Getting started with R86

Before you can register on R86, there are a few things you will need to consider in terms of these issues:

entry requirements for R86 and the external counselling training components of this qualification
external counselling qualifications that we can accept for R86 level 1
suitability of external practice settings and placements
personal development needs when studying the qualification
registration with the OU and credit transfer for prior learning
funding and progression on R86.

We will go through these issues step-by-step in the following sections.

Entry requirements

You need to have completed a counselling training that meets SCoPEd Column A minimum requirements (minimum Level 4 Diploma; minimum of 300 training hours; a minimum of 100 client counselling hours) and covers the SCoPEd Column A competencies (see Accepted external counselling qualifications), and be able to produce evidence for this, before you can register on R86 BSc (Hons) Counselling. You will need to show that you are qualified to practice at SCoPEd framework ‘Column A’ by providing documentary evidence of:

Relevant counselling qualifications recognised as meeting the Stage 1 requirements for this qualification (see Accepted external counselling qualifications). You can evidence this through a diploma certificate and course transcripts, and evidence of course accreditation (if relevant).
Membership of a SCoPEd partner professional body and recognition as qualified to practice at SCoPEd Column A by that body (as evidenced by membership category). SCoPEd member bodies that provide Column A membership are: Association of Christian Counsellors, British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), Human Givens Institute and National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS). This can, for example, be evidenced by a PDF showing BACP registered and/or evidence of BACP Certificate of Proficiency or a PDF showing NCPS accredited registrar status.by providing a PDF showing BACP registered and/or evidence of BACP Certificate of Proficiency or a PDF showing NCPS accredited registrar status.
Cleared criminal background check (DBS) no more than two years old.

If you have not already done so when first registering for R86, before being accepted onto the first Level 2 ‘open practice’ module (D230), you will need to upload evidence that you meet the entry requirements for this module. This will involve evidencing that you:

are in counselling practice/placement where you are seeing clients (with minimum 25 completed client hours per year of study guaranteed) – please see practice/placement requirements below;
have a supervisor who will provide the required level of supervision and who will complete required course supervisor reports on their counselling work– please see supervisor requirements below;
have relevant practice insurance.

Please be aware that if you still need to complete the external counselling training components of this qualification (accredited UK counselling courses at level 4 from an approved provider covering SCoPEd framework ‘Therapist A’ competencies/requirements), these training courses will have their own entry requirements set according to each provider (for more information on this see Introductory counselling skills and theory training).

Accepted external counselling qualifications

For R86 BSc (Hons) Counselling, we will accept courses as external counselling training components for level 1 if they map onto the SCoPEd framework ‘Therapist A’ competencies, meeting the following criteria:

the course is pitched at FHEQ Level 4 Diploma minimum,
it has at least 300 teaching hours,
trainees on the course are required to complete 100 supervised client hours minimum.

If you are planning to complete, or have already completed, a FHEQ Level 4 counselling training course in one of the following four categories, then this can be accepted as meeting external learning requirements for level 1 (once you have completed the course and can provide evidence for it).

CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (TC-L4)

To be eligible for the CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (TC-L4), you must have successfully completed both CPCAB’s Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills and Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Studies, or their equivalent. These qualifications provide the essential foundation in counselling knowledge and skills needed to progress to practitioner-level training. You can search for training providers offering the TC-L4 qualification using CPCAB’s online Centre Finder. When searching, look for either ‘Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling – Standard’ or ‘Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling – BACP Approved’, depending on your preference and professional goals.

CPCAB works with a wide network of approved centres across the UK, currently over 200 training centres and 400 locations. While a centre may not be available in every location, CPCAB aims to ensure broad access and supports delivery in as many regions as possible. The Centre Finder lists each approved provider and the qualifications they are approved to deliver. Delivery is subject to demand. If a course is not currently available, we recommend prospective learners contact local providers to register interest, which may influence delivery decisions.

Higher National Diploma in Counselling (HND): HND Counselling – SQA

There is also a course finder function on this website under ‘Where can you take this course?’

Qualifications completed by students who are a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) or an accredited registrant of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS)

As registered BACP member, you have either graduated from a BACP accredited course or completed a non-accredited course and passed the BACP Certificate of Proficiency (which is aligned with Column A of the SCoPEd framework).

BACP: This is BACP’s accredited course directory: BACP - British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy where you can search for courses.

NCPS: Here is NCPS’s course finding tool: NCPS | Counselling Courses – you need to look for ‘Accredited courses’

Other non-accredited counselling training courses

These may be considered, as long as they meet the SCoPEd framework ‘Therapist A’ criteria listed above (this could e.g. include University counselling courses at Level 4 minimum, or non-accredited courses offered by other training providers) and include 120 credits at FHEQ L4/SCQF L7.

External practice settings and placements

At level 2 and 3 of R86, all students will need to be working in a supervised placement or counselling practice setting (including private practice) to gain the required practice and supervised client hours - a minimum of 50 hours at each level 2 and level 3, and 350 hours by the end of level 3 together. (It is possible to include documented (see below) hours completed after the end of the inital qualification and before enrolment on R86.

