We are very excited to announce our new Diploma in Pluralistic Psychotherapy starting in September 2025. This course has been designed to meet Column A of the SCoPEd framework and is our new access course for our Diploma in Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy.
Why would you choose to take our Diploma in Pluralistic Psychotherapy rather than any other qualifying counselling course? In the words of Shakespeare ‘Let me count the ways’…
Reason 1: You are aiming to specialise in Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy
If your ultimate aim is to specialise in sex and relationship therapy then taking your general counselling qualification course with us gives you a head start. As one of the leading clinical sexology schools in the UK we provide qualifying pathways to the College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists (COSRT) the only specialist professional body for sex and relationship therapy in the UK. Although our Diploma in Pluralistic Psychotherapy is your general counselling qualifying course, as clinical sexology specialists we will be weaving sex and relationship therapy thinking and learning all the way through the programme. We dedicate one learning weekend specifically to psychosexual and relationship therapy so, even if you are not yet decided on whether you would like to specialise in this field of therapy, your general counselling practice will be sexology informed.
Reason 2: We Centre Anti-Oppressive Practice
We live in a society based on systems of power and privilege and that societal context affects us, our clients and the work of counselling and psychotherapy. Many counselling students with marginalised identities experience their counselling training as oppressive and harmful, as their lived experiences are ignored or dismissed. That is not how we do things at CICS.
At CICS we explicitly state our commitment to being an anti-racism organisation and our training follows the guidance of the Coalition for Inclusion and Anti-Oppressive Practice. We are a Disability Confident Committed organisation, and our course assessment protocols ensure that we support individual student learning access needs.
The whole of the Diploma in Pluralistic Psychotherapy is based on anti-oppressive practice principles and is inclusive of indigenous approaches to healing, liberation psychology and justice in therapy.
Reason 3: Our Modality is Pluralism
The therapeutic theoretical orientation of our institute is Pluralism, based on the work of Professor Mick Cooper and John McLeod. Founded on person centred principles, pluralism is based on the fundamental assumption that no one therapeutic approach has the monopoly on understanding the causes of distress or on the most helpful therapeutic responses. Instead, it suggests that different clients are likely to want, and benefit from, different things in therapy. Pluralism allows for a range of therapeutic approaches to best serve each unique
client, whilst maintaining the centrality of the client, relational working and goal orientated, purposeful counselling and psychotherapy work. You can learn more about Pluralism at CICS in this video.
Reason 4: Our Tutors!
We could not be more proud of our Lead Tutors for our Diploma in Pluralistic Psychotherapy, Kim Loliya and Loki Grey. Kim, they/she, is an integrative psychotherapist, trauma specialist and Director of Black Psychotherapy, a therapy service dedicated to serving racially minoritised clients and therapists. Loki, he/him, is a COSRT Registered Psychosexual and Relationship Therapist and specialist in neurodiversity. They are both committed to expanding counselling and psychotherapy beyond the boundaries of white Western paradigms, in their teaching as well as their therapy provision.
This is no average counselling qualifying course! We think it is one of a kind and we are really excited to invite our first cohort for the course launch in September 2025.
How do you apply?
To join our Diploma in Pluralistic Psychotherapy you will need to have completed a CPCAB Level 2 or equivalent and be enrolled on or completed a Level 3. That gives you access to our innovative programme of counselling study and sets you on the way to your formal qualification as a counsellor in the UK.
To learn more about CICS, who we are and how we run our school, take a look at our YouTube Channel.
