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Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a current form of evidence-based psychological therapy recommended by NICE as a first line intervention for many psychological disorders.
Year of entry
Location
Coventry University (Coventry)
Study mode
Part-time
Duration
1-2 years part-time
Course code
HLST238
Start date
January 2026
The information on this page is for 2024-25 entry and should be used as guidance for 2025-26 entry. Please keep checking back on this course page to see our latest updates.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a current form of evidence-based psychological therapy recommended by NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) as a first-line intervention for many psychological disorders.
This PGDip in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy aims to provide practical, intensive and detailed skills training to facilitate skills development to a defined standard of competence while increasing your knowledge base of theory and research in CBT.
*HEE commissioned places are available to those candidates who have an NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression Service commissioned clinical placement. Placements usually advertise their own trainee therapist vacancies (e.g. on the NHS Jobs website) and we conduct a joint recruitment process with them (academic screening and interview)5.
This course is accredited 1 and recognised by the following bodies:
This course is currently accredited by the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP). Upon successful completion of the training you should be eligible to apply for provisional accreditation as a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist with the BABCP.
This course aims to train you to deliver CBT to people with depression and a range of anxiety disorders. In addition to providing practical, intensive and detailed skills training to give you the opportunity to enhance skills development to a defined standard of competence, the course also aims to increase your knowledge base of theory and research in CBT and to promote a critical approach to the subject. In order to successfully complete the course and gain the award of PGDip CBT, you will need to complete and pass all six mandatory modules.
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
The course is delivered via a combination of university attendance (two days per week during term time, equating to approximately 11 hours of teaching) plus a clinical placement2,5 (up to three days per week). The duration of the course is one year for full-time trainees, and up to two years for those with part-time employment contracts. (Please see the entry requirements section for further information. There is a requirement to remain in placement for the duration of the training programme).
It is taught through a range of teaching styles and opportunities, which is aimed at providing both an opportunity to develop knowledge and understanding of relevant materials and an opportunity to develop clinical competence.
These may include:
**To be eligible to enrol on the course, you must have an appropriate clinical placement. It is your responsibility to secure an appropriate placement (NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression Service commissioned placement or equivalent).
The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials
As an innovative and enterprising institution, the university may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended, or distance learning), the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.
Since COVID-19, we have delivered our courses in a variety of forms, in line with public authority guidance, decisions, or orders and we will continue to adapt our delivery as appropriate. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.
This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module.
Assessment methods include:
The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.
The school aims to provide a multicultural, international experience2, attracting students from a wide range of diverse backgrounds and different countries, who may provide global insight and experience. Many of the organisations we have links to operate on an international basis and we also collaborate with internationally renowned researchers across the globe.
Student | Full-time | Part-time |
---|---|---|
UK | Not available | HEE funded |
For advice and guidance on tuition fees3 and student loans visit our Postgraduate Finance page.
We offer a range of International scholarships to students all over the world. For more information, visit our International Scholarships page.
Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessments, facilities and support services. There may be additional costs not covered by this fee such as accommodation and living costs, recommended reading books, stationery, printing and re-assessments should you need them.
The following are additional costs not included in the tuition fees:
Please note that HEE operates a 2-year psychological professions funding rule which means that once an individual has commenced an NHS-funded psychological professions training programme, a 2-year period will be required to pass from the expected complete date of that training before the funded individual would be eligible for further NHS funding to train in another psychological profession training (where this leads to a change of occupation). For further details please see HEE guidance.
The rights of Irish residents to study in the UK are preserved under the Common Travel Area arrangement. If you are an Irish student and meet the residency criteria, you can study in England, pay the same level of tuition fees as English students and utilise the Tuition Fee Loan.
Following the UK's exit from the European Union, we are offering financial support to all eligible EU students who wish to study an undergraduate or a postgraduate degree with us full-time. This bursary will be used to offset the cost of your tuition fees to bring them in line with that of UK students. Students studying a degree with a foundation year with us are not eligible for the bursary.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has a continually evolving and robust evidence base and is indicated in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance across a number of psychological disorders. These include depression and a range of anxiety disorders.
Adequate access to a choice of effective psychological treatments for these problems via local NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression Services continues to be a key government priority. As such, CBT can form the basis of much mental health practice across NHS Trusts.
This award should provide graduates with a solid foundation in cognitive-behavioural psychotherapy, and an opportunity to seek a role within the field of cognitive behavioural psychotherapy.
On successful completion of the course, you will be able to: