Certification
BSC UK works with the Association of Certified Biblical Counsellors (ACBC) to provide a comprehensive biblical counselling certification program that is rigorous, but attainable.
Biblical counselling is faith-based counselling, founded on God's Word. Often Biblical teaching is in opposition with our culture, therefore ACBC certification is not recognised by any of the UK's professional bodies such as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). However, it does provide a standard in Biblical counselling which many evangelical Christians and churches recognise.
The path to certification starts with the successful completion of the Fundamentals training course (Phase 1). Phase 2 is exams and evaluation before Phase 3 which is supervised counselling.
Phase 1 will require you to complete the fundamental training videos, read the literature from the required reading list, watch the observation videos, and agree to the affirmations and denials. All of these tasks must be registered on the ACBC portal, which requires creating an ACBC account.
Phase 2 comprises 44 essay-style questions on theology and counselling. Each answer should be 500 to 750 words in length. You will complete these open-book essays at your own pace, then submit to ACBC for grading. Your exams are graded on a pass, rewrite, or fatal error basis. Your grader will likely suggest revisions on your exams and will give tips to help you deepen your understanding. This is an excellent opportunity to humbly grow in your understanding of many important topics! You will have three months to submit rewrites of your exams from the date your graded exams are returned to you. BSC UK provides special help to coach students through their exam questions before they submit their answers to ACBC.
Phase 3 is supervised counselling and is one of the unique features of our training. BSC UK has access to all of the ACBC fellows who themselves have many hours of counselling experience. They will help people apply their learning in the real life situations that will be faced in their counselling. The process is:
Choose a Fellow from a list of available Fellows sent to you after you pass your exams.
Confirm your supervising Fellow in your ACBC account portal once the Fellow has agreed to be your supervisor.
Complete 50 sessions (of at least one hour length) of supervised counselling.
– Counselling supervision is often completed remotely via email and telephone.
– You will need to complete and send your supervisor a Case Report for each counselling session.
– At least 10 sessions must be with the same counsellee.
– Audio record a minimum of 5 sessions to review and discuss with your supervising Fellow.
– The 50 sessions must be completed within one year.
Speak with your supervisor to review each Case Report.
After you have completed 50 sessions of counselling that your supervisor is satisfied with, he will submit a recommendation for membership.
DETAILS
COST
In addition to the cost of the fundamentals training course if you wish to pursue certification
Phase 2 will cost £120 (ACBC application fee)
Phase 3 will cost £150-£800 Max (Fee set by supervising fellow)
TIMELINE
2 year average completion
4 year deadline for Phases 1 and 2
1 year deadline for Phase 3
DOCTRINAL AFFIRMATION
Regardless of the completion of any or all of the phases of the certification process, applicants and their churches must affirm certain doctrinal standards, to the satisfaction of ACBC, before earning certified status. Please read them carefully before you begin: Standards of Doctrine, Standards of Conduct & Covenant.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION
ACBC reserves the right to deny applicants admittance to, or advancement within the certification process, if their professional affiliations or occupations restrict, or do not align with our doctrinal or methodological standards. To find out more about what we believe please visit our Beliefs page.
GENERAL DISCLAIMER
ACBC does not guarantee certified status to those who complete the three phases of the certification process. In order to become certified and maintain certified status, applicants must also meet several membership requirements that involve external vetting and recommendation. Please read the complete list here before you begin: Policies and Procedures & Constitution and By Laws.