Please be aware that there are practice/placement setting, supervisor and supervision requirements for the 50 minimum hours that you must log in the two practice modules of this qualification. Find out more in the section below.

For the practice hours to be counted towards the qualification, they need to be documented through a practice portfolio in both modules (D230 and D330). The practice portfolio will include details of each hour of claimed practice in each practice setting, supervision logs evidencing appropriate supervision for each practice settings and supervisor reports that evidence the documented hours. The practice hours and supervision logs will be audited by tutors on the two modules. All the assignments on the two ‘open practice’ modules will require also, you to draw on your practice (e.g., in form of case studies/process reports).

Please be aware R86 BSc (Hons) Counselling requires you to self-source your practice placements and practice settings (which can include your private practice, provided you have the necessary supervision arrangement in place) and to take responsibility for being able to meet the practice hours requirement.

The Open University does not carry clinical responsibility for students as this is carried by the placements or practice settings/agencies in which the students are working. However, there will be arrangements in place so that placements will be contacted/notified if anything comes up in the course of OU study that gives concerns about a student’s fitness to practice.

Practice/Placement requirements

To meet the practice requirements for both modules (D230 and D330), you must be actively seeing clients and log a minimum of 25 hours of practice per module, totalling 50 hours across both modules. These practice hours must be conducted with individual clients aged 16 and older and can be either in-person or a combination of in-person and online. However, phone and online counselling hours will only count if you have prior training and experience in this format or if you have completed the optional Block 2 on online counselling in D230. If most of your practice is online or via phone, you must still complete at least 10 in-person hours within the required 25 hours per module. Additionally, you must maintain appropriate personal practice/indemnity insurance while seeing clients and hold membership with your professional body throughout both modules.

Practice/placement setting contexts in which students are seeing clients need to be suitable in terms of providing sufficient support for a Column A counsellor who is working with the more complex clients/presentations that require Column B competencies. This will include the setting, for example, meeting the following criteria:

sufficient professional support and suitable supervision to enable students to work safely and ethically with more complex clients
an appropriate safeguarding policy and procedure
appropriate and GDPR compliant systems for keeping and storing client record and session notes
suitable methods in place for onward referral
appropriate methods for client assessment, including for suitability for online/phone sessions where relevant.

Supervisor/Supervision requirements

For hours logged across the modules, supervisors must meet the course criteria that ensures they have the necessary knowledge and skills for supervising students who are developing Column B competences. For this qualification this means that supervisors must be:

A SCoPEd Column B member of any of the SCoPEd partners or
At a a level that is deemed equivalent in the case of other professionals. This is defined as:
- A Counselling or Clinical Psychologist (Professional body membership: British Psychological Society)
- A Column A member of any of the SCoPEd partners who has a postgraduate supervision qualification (minimum PG Diploma)

Students on R86 must complete a minimum of 1.5 hours of supervision per calendar month, which can be individual supervision, a combination of individual and group supervision, or group supervision. For group supervision, if there are four or fewer supervisees, you may claim half of the total group time. If there are five or more supervisees, the total supervision hours should be divided by the number of participants, and you can claim the resulting time. Peer supervision is not permitted for this qualification.

Personal development needs

In addition to the learning and practice components required to qualify as a counsellor you will typically be expected to undertake as part of your Column A level training a minimum number of hours of personal development. For many people this involves undertaking 30 hours of personal counselling (with an approved counsellor) but alternative ways of gaining this personal development are available. Details will be provided by the local learning provider of your non-OU study.

Registration with the OU and recognition of prior learning

Although you cannot complete your application online for R86, you will be able to download an application form which will list the evidence you need to provide. This can be returned by email and your application will be reviewed. If eligible, your external level 4 counselling qualification will be shown as credits linked to the BSc (Hons) Counselling degree on your OU study record, and we’ll contact you to advise on how to enrol on your first module of OU study. Please note there is a deadline date in which to submit your application (usually in August), and this is usually four weeks prior to the final enrolment date for the first module. The application form will advertise the specific deadline date.

Credit transfer at Stage 2 of the qualification

You can be granted a module exemption from the Stage 2 module D241 Exploring Mental Health and Counselling via credit transfer if you have successfully completed both

CPCAB Level 5 Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling (30 credits)
CPCAB Level 5 Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapeutic Skills and Theory (30 credits)

totalling 60 credits. To apply for this module exemption, you will need to complete and return the Credit Transfer application form together with your original CPCAB module certificate/s. You do not need to provide a transcript or syllabus for this CPCAB study. More information on how to check and transfer credits for previous studies can be found on the credit transfer website.

Funding and progression

Please note that currently government funding such as Student Fee Loans and Advanced Leaner loans cannot be claimed for study at two different institutions in the same academic year. If you are able to access government funding to study the non-OU element of this qualification (which will be affected by the centre you study at, and local funding regulations in UK nation where you live), this may increase the length of time it takes you to complete your studies.