School of Health in Social Science. Counselling and Psychotherapy. MSc by RESEARCH in COUNSELLING STUDIES INFORMATION BOOKLET,

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1 School of Health in Social Science Counselling and Psychotherapy MSc by RESEARCH in COUNSELLING STUDIES INFORMATION BOOKLET, Introduction The University of Edinburgh is a leading research university and therefore offers an excellent environment for research conducted at MSc and PhD/MPhil level. Counselling and Psychotherapy is interested in, and supports, research that engages critically with the practices of counselling and psychotherapy. All members of the Counselling and Psychotherapy team are practitioners, grounded in the personcentred approach or psychodynamic perspectives, and dialogue between these orientations. Research is central to our work. We have a longstanding commitment to original empirical and theoretical research that engages critically with the practices of counselling and psychotherapy. We are especially keen to encourage research concerned with the interface between counselling, psychotherapy and social, cultural and political life, and research that draws directly on practitioners own engagement in therapeutic work with clients. Our research portfolio is highly interdisciplinary, integrating concepts, practices and scholarship from counselling and psychotherapy, psychology, sociology, philosophy, education, cultural studies, health and social care, and other social sciences. We specialise in qualitative, reflexive and critical research approaches, while also welcoming other approaches to research in this field. Aims The MSc by Research in Counselling Studies offers research training for all those interested in developing research skills in the field of counselling and psychotherapy, including qualified practitioners and social science researchers. It aims to provide students with advanced understandings of research design, data collection and data analysis issues in counselling research. The programme enables students to develop their understandings of debates about research, evidence and practice in relation to counselling and related practices. Fostering the development of critical reflection on the field of counselling and psychotherapy by professionally qualified practitioners and others with an interest in this field, the programme enables students to contribute to the development of the knowledge and evidence base of counselling and psychotherapy. 1

2 Distinctive features of this degree include: integration of generic social science and discipline-specific counselling research training social science approaches to research training in counselling close links with social science research concerned with counselling and society close links with social science research concerned with health, illness and health services. The degree may be taken as a free-standing MSc or as a foundation for PhD study. Candidates must complete a programme of research training courses and submit a dissertation on an approved topic. Prospective applicants who hold first degrees in any subject and/or postgraduate qualifications in counselling are welcome to apply for entrance to the University of Edinburgh for the MSc by Research. They may also apply for consecutive registration for the MSc by Research and then the PhD/MPhil programme, usually referred to as 1+3 registration. The PhD/MPhil programme information booklet may be downloaded from the Counselling and Psychotherapy website or requested from the Counselling and Psychotherapy Office, contact details given below. Research Environment The University of Edinburgh is over 400 years old. It is a leading international centre of academic excellence and one of the largest and most successful research universities in the UK, with more than 21,000 students of whom 5,000 are postgraduate. It is Scotland s premier research University, graded within the top five British Universities in the 2008 National Research Assessment Exercise. The School of Health in Social Science, located within the College of Humanities and Social Science, includes Counselling and Psychotherapy, Nursing Studies, Clinical Psychology, the Centre for International Public Health Policy and other social scientists with an interest in health. The School s ethos of interdisciplinary co-working under the broad rubric of health affords excellent opportunities to students undertaking research degrees to draw on the expertise, knowledge base and research traditions of all four disciplines. Prospective students are welcome to discuss with us opportunities for developing research projects linked to existing, ongoing, research initiatives; or linked to partner organisations with which staff already have connections. Prospective students are also welcome to propose research on topics that do not fall within staff s current research interests, in which case we will discuss with you whether we are able to support your work. Research opportunities may also involve collaboration with colleagues in other social science disciplines. The research interests of the Counselling and Psychotherapy team are detailed on the Counselling and Psychotherapy website: 2

3 Research Facilities Counselling and Psychotherapy is based in the School of Health premises, the newly refurbished north wing of the historic Medical School on Teviot Place. The Medical School is centrally located in Edinburgh s Old Town, at the heart of the University, with easy access to all University and student facilities, including the Main Library on George Square. The building is fully accessible and features state of the art teaching rooms, as well as a large and bright reading room for postgraduate students. Research students have access to dedicated research student facilities on the third floor of the School of Health building. In the vicinity of the School of Health are a large number of other computing facilities, including several 24 hour suites. Every matriculated student receives a University account and free access to computing and library facilities. The University s Main Library holds a comprehensive range of books and journals relevant to counselling and psychotherapy, complemented by a range of specialist subject libraries throughout the University. Through the library students have access to a substantial range of e-journals. A selection of journals, magazines and professional publications is also held in the Counselling and Psychotherapy section of the School of Health Postgraduate Reading Room. Postgraduate students may also access the extensive resources of the National Library of Scotland, which is a copyright library entitled to receive a copy of every book published in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and is located only a few minutes walk from the School of Health. Research Skills Training In addition to research training courses, discussed below, the University provides a wide range of short research skills training courses and events for postgraduate research students. Areas covered include, among others, time management, effective writing, giving presentations, thesis development, literature searching and managing bibliographies. Further information about these courses is available at: Programme Structure The MSc by Research is a postgraduate degree designed to provide research training in counselling and psychotherapy. It consists of five taught research training courses, four compulsory and one optional, totalling 100 credits and a researchfocussed dissertation of 80 credits. The research training course portfolio contains both subject-specific research courses in the field of counselling and psychotherapy (40 credits) and generic social science research courses (40 credits) and, additionally, an optional course which may be more generic or specific to the student s research field, as required. The dissertation is normally a 15,000 word full research proposal, serving as the basis for PhD/MPhil study. 3

