| Code | n/a |
|---|---|
| Duration | 4 Years (Part-time at weekends) |
| Teaching Mode | Part-Time. See Additional Teaching Mode Information for more info. |
| Qualifications | MSc |
| Fees | See Fees and Costs for full details. |
| Closing Date | Contact admin@tpti.ie. |
| Venue | Turning Point™ Institute, 23 Herbert Street, Dublin 2 |
| Credits | 100 |
| Professional Accrediting Body | Irish Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy (IACP); Irish Association of Humanistic & Integrative Psychotherapy (IAHIP); European Association of Psychotherapy (EAP) |
| Start Date | September 2023 |
Course Outline
We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are. ~ Talmud
Turning Point™ founded in 1986, was one of the first organisations in Ireland to offer Humanistic and Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy services. The Turning Point™ Institute (TPI) offers a part-time MSc in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy validated and awarded by University College Cork.
At TPI, we believe in the ability of the individual to actualise within a developmental and transpersonal framework and be guided by their own ability to effect change. A key aim of our programme is to enable our students to develop their own approach to integration, both for themselves and for the practice of Counselling and Psychotherapy.
The MSc programme is delivered by Turning Point™ Institute, 23 Herbert Street, Dublin and awarded by University College Cork.
Turning Point™ Institute, Dublin
Additional Teaching Mode Information
Theory
Our integrative approach is embedded within a Humanistic framework and informed by the transpersonal approach of psychosynthesis and the developmental insights of a psychodynamic orientation. These main modalities are underpinned by modules in the Practice of Psychotherapy, Personality and Developmental Psychology, Psychiatry, and Research.
Practice
Skills Training takes place mainly in small groups. Once you have successfully passed the Year 2 modules and are deemed “Fit to Practice”, you begin to see clients from May/June, at the end of Year 2. You cannot begin to see clients until all modules in the year have been passed. The Institute will make every effort to support our students in finding a suitable placement. However, Turning Point™ Institute cannot guarantee to provide students with clients and you are therefore ultimately responsible for finding your own placements/clients.
Course Practicalities
The part-time MSc in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy runs over four academic years from the date of first registration for the programme.
Our MSc students take modules to a total value of 100 credits. This includes taught modules to the value of 60 credits over three years incorporating approximately 640 hours of structured contact time. Lectures and experiential group learning take place over 8/9 three-day weekends during the academic year.
Students take a second Clinical Supervision module (10 credits) in Year 4. A Research Dissertation (30 credits) is submitted in the Summer of Year 4. During Year 4 you are provided with Academic Supervisors by TPI. Payment for this supervision is included in the course fees.
Time Commitment
The time commitment is for one weekend each month for 8 (or 9) months from September/October to May/June each year.
In addition, all students are required to:
- Attend fortnightly Clinical Supervision (Years 3 and 4)
- Attend regular Academic Supervision (Year 4)
- Engage in Peer Counselling weekly (Year 2) including during the summer breaks
- Attend a 2-hour study group approximately once a month including during the summer breaks
- Attend personal therapy weekly during the four years of the course
Terms & Conditions of Acceptance and provisional timetables will be sent to applicants when they are offered a place on the course. Further course details are sent out when applicants have accepted their places and paid full fees.
Assessment
Assessment is based on attendance, course work, and clinical requirements and includes written work and skills development.
There is no formal written examination. Each student in training is considered as an individual on an individual journey. Students are assessed each year and progress from year to year only when they have met all the requirements to date, including the clinical requirements.
An external examiner is involved in the assessment for all years. We also operate an appeals procedure if necessary.
Clinical Requirements
Student/Client Contact and Supervision
Student/Client Contact and Supervision students must have completed a minimum of one hundred supervised client contact hours in Year 3 and a further one hundred hours in Year 4.
Personal Therapy
Personal Therapy students are required to undertake their own personal therapy weekly (for a minimum of 40 hours a year) during Years 2, 3, and 4 of the course. To allow students time to find and settle with a therapist, a minimum of 20 hours is required in Year 1 but students are encouraged to attend weekly.
Group Process
Group Process students engage in specific group processes throughout the four-year course. Process work is also incorporated into the Skills Training and some other modules.
Lists of accredited members of the Irish Association of Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy (IAHIP), a section of the Irish Council for Psychotherapy (ICP), and the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP) are available from their offices/websites.
Our students are responsible for their own personal therapy fees. Personal therapy is mandatory but is not assessed. You must submit a record of personal therapy hours, signed by your therapist, at the end of each academic year.
Why Choose This Course
At Turning Point™ Institute we believe that the qualities and skills required to ‘teach’ Counselling and Psychotherapy are complex and unique and that life-long learning and self-development are central to individual and professional development. Our Turning Point™ Institute graduates are respected and welcomed throughout the profession for their integrative approach to psychotherapy.
Placement or Study Abroad Information
Clinical Placements
Having received results at the end of Year 2, you are required to begin to practice in suitable clinical placements. Our students receive assistance in this regard from the Turning Point™ Institute Placement Coordinator.
Turning Point™ Institute will liaise with placements in relation to: the screening of potential clients, provision of appropriate clients, development of an appropriate ‘termination’ plan for the student’s caseload at the end of the placement, referral of any disciplinary issues with the student/trainee to TPI, and the completion of Referral, Intake, and Client/Trainee Therapist Contract forms.
Any issues arising in relation to placement are referred in the first place to the Placement Coordinator. Some placements and agencies have internal case management. This is entirely separate from Clinical Supervision. Payment for clinical supervision is included in the course fees, in Years 3 and 4.
Requirements
- Applicants should have a Level 8 Honours Degree (at least a 2.2 or equivalent).
- Applicants who do not possess a primary degree may gain entry through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). RPL applicants will be assessed on a case-by-case basis through the presentation of a 3,000-word essay and a 1,000-word book review which will be examined and marked by an external examiner. The fee for this will be €150 and must be borne by the applicant. If they attain a mark of 40% or more they will then be called for an interview.
Interview
Prospective applicants will be called for an interview, the purpose of which is to ascertain whether the person has the necessary qualities, both academic and personal, to undertake a professional training programme in Counselling and Psychotherapy.
Interviews are usually carried out by two members of the faculty and the offer of a place on the programme is contingent upon the applicant completing a successful interview. Supporting documentary evidence of qualifications will be required when offered a place on the course.
Those selected for interview will normally have a minimum of 5 years post-graduate experience. Pre-graduate experience will be considered.
Application Form
Interested applicants are required to complete a detailed application form. For further information and application forms, contact TPI at admin@tpti.ie.
Fees and Costs
- There is a non-refundable application fee of €150.
- For RPL applicants who are short-listed for the second round of selection, there is an additional non-refundable fee of €150.
- A non-refundable deposit of €2,250 must be paid on acceptance of a place on the course. The balance of fees must be paid in full before the commencement of the first weekend of the course year.
The current fee for Year 1 is €6,700 (this does not include the fee for registration). Fees for Years 2, 3 & 4 are available on request from TPI (admin@tpti).
Note fees may increase from year to year.
The course is eligible for tax relief under Section 473A, Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997. For further information contact your Regional Revenue Office or visit the Revenue’s website www.revenue.ie.
How To Apply
Download the TPI application form from the TPI website.
Closing Date
See www.turningpoint.ie or email admin@tpti.ie.