PhD

Applying for a PhD in Counselling and Psychotherapy: Some Pointers

I’m sometimes asked about the process of applying for a PhD in counselling and psychotherapy and whether it’s worth doing, so I wanted to put together some pointers. Just to say, this blog is written from a personal perspective, for study within a UK context, and the focus is on research-based PhDs rather than professional doctorates. More on that distinction below.

Why should I want to do a PhD?

There’s probably a good chance that you shouldn’t. Yes, it’s pretty cool being able to write ‘Dr’ before your name when you fill in forms (at least for the first few times) but a PhD is nearly always a long, hard slog of 3 to 4 years or more (mine took about eight!): moments of insight, excitement, and achievement interspersed with long periods of boredom, frustration, and sheer hard work. Then there’s the emotional toil; and, like your original counselling or psychotherapy training, it can play havoc with your relationships. So don’t ask yourself whether you want to do a PhD when you’re feeling inspired, eager, and motivated. Ask yourself after a long, hard day’s work when all you want to do is pour yourself a glass of wine and flop down, mindlessly, in front of The Great British Bake Off. And, if you are going to try and do a PhD, make sure you really know why. I’d say that doing a PhD makes sense if you:

  • Want to go into academia/teaching as a career.

  • Want to go into research as a career (though there are very limited options here).

  • Really, really love research and want to spend a long period of time immersed in it.

  • Have a specific area of interest that you are really committed to making an original and significant contribution to.

I’m sure there are other reasons, but they need to be really good ones, and ones that are going to sustain you over the course of the programme. If your reason for applying is just that you’re not really sure what to do next, there’s a good chance that the hard slog of a PhD is not for you.

So what actually is a PhD in Counselling/Psychotherapy?

A PhD is generally a series of research studies, culminating in the writing of a dissertation (or ‘thesis’) of 80,000 words or so. Essentially, you’re writing a book, but one based on some systematic research process. Before you do anything else, have a look at some counselling or psychotherapy PhD theses to get a feel for what you’ll need to do: for instance, Adam Gibson’s Shared decision-making in counselling and psychotherapy (2019, University of Roehampton) or Katie McArthur’s Effectiveness, process and outcomes in school-based humanistic counselling (2013, University of Strathclyde).

A PhD programme doesn’t generally have a clinical component, and there’s often only a small amount of structured teaching—usually around research methods. Generally, the bulk of the work is self-study, alongside regular meetings with your supervisor(s) (perhaps 1-2 hours, once a month or so). PhDs can usually be undertaken on a full time basis (taking around 3 to 5 years) or part-time basis (4 to 6 years, and sometimes more).

A ‘PhD’ is generally a wholly research-based program of study, and is different from a ‘professional doctorate’, which tends to have a more clinical, professional, and/or reflective element (see, for example, the Metanoia Institute Doctorate in Psychotherapy by Professional Studies, or the University of Chester Doctor of Professional Studies in Counselling and Psychotherapy). These latter courses offer a more holistic programme of development for qualified counsellors or psychotherapists and often make more sense to undertake—unless your interest is solely on the research side of things.

A PhD is also very different from a doctorate in counselling psychology or clinical psychology, like our PsychD in Counselling Psychology at the University of Roehampton. These courses are for graduates in psychology and offer a full professional training from start to finish.

What should i focus on?

Generally, it’s good to start the process of exploring PhDs with some idea of what you want to look at (pointers on choosing a research topic can be found here). This doesn’t need to be fully formed—indeed, it’s important that you’re open to input from prospective supervisors—but having some sense of the field that you want to look at, the kinds of questions that you want to ask (and, perhaps, the method you might adopt) is important in being able to take things forward. So, for instance, you might want to look at something like, ‘Autistic children’s experiences of counselling,’ or ‘The role of empathy in psychotherapy with older adults,’ or ‘A phenomenological analysis of transference.’ Ideally, it’s good to write this up as maybe a page or so of ideas, so that it’s something you can send out to prospective supervisors to start a discussion about your ideas.

Should I approach potential supervisors?

Yes. You don’t have to, but I would generally suggest you find the leading academics in your subject area, or the particular method you’re wanting to adopt, and email them to find out if it’s something that they might, potentially, be interested in supervising. When you do that, it’s important to have some idea of what it is that you want to do; and the brief, one page sketch, as detailed above, is the kind of thing you can send them to let them know more. That’s the kind of thing that works for me if someone approaches me in this regard: if it’s very vague and open (‘I’m thinking of doing a PhD, sort of, maybe, what do you think?’) it can be a bit frustrating; if someone sends through screeds and screeds of an extremely detailed proposal, it can feel a bit overwhelming and like there’s not much flexibility there (but better the latter than the former).

Bear in mind that, generally, academics will only take on a small number of PhD students, so for them to want to work with you it has to be very much in their subject area. For instance, I’d be interested in PhD proposals on subjects like relational depth, or humanistic counselling in schools, or existential therapy; but if someone approached me with a PhD proposal for Transactional Analysis, even if I might think it was a great idea, I wouldn’t feel able to take it on. If you approach someone, though, you can always ask them to let you know other potential supervisors who might be more appropriate.

