Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (TC-L4)
About this course
Level 4 is our two-year practitioner training programme for students who have completed Level 2 and Level 3 counselling training and are ready to progress towards qualification as a counsellor.
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At Maple Leaf, the course is taught from a Humanistic and Integrative perspective. You will develop your practice from a strong humanistic foundation while exploring a range of counselling theories and approaches.
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Training combines theory, counselling skills, personal development and reflective practice with supervised counselling work in placement, allowing you to develop the knowledge, skills and professional competence required to work therapeutically with clients.
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Successful completion of the qualification enables you to work as a therapeutic counsellor and provides a foundation for further professional and specialist training.
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Course at a glance
2 years
Course duration
420 hours
Guided learning
100 hours
Counselling placement
90%
Attendance requirement
What you'll learn
Level 4 develops the knowledge, skills, self-awareness and professional competence needed to work as a therapeutic counsellor.
Throughout the course you will explore:
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• Working ethically, safely and professionally as a counsellor
• Developing and sustaining the therapeutic relationship
• Working with difference and diversity
• Working within a client-centred approach
• Developing and using self-awareness in counselling
• Integrating counselling theory and skills into practice
• Reflective practice and the effective use of supervision
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Our course is Humanistic and Integrative, with a strong Person-Centred foundation. You will explore a range of theoretical approaches and consider how theory, research, skills, self-awareness and the therapeutic relationship come together in practice.
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Your journey into practice
Level 4 marks the point where your training moves into supervised counselling work with real clients. We support you carefully through this transition.
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During the first four months of the course, you will complete a Fitness to Practise skills assessment, observed by a Maple Leaf tutor. Once you have been signed off as fit to practise, you can begin counselling clients within an approved placement.
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You will need to secure a placement and begin client work during Year 1. This is important because your first case study, completed towards the end of Year 1, is based on your own client work.
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Regular tutorials and progress reviews will support you throughout both years of training, with formal reviews at the end of each year to confirm your progress and readiness to continue.
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Professional practice requirements
100 hours
Counselling placement
30 hours
Personal therapy
Clinical Supervision
Throughout placement
Fitness to Practise
Before seeing clients
Students must complete at least 100 hours of formally contracted one-to-one counselling with a minimum of five clients in an approved agency placement. As part of Maple Leaf's Level 4 programme, you will also complete 30 hours of personal therapy across the two years and undertake clinical supervision throughout your client work.
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Client work cannot begin until you have been signed off as Fit to Practise by Maple Leaf.
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Entry requirements
Applicants must be aged 19 or over and have completed the CPCAB Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills (CSK-L2) and Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Studies (CST-L3), or equivalent recognised qualifications.
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As Level 4 is practitioner training, applicants need to be ready for the academic, practical and personal demands of training to become a counsellor.
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When considering applications, we will look for:
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• Clear reasons for progressing into professional counsellor training
• The ability to engage with study at Level 4
• Self-awareness, insight, honesty and integrity
• The ability to work sensitively with difference and diversity
• The ability to form and develop therapeutic relationships
• Openness to personal development and reflective learning
• The ability to give, receive and respond to challenge and feedback
• The capacity to respond sensitively and empathically to others
• Readiness to begin seeking a suitable counselling placement during Year 1
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Important: Practitioner training involves personal disclosure, experiential learning and emotionally challenging material. Applicants need to be sufficiently emotionally and psychologically able to engage safely with the demands of the course and subsequent client work.
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Assessment
Assessment takes place throughout the two-year course and reflects your academic learning, counselling skills, personal development and developing client work.
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You will build a portfolio of evidence across all seven units of the qualification. Evidence includes written assignments and reflective work, observed counselling skills, case presentations, placement and supervision records, and feedback from your placement, supervisor, tutors and peers.
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You will complete a case study towards the end of each year, based on your own counselling work in placement.
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Regular tutorials and progress reviews help you and your tutors monitor your development throughout the programme. At the end of Year 1, you will have a formal progress review to confirm that you have met the requirements to progress into Year 2. At the end of Year 2, your final review will confirm whether all course and qualification requirements have been met and whether you have demonstrated proficiency across the programme.
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Course dates & times
Wednesday daytime
24 February 2027
10.00am – 3.30pm
Thursday daytime
25 February 2027
10.00am – 3.30pm
Thursday evening
25 February 2027
4.30pm – 9.30pm
Looking for September 2026? Our September courses are starting very shortly. If you're interested in a last-minute place, please contact the Maple Leaf office to discuss current availability.
The course runs for 76 teaching weeks across two years (38 weeks per year),
following Solihull term dates.
Course fees
YEAR 1 — 2026/27
£2,995
£500 deposit
+ 10 monthly instalments of £249.50
YEAR 2 — 2027/28
£3,095
£500 deposit
+10 monthly instalments of £259.50
Course fees are payable in full and remain payable if you withdraw from the course before completion. Fees can be paid in full or through our monthly payment plan.
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All cohorts are subject to minimum enrolment numbers. If a course is unable to run, applicants will be notified at least two weeks before the scheduled start date.
Qualification & progression
On successful completion of the course, you will achieve the CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (TC-L4) and be qualified to work as a therapeutic counsellor.
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The qualification is approved by Skills England as a Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ) and meets the requirements of SCoPEd Column A. It also holds NCPS Recognised Professional Qualification status and provides routes to professional registration, subject to the requirements of the relevant professional body.
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Following Level 4, you can continue your professional development through specialist Level 5 training, including Psychotherapeutic Counselling, Cognitive Behavioural Therapeutic Skills & Theory, or Counselling Children and Young People. With appropriate post-qualifying experience, you may also progress to Level 6 Therapeutic Counselling Supervision.
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Qualification: CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (TC-L4)
120
Credit Value
1,204 hours
Total Qualification Time (TQT)
420
Guided Learning Hours (GLH)
500/8088/X
Qualification number
HTQHS5071
Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ)