4 Research Training Courses The research training course portfolio consists of the following elements: Between Counselling and Research 1: Approaches, Issues and Debates (20 credits) Between Counselling and Research 2: Qualitative Research Design and Methods (20 credits) (exceptionally students may substitute a quantitative methods course from the Graduate School of Social and Political Science (GSSPS)) Research Skills in the Social Sciences: Data Collection (or equivalent) (20 credits) (GSSPS) Core Quantitative Data Analysis for Social Research (or equivalent) (20 credits) (GSSPS) One research training option course (20 credits) MSc by Research students are also welcome to audit other courses in Counselling and Psychotherapy, such as the Practice Seminar in Counselling and Psychotherapy, other courses in the School of Health in Social Science, the Graduate School of Social and Political Science and other cognate disciplines. Students may also attend the wide range of seminars offered across the College of Humanities and Social Science and the School, as well the Counselling and Psychotherapy Research Seminar Series and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) events. Between Counselling and Research 1: Approaches, Issues and Debates This course provides students with an overview of key approaches to research relevant to counselling, psychotherapy and related practices. Emphasis is given to critical social science perspectives on knowledge and research, to the role of subjectivity, inter-subjectivity and context in research, and to the relationship between research and reflective counselling practice. By the end of the course students should be able to identify and conceptualise key research epistemologies and methodologies relevant to counselling, psychotherapy and related practices, including the influence of critical social science perspectives conceptualise the relationship between counselling practice and research practice in relation to epistemological and ethical debates formulate, justify and criticise research questions relevant to counselling and related practices critically assess the relevance of research for the practice and provision of counselling, psychotherapy and related practices The course is delivered through 10 weekly sessions of two hours. A high degree of student participation is expected, with students required to work on set readings in advance of each session. These readings form the basis of group discussion, supplemented by inputs from teaching staff. During the second half of the course, sessions also include presentations by individual students about their proposed research. 4

5 Between Counselling and Research 2: Qualitative Research Design and Methods This course provides students with opportunities to study a range of debates in the literature concerned with researching counselling, focusing primarily on issues of qualitative research design and methods. The course is adapted each year to maximise its relevance for participants undertaking MSc dissertations in Counselling and Psychotherapy. By the end of the course students should be able to identify and conceptualise the processes involved in designing and undertaking qualitative research in counselling critically assess the relevance of different methods of qualitative data generation and analysis to specific research topics in counselling synthesise discussions about qualitative research methods relevant to specific research topics in counselling critically assess methods of conducting and analysing research interviews critically assess the use and analysis of observation, narratives, discourse and self-reflexivity in counselling research appreciate the relevance of documentary sources and archived recordings for research in counselling The course is delivered through 10 weekly sessions of two hours. A high degree of student participation is expected, with students studying set readings in advance of each session. These readings form the basis of group discussion, supplemented by inputs from teaching staff. Research Skills in the Social Sciences: Data Collection This is a core course for all students undertaking an MSc by Research. It aims to provide a basic introduction to key methods of data collection. The course provides an introduction to the main issues involved in data collection, and gives students practical, hands-on training in a range of data collection skills. The course begins with an exploration of the need for reflexivity in research, and moves to cover key modes of data collection including documents, photographs, interviews, focus groups, use of the Internet for gathering data, surveys, questionnaires and ethnographic methods. Students are encouraged to consider the interrelationships between data collection and analysis techniques from the outset of collection design; elements of the course dovetail with introductory training in computer analysis of qualitative data. At all times, the emphasis is on the learning of practical skills which students will be able to build on in future research training and practice. The learning objectives of this course are to enhance skill in reflexive use of key modes of collecting qualitative and quantitative data to enhance knowledge of associated academic discussion and debate to heighten awareness of the significance of considering analysis strategies when designing data collection techniques. Lectures and small group hands-on activities. The class comprises a mixture of whole-class presentations and smaller workshop sessions led by facilitators in which 5

