MPhil/PhD Psychotherapy & Counselling Studies Regent's University London

Regent’s was the first UK institution to offer an MPhil/PhD in Psychotherapy & Counselling Studies.

From the beginning, the emphasis has been on welcoming students from a wide range of academic disciplines relevant to psychotherapy, psychology and counselling studies.

The degree offers the opportunity to immerse yourself deeply in the research experience and interact with others at this level of academic work.

The PhD is an academic degree and does not lead to professional registration in psychotherapy or counselling, or to chartered counselling psychology status.

This programme is validated and awarded by the University of Wales, UK.

Why should I choose this programme?

The overall aim of the PhD programme is to enable you to produce a doctoral thesis that makes an original contribution to the creation, interpretation and/or application of new knowledge in the field of psychotherapy, psychology and counselling. This may be done either through conceptual and/or empirical research.

Key skills, aims and objectives

• Advance conceptual thinking in the field, through making links between psychotherapy/psychology/counselling and other related disciplines such as philosophy, social science, history and social anthropology
• Identify and develop appropriate paradigms for exploring these links
• Contribute to the comparative study of psychotherapeutic and psychological theories and their applications while paying attention to the underlying philosophical assumptions and the philosophical coherence of the theories
• Develop a critical and reflective understanding of debates and controversies within a chosen area of study
• Advance the development of research methods and models relevant to psychotherapy, psychology and counselling
• Conceptualise, design and implement a project for the generation of new knowledge, applications or understanding
• Generate innovative connections between theoretical knowledge and its application to practice
• Develop the skills to work independently and autonomously in a research capacity and to contribute and disseminate original work to the field

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Entry requirements

We require completion of either the taught components of RUL’s MA Psychotherapy & Counselling, or equivalent Master's level professional training in psychotherapy, counselling, counselling psychology or an associated area of expertise. It is desirable to also be registered as a psychotherapist or counsellor with the UKCP or BACP, or as a BPS chartered psychologist*. Applicants are required to have sufficient background knowledge and experience in research methodology** and to present a detailed research proposal whose topic, focus, research structure and plan of study is both relevant to the specialist areas of psychotherapy, psychology and counselling, and also sufficiently original to be eligible for MPhil/PhD research. Please note: applicants will be expected to attend an interview before an unconditional offer can be made. *In the case of overseas candidates, evidence of equivalent qualifications will be accepted. **Some candidates will be required to extend their knowledge base by attending a research methods module. For those applicants whose mother tongue is not English, we also require evidence of English language proficiency. Please refer to our website for further details.