Cultural and ethnic diversity in counselling and psychotherapy
In light of this lack of cultural and ethnic diversity in the profession, IATE would like to encourage widening participation. We wish to actively support the training of students from Black, Asian, dual heritage and minority ethnic communities to bring more diversity into the mental health professions.
Who is the Diversity Scholarship open to?
The Diversity Scholarship is open to people who identify as coming from one of the ethnic groups listed below. While we are open to other People of Colour, we are primarily focussing on people who identify as coming from one of these heritages:
African or Caribbean Heritage
African for those born in the continent,
Caribbean for those born on the islands
South Asian Heritage
Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
East Asian Heritage
China, Japan, North & South Korea, Taiwan
Third generation
Black British, Asian British
Mixed Heritage
People of mixed white & African heritage, people of mixed white South Asian heritage,
People of East Asian & Caribbean heritage
What’s being offered?
- 8 x full fee paying bursaries for the Postgraduate Certificate in the Therapeutic Arts/Advanced Diploma in the Therapeutic and Educational application of the Arts
This is a one year, part time course, which offers a complete learning package in its own right. However, it also acts as the first year of the 4-year Masters Degree or Diploma course in Integrative Arts Psychotherapy and the Masters Degree or Diploma course in Integrative Child Psychotherapy. Both trainings lead to UKCP Registration as a psychotherapist.
- 4 x full fee paying bursaries for Year 1 of The Diploma in Child Counselling
This 2-year training aims to enable trainees to bring about therapeutic change with troubled children and work effectively with their experiences of trauma, loss and attachment difficulties. Child counselling trainees will master skills in containment, self-regulation, finding the child’s meaning, and staying with deep feelings, rather than reacting too quickly to what is happening in the therapeutic relationship, by being judgemental, blaming or inferring meaning. The Diploma in Child Counselling leads to Accreditation with BACP.
Please note, bursary allocation is for tuition fees for one training year only. This award does not cover the cost of personal therapy and optional university registration nor does it cover cost of fees for subsequent training programmes such as the MA.
Who is eligible to apply for a training bursary?
In order to apply for the Diversity Scholarship, you will need to meet the following criteria:
- You have a Black, Asian, dual heritage or minority ethnic background
- You have applied for and already been offered a place on either the Postgraduate Certificate in the Therapeutic Arts/Advanced Diploma in the Therapeutic and Educational Application of the Arts, or Year one of the Diploma in Child Counselling
- You have not previously undertaken a course in Psychotherapy, Counselling or any other clinical therapeutic training
How do I apply?
In order to apply for the training bursary you will need to go through the standard application process first to one of the courses and receive an offer of a place. There is no need to accept your offer until you have received the outcome of your bursary application.
