SCoPEd Column A - is the Level 4 route still worth training to or is the landscape shifting too much?
I'm at a crunch decision point! I've been offered a place on a postgraduate counselling programme (Column C) and also considering a Level 4 CPCAB Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling (Column A). I did Levels 2 and 3.
I'm 56, obviously don't have (nor want) a massive career at this point. My goal is part time private practice during my sixties.
However, I'm genuinely trying to understand what my best route is. The cost of the post grad is eye-watering overall, and it will be a lot of study/involvement that will impact on my ability to work throughout - but it will be dynamic and stimulating.
Level 4 - I would go with the same provider, as they were great, but the process will follow the same formula, and the training won't be as robust. I might be bored. But it is more vocational, which is no bad thing.
But importantly, I'm genuinely trying to understand where the profession is heading. With SCoPEd now adopted, I'd love to hear from practitioners at different levels and columns:
Is Column A becoming a ceiling rather than a foundation? Are you seeing it limit (or start to limit) access to EAP panels, referral pathways, or client work in practice? Or is it still a perfectly viable route into private practice?
Honest experiences and opinions welcome. I'd rather know now than find out two years into training.