All Courses
Our Level 3 course is unique to the AETC. It introduces you to the counselling skills you will need to become a profesional counsellor. You will learn about techniques and tools used by our qualified counsellors every day in their practices.
If your aspirations are to train to become a counsellor, this course is the first step towards achieving your dream vocation. The Level 3 course is the entrance course to our Level 4 Diploma in counselling skills, and onto our Level 5 Advanced Diploma.
You will be taught by qualified tutors who are also practicing counsellors. The course is approved by the Professional Standards Authority accreditation scheme, and the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society accreditation scheme.
The duration of the course is 10 days, which is spread across 5 months, one weekend per month. The course involves interactive workshops, lectures and classroom discussion.
Level 3
The Level 3 Foundation course is the first stage of the training and assessment process and is the required prerequisite for our Level 4 NCPS accredited Diploma course. The prerequisite for this course is that you have a good understanding of spoken and written English, and a willingness to fully embrace gaining new knowledge, and to be open to self-development and personal growth.
All prospective learners who apply for this course, will have a short informal chat with our Training Coordinator, prior to the course commencing. This is an opportunity to ask questions and ascertain that this course, and the potential onward pathway to the Diploma in ETC is the best fit for you.
The Level 3 course duration is 10 days, which is spread across 5 months, and is one weekend of just 2 days per month. It is a complete course in itself and can be used for personal development alone; however, we would hope this course would act as the stepping stone to progress to the Level 4 Diploma with the aim of qualifying as a Counsellor, although, most participants do progress to the Diploma Level 4 course and graduate, and can choose to do this up to 6 months after the level 3 ends.
All AETC tutors are qualified counsellors who have their own practices and bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with the learners, and this particular course involves interactive workshops, lectures and lots of discussion, during which, learners will complete a personal journey of self-discovery, and maintain records to track their progress and document milestones. On completion of the course and to progress to the Level 4 Diploma course, learners will submit a written assignment and to book reviews which are marked by the training team. Successful learners may then continue on to the next level of training.
This course costs just £1,200 and we offer two payment options. You can pay up front using our early bird discount, which gives you £120 off the total cost, meaning that the amount you pay is discounted to £1,080, or you can pay a small deposit of £50 and then use our easy payment plan, which allows you to spread the cost over five easier, more manageable installments of £240 per month, which are to be paid prior to each of the 5 study weekends.
The Level 3 Foundation Course will give you a good understanding of what Emotional Therapeutic Counselling (ETC) entails. The Foundation stage is devoted to understanding ETC and exploring the techniques this therapy uses. Throughout the programme you will collect a comprehensive library of unique tools, which will ultimately help you in your counselling career or for personal development. This tool set is unique to the AETC and forms the foundation for further training with us. The foundation course is specifically designed to teach aspiring counsellors to develop the skills and confidence to work with the key subjects likely to be experienced in the counselling room.
Our quality checked training programme is quality checked by an external examiner on behalf of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Societies (NCPS) and must meet their rigorous standards and pass their meticulous assessment process. By meeting these standards, our Level 3 Foundation Course has been awarded Quality Check Recognition, which is equivalent to Ofqual level 3.
This foundation course is therefore externally moderated to ensure the consistency of our excellent teaching and incredible course content and the NCPS Quality Check Recognition acknowledges our professional standing with both peers and clients.
The NCPS external examiner commented in a recent report “The quality of teaching and the students’ engagement with the teaching and learning process remains outstanding’.”
Click here to see our latest NCPS Recognition report
Click here to see our Dec 2024 report
Click here to see the May 2024 report
Click here to see the Dec 2023 Report
Click here to see the Sept 2022 report
This qualification has Quality Check Recognition by the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS) as a Level 3 Certificate, comprising of 90 guided learning hours and 30 hours of self-guided reading assignments, this equates to a total of 120 hours total qualification time (TQT). Learners are required to present a written presentation at the end of the course for assessment.
The 10 training days will cover the following:
- Introduction to Emotional Therapeutic Counselling (ETC)
- Understanding guilt, shame, hurt, loss, fear
- Who would benefit from ETC
- The bereavement process
- Emotional development in children
- Introduction to dreamwork
- The process of ETC
- The martyr complex
- Introduction to ETC tools and interventions
- Using visualisation, emotional expression and validation
- Parenting, misogyny, personal power, self-truth
- Family dynamics
- Catharsis
- Creative self-expression
All AETC courses are run at our offices at the Isbourne Holistic Centre in Cheltenham.
If commuting by car there are several off-site parking options available.
Bath Terrace, GL50 2BA (pay & display) – 10 minute walk.
Rodney Road, GL50 1HT (pay & display) – 2 minute walk.
Regent Arcade, GL50 1JZ (multi storey) – 10 minute walk.
If you plan to stay overnight there are countless accommodation options close by, including B & B’s, Guesthouses and Hotels, including a Holiday Inn Express and a Premier Inn. Prices range from £37.00 per night upwards and there are plenty of local shops, bars and restaurants.
AETC Address
Isbourne Holistic Centre
2 Wolseley Terrace
Cheltenham
GL50 1TH
Level 3 Foundation (March 2025 Intake)
Weekend One March 8th and 9th 2025
Weekend Two April 12th and 13th 2025
Weekend Three May 10th and 11th 2025
Weekend Four June 14th and 15th 2025
Weekend Five July 12th and 15th 2025
Level 3 Foundation (October 2025 Intake)
Weekend One October 4th and 5th 2025
Weekend Two November 1st and 2nd 2025
Weekend Three December 6th and 7th 2025
Weekend Four January 10th and 11th 2026
Weekend Five February 7th and 8th 2025
Level 4 Diploma
The Level 4 Diploma course provides professional accreditation and certification in counselling. The duration of this course is 38 days, which is spread across 19 months, one weekend per month. The course involves interactive workshops, lectures and lots of discussion and exercises. Students will complete write-ups of each weekend to demonstrate understanding and personal insights of the weekend. Some days will have skills practice whereby students practice specific or general counselling skills and will be given feedback. The course will consist of 458 total qualification hours (TQT) excluding the 100 hour supervised counselling placement.
After attending 18 study days (including five mandatory pre-placement subjects) and associated write-ups have been successfully completed, the student (if ready) can seek a placement to begin to build the 100 hours of supervised practice necessary to go forward to assessment, which is a face-to-face assessment.
AETC do not provide placements; it is the responsibility of the student to secure a suitable placement.
There are 38 training days which cover the following subjects:
· Visualisation & Imagery · Loss and Bereavement
· Suicidal Feelings · Domestic Violence
· Aspects of Child Sexual Abuse · Eating Disorders
· Family Dynamics · Understanding illness and medication
· Creative Journaling · Safeguarding
· Revision of Foundation Course Techniques · Diversity and Equality
· Anger and Forgiveness · Setting Up Practice
· Overview of counselling Modalities · Personality Disorders
· Inner Child · Sexual Diversity, porn and the sexualisation of children
· Communication and Listening Skills · Effects of social media
· Working with Addictions · Domestic violence
· Dreamwork · Depression, the brain, and recovery
· Energy Balance & Colour Therapy · Rape and sexual assault
· The Whole Self and Self-awareness · CPTSD, TRAUMA and PTSD
· Fear/Phobias and Panic Attacks · Remote counselling via online and telephone
Students are also required to read and review five textbooks from an approved list and review and provide a written review of each training day. The total qualification time (excluding the 100-hour supervised counselling placement) is 394 hours.
All AETC courses are run at our offices at the Isbourne Holistic Centre in Cheltenham.
If commuting by car there are several off-site parking options available.
Bath Terrace, GL50 2BA (pay & display) – 10 minute walk.
Rodney Road, GL50 1HT (pay & display) – 2 minute walk.
Regent Arcade, GL50 1JZ (multi storey) – 10 minute walk.
If you plan to stay overnight there are countless accommodation options close by, including B & B’s, Guesthouses and Hotels, including a Holiday Inn Express and a Premier Inn. Prices range from £37.00 per night upwards and there are plenty of local shops, bars and restaurants.
AETC Address
Isbourne Holistic Centre
2 Wolseley Terrace
Cheltenham
GL50 1TH
By meeting the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Societies (NCPS) rigorous standards and meticulous assessment process, our Level 4 Counselling Course has been accredited with Diploma qualification status. Our Level 4 counselling course is externally moderated to ensure consistency of excellent teaching and course content and Diploma accreditation is also acknowledgement of our professional standing with both peers and clients.
The NCPS external examiner commented in a recent report “The quality of teaching and the students’ engagement with the teaching and learning process remains outstanding’.”
Click here to see our latest NCPS Recognition report
Click here to see our Dec 2024 report
Click here to see the May 2024 report
Level 5
The Level 5 Advanced Diploma course is a brand new course aimed at postgraduates (from the Level 4 Diploma) wishing to gain an equivalent Level 5 Advanced Diploma. The prerequisites are that students must have a level 4 diploma in a humanistic counselling modality. The course will consist of 90 guided learning hours plus 30 hours of self-guided reading assignments giving a TQT of 120 hours. The focus of the course will be the ‘inner child’ model and will primarily be aimed at qualified counsellors who want to gain knowledge of this particular ‘specialism’. We will incorporate appropriate formative and summative assessments and anticipate submitting this qualification to you as a standalone qualification. Course dates to be confirmed.