6 students are actively encouraged to practise what they have been learning about in class and through their reading. Core Quantitative Data Analysis for Social Research This web-based course gives postgraduate students an understanding of core statistical concepts and methods for social research. The course is designed for students who have little or no previous experience or knowledge of statistics, or for those who feel they need a refresher course on the subject. In particular, the course aims to ensure that all students completing the course are able to demonstrate proficiency in certain key methods, and in the use, interpretation and presentation of techniques for the analysis of quantitative data. The course is divided into two freestanding modules, enabling more advanced students to start at Part 2 (subject to successful completion of preliminary assessment). It is designed to take all students to the level of competence in quantitative data analysis prescribed in Section E of the ESRC Research Training Guidelines. Part 1 explores epistemological paradigms, descriptive and exploratory data analysis and data management and analysis using statistical software (SPSS). Course content will include: the structure of social science data cases, variables, values, data sets and missing data; levels of measurement, frequency distribution and the graphical representation of data; measures of central tendency, dispersion and variability; normal distribution, standard scores and regrouping variables. By the end of Part 1 students will: Understand the significance of links between theory and method and understand the epistemological implications of particular methodological approaches Be able to understand and apply a range of quantitative methods and tools Know how to interpret basic statistics Have a thorough grounding in descriptive and exploratory data analysis techniques Provide a full account of descriptive statistics for 1 and 2 variables Have experience of working with large data sets Understand how to access information about data sources Have experience of utilising web-based resources for learning Be able to efficiently access IT resources Have an understanding of the capabilities of computer software for statistical analysis Part 2 explores principles of inference, measures of association and elementary multivariate analysis. Course content will include: distributions and confidence intervals and population variance; hypothesis testing and significance tests; tabular data and measures of association between categorical variables, correlation and regression; the use and interpretation of multivariate data and data management and analysis using statistical software (SPSS). By the end of Part 2 students will: Be able to understand and apply a range of quantitative methods and tools 6

7 Understand the significance of links between theory and method and understand the epistemological implications of particular methodological approaches Understand statistical modelling and be capable of using SPSS for Windows to perform advanced statistical analysis Be able to understand and apply multiple linear regression analysis Be able to fit and interpret models for categorical dependent variables Have experience of working with large data sets Understand how to access information about data sources Have experience of utilising web-based resources for learning Be able to efficiently access IT resources Have an understanding of the capabilities of computer software for statistical analysis The course has been developed as a web-based package (with face-to-face and online (human) teaching support throughout), which will enable students to take the course at a time and pace most appropriate to their overall training needs during the first semester. Tutorials will be held on a weekly basis to offer responsive help as needed to understand the statistical concepts and their application using computer software. Students are expected to spend at least as much time on this course as more conventional courses, including reading recommended texts and working on problem solving. Optional Research Training Courses MSc by Research students undertake one further research training course of their choice from the following list: Conducting Research Interviews (20 credits, Counselling and Psychotherapy) Research Design (20 credits, GSSPS) Current Issues in Health and Illness Research (20 credits, GSSPS) Ethical and Political Issues in Social Research (20 credits, GSSPS) Explanation and Understanding in Social and Political Research (20 credits, GSSPS) Analysing Qualitative Data (20 credits, GSSPS) Narrative Text and Discourse (20 credits, GSSPS) Discourse Analysis/Conversation Analysis (20 credits, GSSPS) Advanced Quantitative Methods in Social Sciences (20 credits, GSSPS) Survey Methods and Data (20 credits, GSSPS) Listening to Children: Research and Consultation (20 credits, GSSPS) Qualitative Methods and Ethnographic Fieldwork (20 credits, GSSPS) Reflexivity in Qualitative Research (20 credits, GSSPS) Postgraduate Research Methods (20 credits, School of Arts, Culture and Environment) Visual Research: Theoretical and Methodological Issues (20 credits, School of Arts, Culture and Environment) Theories and Philosophies of Legal Research (20 credits, School of Law) Legal Research Methods (20 credits, School of Law) Historical Methodology (20 credits, School of History, Classics and Archaeology) 7

8 Economic and Social Theory for Historical Analysis (20 credits, School of History, Classics and Archaeology) Research Methods and Problems in Cultural Studies (20 credits, School of Literatures. Languages and Cultures) Research Methods and Problems in Film Studies (20 credits, School of Literatures. Languages and Cultures) Prerequisites apply to some of the optional courses above. Optional courses may not be available every year. MSc Dissertation The MSc dissertation provides the opportunity to thoroughly research and develop an original and engaging research question, producing as a result a full proposal for PhD/MPhil research. Full guidelines for the dissertation are provided in the relevant handbook. Dissertations are 15,000 words in length and are submitted by the end of the August following the September in which the student commenced study. While working independently, the student is supported throughout by a dissertation supervisor. Counselling and Psychotherapy also offers monthly Dissertation Workshops to assist students in the preparation of their dissertations. Supervision MSc by Research students are appointed a supervisor who is usually a member of the Counselling and Psychotherapy team. Supervisors are appointed on the basis of the compatibility of their background in both therapeutic practice and research to the student s proposed area of research. Students may also make a request for a particular member of staff to become their supervisor. The student and supervisor meet regularly throughout the period of study. The focus and content of supervision meetings are negotiated jointly by both parties, depending on the student s learning needs. Research Presentations and Publications MSc by Research students attend and contribute to Counselling and Psychotherapy and School Research seminars throughout their studies, including the annual Counselling and Psychotherapy research student conference in May. All students are encouraged to present their research at national and international conferences and to publish their research findings in relevant peer-reviewed journals. Students Counselling and Psychotherapy research students come from different professional and academic backgrounds and with different experience and motivations. While many are qualified and experienced counsellors, psychotherapists or professionals in related fields, others enter the programme from other fields with an interest in the study of counselling and the talking therapies. Some have a social science research background while others come primarily with management or social policy interests. 8

9 Career Prospects The MSc by Research in Counselling Studies from the University of Edinburgh enhances the career prospects of professionally qualified counsellors, psychotherapists and practitioners using counselling approaches in related fields, such as health care, social work or education. It is also of interest to social scientists and researchers specialising in the study of health and illness, and the practice and cultural significance of the talking therapies. Successful completion the MSc by Research opens up employment opportunities in a broad range of fields, including education, policy, research and development on health and illness, emotional health and well-being, and counselling. The MSc by Research is a comprehensive foundation for PhD/MPhil study which in turn equips students for academic positions in the field of counselling and psychotherapy. Students with prior professional qualifications enhance their careers with the addition of highly developed conceptual, analytical and research skills. Entrance Requirements Prospective applicants to the MSc by Research programme need to be able to meet one of the following entrance requirements: (1) an undergraduate degree or equivalent in social science, psychology or health studies (2) any undergraduate degree (or equivalent) and a professional qualification in counselling or psychotherapy. The general requirements for admission to postgraduate study are outlined in the University of Edinburgh postgraduate prospectus, which can be accessed at It is also available from Postgraduate Office Tel.: +44 (0) College of Humanities and Social Science hsspg@ed.ac.uk David Hume Tower (First Floor) George Square Edinburgh EH8 9JX Application Process To apply for the MSc by Research in Counselling Studies, applicants need to complete the online application through the University of Edinburgh online prospectus entry for this programme, which can be accessed at: Full information about the application process is available at: There will be no selection interview. Places will be offered on the basis of the application alone. 9

10 Cost For the academic year the following fees apply to the MSc by Research in Counselling Studies: full-time (one year of study) 4,850 part-time (two years of study) 2,425 per year The fee for overseas students is 11,250 for full-time and 5,625 for part-time postgraduate study each year. International students who require visas for studying in the United Kingdom need to be aware that they may not be able to obtain a visa for part-time postgraduate study and may wish to apply for full-time study. More information for international students is available from the Postgraduate Office contact details above or their website: Advice and guidance for international applicants is also available from the University International Office: Funding The University of Edinburgh administers bursaries and scholarships for specific groups of applicants, for example those from particular countries or mature students returning to education after some years. International students may be able to apply for scholarships or bursaries in their country of origin or those which support international academic research training. For further information on University and other scholarships, see Applicants need to be aware that competition for such awards and bursaries is very strong. Some students also secure funding through their employers by demonstrating the relevance of research training to their professional development. Students may also explore the option of a loan. Information on potential sources of funding and loans is available from the professional bodies, COSCA and BACP. Their web addresses are and respectively. Further Information General information may be obtained from the Counselling and Psychotherapy Office, as follows: Sue Larsen or Natasha Mallion Senior Secretaries Counselling and Psychotherapy The University of Edinburgh Medical School Teviot Place Edinburgh EH8 9AG Tel. +44 (0) or counselling.studies@ed.ac.uk 10

11 If you have a specific or more complex query and wish to speak to an academic member of staff, please contact: Liz Bondi Programme Director Tel +44 (0) liz.bondi@ed.ac.uk Mail address as above Note: Whilst the information given here is correct at the time of writing, it may be subject to change and does not form the basis for any contract. Further information about Counselling and Psychotherapy at the University of Edinburgh may be obtained at: 11