Can I Apply Directly to a University?

Yes, you can do it that way too. For instance, you could directly apply to the University of Roehampton here. (In fact, even if you have spoken to an academic who’s expressed interest in working with you, you would still need to formally apply through such channels.) If you’ve got a strong PhD application a university will probably give it close consideration whether or not they’ve got a specialist in the specific area. However, the advantage of approaching an academic first is it gives you some time to refine your proposal in line with what they may see as the key, or best, questions in that area. Often, there’s an iterative process of some initial informal discussion with an academic, maybe a refining of the research question, then a formal application—after which, of course, there’s further refinement and development of the research plan.

Where should I apply to?

There’s lot of different universities where you can do PhDs on counselling and psychotherapy topics. Sometimes that will be in a department of psychology, sometimes within a particular counselling or psychotherapy unit. Sometimes as part of an educational degree. In theory, pretty much any university should allow you to apply there for a PhD in the counselling and psychotherapy field.

Given that research meetings often aren’t that frequent, and can often be conducted online, geographical proximity needn’t be a major consideration. For instance, I’ve worked well with PhD students at the other end of the UK, as well as in mainland Europe. PhD programmes that have some taught elements will require some face-to-face attendance though. Also, at least a little face to face meetings with a supervisor—even if it’s only once a year or so—is generally a good idea (excepting COVID-19!).

So I’d tend to say apply to a university based on where the best supervisor(s) is going to be. That is, someone who knows the areas (or methods) you’re interested in and has published in it, has shown interest and motivation if you’ve approached them, and feels able to support you in your research programme. One thing you really don’t want is to end up with a supervisor allocated to you who feels that they’re having to take you on. That’s rare: but being proactive in identifying the right supervisor, liaising with them, and then applying to the respective university is generally the best way of ensuring you’ll get the support you need.

Also, there may be advantages in applying to a university which has a group of students doing PhDs in related areas, so that you have a community around you to discuss your work with, learn from others, and get support. That’s something you can find out from the academics there, or ask on interview. If the university has an active culture of psychotherapy and counselling research, that’s also probable good sign. Do they have a research centre in this area, for instance (like our CREST Research Centre at the University of Roehampton), or seminars, or do academics and students from this university regularly attend conferences like the annual BACP Research Conference? Having that active, engaged community around you may be really important in sustaining your interest and motivation over the course of the programme. You really don’t want to do this all on your own.

What qualifications do I need?

In most instances, the main thing to show is that you have experience of research, ideally in the counselling and psychotherapy field. So a Master’s in the area (for instance, an MSc in Research Methods) would be ideal, or a Master’s in counselling or psychotherapy which involved some significant research component. If you don’t have that, then experience of research in the workplace could count: for instance, if you have been working for several years in an evaluation capacity. Demonstrating motivation and interest in research, as well as a viable research proposal, is also very important. For the institution and supervisors, taking on a PhD student is a big commitment, so they really need to feel that you will be in it for the full long haul.

who’s going to pay me to do it?

Probably yourself. Unfortunately, there’s very little funding available for PhDs in the counselling and psychotherapy field, and most students do pay for it themselves. There are some exceptions—for instance, universities may have scholarships that they award on an intermittent basis, and there are grant funding bodies like the ESRC—but it’s generally extremely competitive and if you go down these routes you may have to do your PhD about a particular topic that the institution is interested in.

What happens once I’ve applied?

The academics at the university you’ve applied to will consider your application, in the light of the kinds of criteria discussed above, and may well invite you for interview to discuss your application further. If you’re accepted, you can then get going with refining your research project, and preparing to run your study.

In conclusion

I wouldn’t want to put anyone off applying for a PhD in counselling or psychotherapy. It’s got the potential to be an amazing journey: with discovery, in depth engagement with your topic, and the opportunity to make a unique contribution to the counselling and psychotherapy field. Relationally, too, it can be a unique opportunity to engage with peers, academics, and participants. You become a world-leading expert in your field; and if you want to go into academia or a research job, it’s pretty much essential. But it is a massive commitment, and you really need to be realistic about what you are letting yourself in for before you embark on it. As a PhD student recently said to me:

The ideal position to do a PhD is one where you know the route is hard, less than ideal, uncertain, but it is also the necessary route.

Very best of luck with it.


Further Reading

Hayton, J. (2015) PhD: An uncommon guide to research, writing and PhD life. James Hayton PhD. Suggested by a PhD student as very realistic and enjoyable.

Acknowledgement

Thanks for the guidance from current and former PhD students on the content here.


Disclaimer

The information, materials, opinions or other content (collectively Content) contained in this blog have been prepared for general information purposes. Whilst I’ve endeavoured to ensure the Content is current and accurate, the Content in this blog is not intended to constitute professional advice and should not be relied on or treated as a substitute for specific advice relevant to particular circumstances. That means that I am not responsible for, nor will be liable for any losses incurred as a result of anyone relying on the Content contained in this blog, on this website, or any external internet sites referenced in or linked in this blog.

Just to add, no liability will attach to the University of Roehampton as a result of the training and consultancy work presented on this website, which I am carrying out in a private capacity.