LEVEL 5 DIPLOMA IN COUNSELLING CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS
(INTEGRATIVE ROUTE)
CYP-L5 CPCAB
Working with children 11 years +
About this course
Level 5 Counselling Children and Young People (11+) is designed for qualified counsellors who want to develop the specialist knowledge, skills and confidence needed to work therapeutically with children and young people aged 11–18.
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Building on your Level 4 training and existing counselling practice, the course explores how therapeutic work needs to adapt to the age, developmental stage and individual needs of the young person.
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You will develop your understanding of adolescent development, attachment, safeguarding, assessment and risk, therapeutic relationships and working with parents, carers, schools and other professionals, alongside creative and developmentally appropriate approaches to counselling.
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The course has an Integrative approach, supporting you to adapt your existing therapeutic framework and develop a flexible, responsive way of working with young people.
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Successful completion supports qualified counsellors wishing to extend their practice into specialist CYP work within schools, colleges, agencies, organisations and independent practice.
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Course at a glance
1 year
Course duration
120 hours
Guided learning
Face to Face
Hockley Heath, Solihull
90%
Attendance requirement
What you'll learn
This Level 5 course develops the specialist knowledge, skills and self-awareness required to work therapeutically with children and young people aged 11–18.
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Throughout the course, you will explore:
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• Legal, ethical, safeguarding and child protection responsibilities when working with children and young people
• Conducting initial, emerging and ongoing risk assessments
• Developing age and developmentally appropriate therapeutic relationships
• Child and adolescent development and attachment theory
• Working creatively and experientially with young people
• Adapting your core counselling approach to meet individual developmental needs
• Assessment, contracting, endings and transitions in CYP work
• Working appropriately with parents, carers, schools and other professionals
• Diversity and factors affecting the mental health and wellbeing of young people
• Power, authority and professional boundaries within CYP relationships
• Psychopathology, pharmacology and neuroscience in relation to CYP work
• Using supervision, research, reflective practice and continuing professional development to maintain effective CYP practice
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Professional practice requirements
60 hours
CYP client work
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40 hours
Personal therapy by completion (Can include L4 - pls check)
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Clinical Supervision
Throughout client work with a suitable supervisor
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Age 11-18 Yrs
Specialist CYP practice
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During Level 5 you will complete a minimum of 60 hours of formally contracted one-to-one counselling with children and young people aged 11–18. These hours must include client assessment and work with at least four different CYP clients.
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Your clinical work must be supported by appropriate CYP clinical supervision throughout the course, meeting the requirements of your chosen ethical framework or professional membership association. You will provide two supervisor reports — one after completing 30 client hours and another after completing 60 client hours.
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By the end of Level 5, Maple Leaf requires you to have completed a minimum of 40 hours of personal therapy in total, including qualifying therapy undertaken during your previous counselling training. At least 10 hours must be undertaken during the Level 5 training year.
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Your client work, supervision and professional development form an integral part of the course, allowing you to apply your specialist learning within real therapeutic practice.
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Assessment
Assessment takes place throughout the course and reflects the development of your specialist CYP knowledge, therapeutic skills, self-awareness and clinical practice.
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You will build a portfolio of evidence demonstrating proficiency across all seven learning outcomes. Assessment includes:
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• Two written assignments of approximately 3,000–3,500 words
• A record of 60 hours of CYP client work and clinical supervision
• A review of a 15-minute transcript of clinical work
• Reflective learning and self-review
• Assessed counselling skills practice
• A case presentation
• Tutor observation and feedback
• Evidence of personal therapy
• Two supervisor reports — one after 30 client hours and one after 60 client hours
• Peer feedback
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Regular tutorials and progress reviews will support you in monitoring your development throughout the course. To achieve the qualification, you must meet all qualification requirements, including the required client hours, and demonstrate proficiency across all seven learning outcomes.
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Entry requirements
Applicants must be aged 19 or over and hold the CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (TC-L4) or an equivalent Level 4 or above counselling qualification of at least 300 Guided Learning Hours, aligned with SCoPEd Column A competencies, together with appropriate prior counselling training.
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Maple Leaf also requires applicants to have completed a minimum of 150 supervised client hours, including their qualifying placement hours. This ensures that students have sufficient post-qualification practice experience to have begun developing their own professional identity, therapeutic approach and understanding of client work before moving into specialist CYP practice.
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As this is advanced specialist training, applicants need to demonstrate readiness to develop their therapeutic work with children and young people at greater depth and complexity.
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When considering applications, we will look for:
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• Clear professional reasons for undertaking specialist CYP training
• The academic and emotional capacity to work at Level 5
• Experience of therapeutic counselling practice
• Self-awareness, insight and honesty, with the ability to make links between self, theory and practice
• The ability to form and sustain therapeutic relationships with children and young people
• The ability to work sensitively with difference and diversity
• Openness to personal development and reflective learning
• The ability to give, receive and respond to challenge and feedback
• The ability to respond sensitively and empathically to children and young people
• The ability to work professionally as part of a wider team
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Important: Level 5 CYP training involves experiential learning, personal disclosure and engagement with complex and sometimes emotionally challenging material. Applicants need to be sufficiently emotionally and psychologically able to engage safely with the demands of advanced specialist practitioner training.
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Course dates & times
January 2027
Monday evening
Starting 4 January 2027
4.30pm – 9.30pm
January 2028
Monday evening
​Starting 3 January 2028
4.30pm – 9.30pm
This one-year course runs from January to December 2027 across 24 teaching sessions, scheduled to meet the 120 Guided Learning Hours required for the qualification.
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A full course timetable will be provided to students before the course begins.
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Course fees
£2,495
2026/27 course fee
£500 deposit
+ 10 monthly installments of £199.50
2027/28 fees to be confirmed
£500 deposit
+10 monthly installments of £TBC
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, you will achieve the CPCAB Level 5 Diploma in Counselling Children and Young People (CYP-L5).
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This nationally regulated specialist qualification develops the knowledge, skills and competence required to work therapeutically with children and young people aged 11–18. It supports progression into CYP counselling roles within schools, colleges, specialist agencies, organisations and independent practice.
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The qualification provides routes to professional registers accredited by the Professional Standards Authority, including BACP and NCPS, and maps to recognised competency frameworks for therapeutic work with children and young people.
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Following sufficient client-work experience, you may also progress to the CPCAB Level 6 Certificate in Therapeutic Counselling Supervision (TCSU-L6) or explore further higher-education study and credit transfer.
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Qualification: CPCAB Level 5 Diploma in Counselling Children and Young People (CYP-L5)
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Credit vallue
120
Guided Learning Hours (GLH)
603/7503/6
Qualification number
Level 5
RQF qualification
435 hours
Total Qualification Time (TQT)
Ready to apply?
Ready to develop your practice and specialise in therapeutic work with children and young people?
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Please complete our application form and book a place at one of our upcoming Level 5 group interviews using the links below. Available interview dates and times can be viewed and booked through Eventbrite.
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