on your experience with a supervisor as this is needed to become accredited.
Volunteering
You'll find it useful to have paid or unpaid work experience in counselling. You can find counselling volunteering opportunities on Do IT.
You could become a member of a body on theProfessional Standards Authority's counselling register to improve your chances of getting a job.
You can find out more about careers in counselling from:British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP); UK Council for Psychotherapy; National Counselling Service; 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. It's unusual to go straight into working for yourself.
With experience you could:specialise in an area like bereavement support, relationships or addiction; set up your own practice and work for yourself; become a counsellor supervisor or trainer; move into management or consultancy
You'll need: