Overseas

Overseas Training Courses

The National Counselling Society is a not for profit organisation whose primary role is the advancement of counselling and a part of this role is the support and encouragement of all our training providers.

We believe that achieving recognition of your courses is essential, as it gives confirmation of your professional standing to both your peers and your students and gives your organisation a voice in the future of our profession.

It is important to note that overseas training courses do not provide access to the Accredited Register for students completing training. The Professional Standards Authority’s (PSA) accredited register programme applies to the UK only, and neither ourselves or the PSA have any jurisdiction overseas. Instead, where 'Approved Overseas' training has been completed, graduates can apply for the register via the Complex application route.

Quality Checked Overseas

We advise all potential applicants for recognition for Quality Checking of courses to first have an informal discussion with the Society in order to assist your application and help you through the process.

This can be considered for anything from individual workshops, shorter foundation courses or distance learning courses.

We can consider individual workshops for CPD purposes on a per workshop basis. You must demonstrate a commitment to the NCS Code of Ethics.

For new Training Provider applications we require that courses submitted for Quality Checked status to have been successfully completed by at least one cohort of students. Participant feedback may be requested as part of the application process.

Fees for this course recognition is as follows:

Up to 1 Day Face to Face: £100 annually per course
Between 1 Day and 50 Face to Face Hours: £150 annually per course
More than 50 Face to Face Hours: £200 annually per course
Online only: £120 annually per course

Please complete and return the Overseas QC Application Form or QC ONLINE Application Form and Quality Checked Terms and Conditions.

Please send the above documents to the Society, by electronic transfer with all requested materials and supporting evidence. All documents submitted must be page numbered, clearly labelled and submitted in lesson/module order.

Assessment will commence following receipt of payment and ALL requested evidence and documentation as per the application form.

If you are unable to submit your application electronically please contact us for assistance – standards@nationalcounsellingsociety.org.

Approved Overseas

We advise all potential applicants for recognition for Approved Overseas courses to first have an informal discussion with the Society in order to assist your application and help you through the process.

Applying for Approved Overseas

The NCS approach to Approved Overseas course recognition is to adopt an easy to understand process for training providers which commences with an informal or initial conversation of how the course may or may not meet the Society's assessment criteria. This initial conversation enables trainers to determine which level of Society course recognition to apply for and decide whether elements of the course would need improvement to meet the Society's Training Standards.

Subsequent to this initial enquiry, should the preliminary indication provide that a course may be suitable for Approved Overseas course recognition, the formal process begins with a request for documentation and the formal assessment commences.

The NCS values the qualitative and subjective in counselling training alongside the quantified tests employed against the appropriate sets of standards. The overall determination for Approved Overseas course recognition shall be whether or not the course under review will graduate counsellors who are safe, competent and ethical to practice.

Approved

The Procedure

We advise all potential applicants for Approved Overseas course recognition to first have an informal discussion with the Society in order to assist your application and help you through the process.

Following an informal discussion, training providers should complete and return the documents below. Any submissions must be made in English, translated via an authorised translation service. Any associated costs must be met by the training provider.

1. Complete a full application form. You should, using this document as a guide, clearly signpost with specific page number and document references the places where your course meets the Society's standards. Writing "see attached documents" or similar will delay your application.

2. ApprovedTerms and Conditions

3. Payment – following receipt of your application form, we will send you an invoice. Approved Overseas course recognition fees are £450 per year (first year payment is £550 to cover administration fee).

Assessment will commence following receipt of payment and ALL requested evidence and documentation as per the application form.
If you are unable to submit your application electronically please contact us for assistance – standards@nationalcounsellingsociety.org.

Please note, the initial payment is non-refundable.

The Process

The Society will review the materials sent to support your application and if necessary, will revert to you with any issues that need clarification or further consideration. If, after the document and application review, the Society believes your course to be suitable for Approved Overseas course recognition, a Skype meeting or video content showing a class tutorial will be arranged/requested.

Following this our Professional Standards Committee will hold a panel meeting to make a decision on whether Approved Overseas course recognition can be granted. The committee may take the following action:

Offer Approved Overseas course recognition with no further requirements
Impose conditions before Approved Overseas course recognition can be accepted
Offer Approved Overseas course recognition with Action Points (steps the course provider must take within a reasonable time)
Offer Approved Overseas course recognition with Learning Points (steps the course provider is advised to take)

Following any decision, and the fulfilment of any conditions, your course will be given Approved Overseas course recognition, and you will be formally notified. Approved Overseas course recognition is subject to the course meeting the Terms & Conditions and is renewed on a yearly basis. The Society may request further information and take other reasonable measures to ensure that the standards of Approved Overseas course recognition continue to be met.

One important condition for this process is worth mentioning to all applicants: it is important that students and potential students are not misinformed about the Approval process or given to understand (e.g. through promotional material) that the course is likely to be, or will be given given Approved Overseas course recognition by the Society. Approved Overseas course recognition should only be communicated after the decision of Approval has been given. Approved Overseas course recognition will allow graduates access to the overseas directory, not the Accredited Register, and this must not be miscommunicated. The Society may require prior approval of any wording regarding this matter.