Christina, who completed both her English degree and PCGE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) at Queen’s University Belfast, said she thoroughly enjoyed her time at Northern Regional College.
She explains why she decided to qualify as a counsellor: “I taught English for 15 years at Sperrin Integrated College in Magherafelt and, while I enjoyed teaching, I realised that I would like to develop my skills to support young people further, in a different capacity.”
The part-time Foundation Degree in Counselling, which is validated by Ulster University, is delivered one day a week. Once she enrolled on the course, Christina reduced her teaching commitment to four days.
“The course is intense but, if you are prepared to put in the work, it is very rewarding,” said Christina. “There were additional challenges because of the pandemic but the lecturers were most supportive and accommodating to ensure that we were able to complete our placements and fulfil all requirements of the qualification.”
“As a class, we worked as a team to support each other and a strong bond developed between us.”
Since completing the Foundation Degree, Christina has started doing a master’s degree in Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice as a distance learning course with Bath Spa University and has completed the first year of the course. In August, she takes up a new post as a Counselling lecturer at North West Regional College and plans to continue to practise as a counsellor.
Christina continues to describe her positive experience of the Foundation Degree in Counselling: “I finished the course with such a smile on my face and haven’t looked back. I’ve already recommended the course to others and one of my former teaching colleagues has just completed her first year of the course.”