COSCA Certificate in Counselling Skills

Experiential courses offering an opportunity to develop the use of counselling skills and a first step for those wishing to train to become a Counsellor.

Applications open. Early application is advised due to there being limited places and high demand.

About our Certificate Courses

The Garnethill Centre continues to deliver training in counselling skills as it has done so for more than 30 years. The COSCA Certificate in Counselling Skills is a 120-hour training that supports participants to develop their use of counselling skills. It offers a substantial opportunity for personal and professional development in addition to providing a foundational learning from which individuals can proceed to undertake a full professional training to become a Counsellor. We will run two certificate courses during the 2026/27 academic year. Prospectuses for the respective courses can be accessed by clicking the links below:

Both these courses are validated by COSCA and offer the award of the Certificate in Counselling Skills, so that graduates completing either certificate course are eligible to apply to undertake a COSCA-validated Diploma in Counselling should they wish to undertake a full professional training to become a Counsellor.

Details of both these courses, and how they differ, are outlined below.

Certificate in Counselling Skills - a Psychodynamic Approach

TUESDAY EVENINGS + SELECTED SATURDAYS

Validated by COSCA, this course is also a 120-hour training programme in counselling skills, delivered over four modules and covering skills, knowledge, self-awareness and ethics. While this course explores different therapeutic approaches such as person-centred counselling and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), it introduces participants more specifically to the psychodynamic approach to counselling. Each course meeting includes an experiential group that participants attend in support of enhancing their self-awareness. The course is of value to people who work in helping professions who wish to develop counselling skills and is especially useful for individuals who are considering undertaking the Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling in order to train to become a therapist.

Our next course will begin in autumn 2026. We are now inviting applications. Please find the course prospectus for our 2026/27 course below for your perusal.

COSCA Certificate in Counselling Skills

THURSDAY EVENINGS + SELECTED SATURDAYS

The course is of value to people in a wide variety of caring and helping roles and professions (e.g. medical, nursing, social services, pastoral and voluntary) who may benefit from developing counselling skills, whether as an occasional or principal part of their work. The course is COSCA’s standard 120-hour training programme in counselling skills, delivered over four modules, which focuses on four key areas: skills, knowledge, self-awareness and ethics. It introduces participants to the learning and use of counselling skills while also exploring different approaches to counselling, including psychodynamic theory, person-centred therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Our next course will begin in autumn 2026. The prospectus and application form for the 2026/27 course can be accessed below. We are now inviting applications.

Course Arrangements

Both courses are provided on a non-profit basis and have competitive fees of only £375 per module.

The courses’ staff to student ratio ensures a high and continuous level of support is maintained.
Having obtained the certificate for either course, it is possible to proceed directly to undertake the Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling, which provides a full professional training enabling participants to qualify as Counsellors.

Helping you with some of your course-related queries

While there is no specific minimum academic entry requirement, a good general level of education, sufficient to enable course members to deal with theoretical learning and to write required assignments is necessary.
The COSCA Certificate in Counselling Skills will run on Thursday evenings from August 2026 - June 2027.
The Certificate in Counselling Skills - A Psychodynamic Approach will run from October 2026 - June 2027 on Tuesday evenings and selected Saturdays.
The fees for the courses are £375 per module.
Please contact us on (0141) 333-0730 or at admin@garnethillcentre.org.uk if you have further enquiries.

What our students say

"It is a journey of self discovery, if that is what you are looking for. Amazing skills that you can use in any part of your life/job".
"The course is well conducted and presented in a participative manner. It strikes me that the ambiance of each session is carefully constructed and maintained. A real sense of group identity is created and participants have a sense of belonging".
"It has been a fabulous journey and learning experience. I would recommend it to anyone".