Who is the Diploma in Clinical Supervision and Consultancy (DCSC) for?
The Diploma is suitable for qualified counsellors, psychotherapists, coaches and other helping professionals who want to develop or extend their skills as supervisors.
It may be particularly suitable if you are:
- Beginning your journey as a supervisor and want a comprehensive foundation in supervision
- Already offering supervision and want to extend your practice into new contexts, modalities or professional settings
- Looking to consolidate your skills within a structured and supportive Level 7 training environment
- Working across different cultures or professional contexts and want to develop a more internationally informed approach to supervision
What level is the Diploma?
- The DCSC is a Level 7 qualification, which is postgraduate level in the UK.
- It has been developed with reference to current UK supervision standards and competence frameworks and takes an integrative approach, enabling participants to work across different therapeutic modalities and theoretical orientations.
- This is not simply training in a set of supervision techniques. At Level 7, participants are expected to critically examine and apply supervision theory, standards and competencies, including considering how these apply across different professional, cultural and legislative contexts.
How is the Diploma assessed?
Assessment is based on two areas:
- Active participation throughout the Diploma, including engagement with the learning and practical work.
- Successful completion of a 3,500-word case study of your supervisory work, assessed at Level 7.
On successful completion of both elements, participants will be awarded the Diploma in Clinical Supervision and Consultancy.
What happens if my case study is referred or failed?
If your case study is referred, you will be given six weeks to resubmit it. This gives you an opportunity to respond to the feedback and make any changes needed to meet the Level 7 assessment requirements.
Do I have to be formally assessed?
No. We recognise that not everyone will want to undertake formal assessment.
If you choose not to be formally assessed, you can still participate in the Diploma and will receive a Certificate of Attendance on completion, rather than the Diploma award.
Does the Diploma meet current supervision competencies and learning outcomes?
Yes. The DCSC is designed at Level 7 and critically examines the competencies, learning outcomes and training standards currently relevant to clinical supervision in the UK.
Many countries across the Middle East and Asia do not have legislation defining counselling or psychotherapy, and the terms themselves are often used differently across countries. The UK is also unusual in that the titles counsellor, psychotherapist and supervisor are not legally protected.
We therefore take a critical and internationally aware approach rather than assuming that a single set of competencies will fit every country and every professional context.
Is the Diploma accredited?
Yes. The DCSC is NCIP accredited.
BACP, UKCP and NCPS etc. each have their own professional standards and requirements. To date, in our experience, all three have accepted NCIP accreditation where participants have needed to demonstrate that their supervision training was appropriately accredited.
Will the Diploma meet the requirements of my professional body?
To date, no UKCP College or Member Organisation has identified a requirement that our DSCS does not meet. In our experience, BACP, UKCP and NCPS have accepted NCIP accreditation where participants have needed to demonstrate that their supervision training was appropriately accredited.
UKCP supervision requirements are set by individual Colleges, and some UKCP Member Organisations may have additional requirements. Our Diploma is deliberately integrative, rather than being based on one particular therapeutic modality, so it is designed to work across different theoretical and professional contexts.
There is currently no single UK framework for clinical supervision. SCoPEd does not have a separate supervision competence framework, while BACP has a Supervision Competence Framework and Training Curriculum, and UKCP has its Supervision Standards of Education and Training and Practice Guidelines.
The Diploma has been developed with these standards and principles in mind, including public protection, safe and effective practice, appropriate learning outcomes and assessment, safeguarding, equality and diversity, and working with diverse populations.
A particular strength of the Diploma is its emphasis on working across cultures, countries and professional contexts, which is not always addressed in conventional supervision training.
UKCP’s current Supervisor Directory criteria date from 2018 and are under review in the context of SCoPEd. Requirements may therefore change. We recommend that UKCP members check the current requirements of their particular College or Member Organisation.