Free Online Counselling Courses: Whether you’re in Canada or in the UK, you can get certificates by taking counselling courses for free.
With the everyday bustles and hustles of life, it’s very easy for an average human to want to give up. Most don’t have their acts together in relationship, Business and otherwise.
Little wonder the need for counsellors keeps rising. Hence the need for more Counsellors.
If you want to help save the world and reduce the stress many people are facing, you need to become a professional counsellor.
How do you do that?
All you have to do is get a professional education which you can easily access via the free online counseling courses with certificates in Canada and the UK.
In this guide we have sourced information to bring a list of Counselling Courses that will train you to become professional.
And for those who do not want to practice, you can learn the skills you help yourself and family.
Here is a list of free counselling courses with certificates!!!
But first, What is Counselling?
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What is Counselling?
Counselling is a process of guiding or helping the psychological state of an individual professionally by utilizing psychological methods.
Using professionalism, the counsellor is able to collect case history data as well as adopt various techniques during personal interviews to test the interests and aptitudes of the client.
Keep in mind that professional counselling is confidential and non-judgmental.
Who is a counselor?
A counselor is some People work with to establish rehabilitation plans that include professional, social, medical, and psychological needs. Counsellors provide information and guidance on professional, relational, social (drug use, employment, ethical issues, etc.), and educational difficulties and problems, as well as work with clients to identify and characterize emotional problems using therapeutic models.
Graduates in this field discover that their newly acquired knowledge and skills qualify them to work in family counseling, grief counselling, conflict resolution, educational counselling, occupational social and social work, education, sports coaching and training, personal training, health care, and rehabilitation, marketing and sales, mental illness, labor relations, and management.
Who Needs Counselling?
More often than not, many see counselling as a form of ‘talk therapy’.
Families, couples or even individuals meet with a trained professional to talk over issues and problems facing them at this point.
And when it’s seen as a talk therapy, it means everybody needs counseling likes of;
- Couples.
- Friends.
- Families.
- Individuals.
- Business partners etc.
Why Should I Need Counselling?
Before we talk about the free online counselling courses with certificates in the UK and Canada, you need to understand why you should take this course.
Counselling is what many people dread, maybe because teh think the other party (counsellor) is trying to invade their privacy and space.
Although that’s part of the truth, that’s why you pay them. However, your secret is safe with them because professional counselling is confidential and non-judgmental.
Look away from what you stand to lose and let’s consider why you need counselling.
You need counselling because;
- Professional counseling empowers people to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals.
- It provides people with the platform to share their views, be heard and learn new perspectives about their current situation and experiences.
- Counselling gives people the ability to gain clarity about a concept or surrounding issues.
- During counselling, the person or the parties involved identify the root cause of their problem and work towards better outcomes.
- With counselling clients understand themselves better and resolve identified concerns.
- During counselling, the counselled often find solutions they seek and even more.
- The counselled are able to come up with strategies to overcome obstacles and challenges they are facing.
- It can help you to deal with stress, provide treatment for anxiety and depression.
Is Counselling safe?
Absolutely, counselling is safe as long as the Counsellor is working with professional confidentialism and being non-judgmental.
Now, before we go on to list some of the best online counselling courses you can take, I saw in one of our articles ALSO READ: How to Become a College Counselor 2022 a reader was asking ” can I get Free online counselling courses with a printable certificate? “
Free online counselling courses with a printable certificate
If you are talking about counseling courses with printable certificate, We proposed a three-stage approach that may take three or four years. In addition to attending classes, you will devote a significant amount of time to independent study, assignments, supervision, and, in some situations, personal counseling.
#1. The first stage is an introduction to counselling.
If you want to attend free online counselling courses with a printable certificate, you need first take an introductory course to be sure that counselling is the proper career for you. This will assist you in acquiring fundamental counselling skills and will provide you with an overview of what the program entails before you completely commit.
These courses typically span eight to twelve weeks and are held in local colleges and universities (FE) or adult education centers. You can also do your research online.
#2. Stage 2: Counseling Skills Certificate
A certificate in counselling skills will help you to improve your counselling abilities and gain a better understanding of counselling theories, ethics, and self-awareness. Even if you are not interested in becoming a therapist, this level of free online counselling courses with certificate can be useful if you wish to advise or support individuals. These courses are often taught online at local universities and last a year on a part-time basis.
#3. Stage 3: Fundamental practitioner training
Your primary free online counselling courses with certificate vocational training should be at the level of a counselling diploma, psychotherapy degree, or diploma in the aforementioned sector, but it can also be a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree. It should be a thorough professional training program based on internationally recognized quality and competency standards, providing instruction in well-planned, competent, and ethical practice.
Accredited free online counselling courses must include the following components:
The online counselling classes you must study must include the chronological steps discussed below. As a result, double-check the course you’re about to enroll in to ensure that it covers the topics covered here.
#1. Knowledge-based learning:
You should understand psychologically-based theories and their application to your practice, philosophy, human development, common medications, ethics and law, group function, and supervision when pursuing your free online counselling courses with a printed certificate.
#2. Therapeutic skills:
Learn therapeutic methods and interventions, as well as self-awareness, monitoring and evaluation, relationship building, communication, reflective practice, and supervision.
#3. Research awareness:
Critical awareness of study results, methodology, and application, for example, is an example of research awareness.
Your program should last at least one year full-time or two years part-time. It should also involve at least 100 hours of completely supervised internship so that you can work within an organization and practice your abilities with clients; you should be supervised during this process.
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27 Free Counselling Courses With Certificates Online.
Here is a list of the top free online counselling courses for with certificates in 2022:
#1. Top Counseling Courses
- Offered by: Udemy
- Rating: 4.6 out of 5
- Duration: Self-paced
- Best Candidate: Beginners
Udemy offers one of the free online counselling courses with focus on understanding diverse schools of thought and common mental health issues.
Also, this course will set you up to become a general counselor to counsel people with mental illness, psychological problems, relationships and children.
#2. Counselling Skills Certificate Course
- Offered by: Udemy
- Rating: 4.5 out of 5
- Duration: 45.5 Hours
- Best Candidate: Beginners and Advanced
This is one of the free online counseling courses that trains you to become a professional counselor and gives you certificates.
Also, itims at making students understand themselves better or help others to do the same. It is the course that sets you up for self-awareness and better relationships.
#3. Fully Accredited Professional Counseling Diploma Course.
- Offered by: Udemy
- Rating: 4.4 out of 5
- Duration: 1 Hour
- Best Candidate: Beginners
This counselling course on Udemy offers a Diploma certification to anyone who takes the course.
However, it’s a short course that allows students to get important skills needed to become a counselor. Such skills include listening ability and understanding people and their problems.
#4. Counseling Children & Adolescents – ACCREDITED CERTIFICATE
- Offered by: Udemy
- Rating: 4.3 out of 5
- Duration: 2.5 Hours
- Best Candidate: Beginners
This is one of the free online counselling courses with certificates which you can take from anywhere: Canada or the UK.
Just like the name signifies helps the student counselor understand children and teenagers.
At the end of the course, students get to be enabled to practice children and adolescent counseling.
#5. Introduction to Psychology by University of Toronto.
- Offered by: Coursera
- Rating: 4.9 out of 5
- Duration: 23 Hours
- Best Candidate: Beginners
Understand psychology by taking this Coursera counselling course free.
In this course you get to understand human nature, thoughts, feelings, and their impacts on behavior.
Therefore, this way you will be able to understand how the brain works.
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#6. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Practitioner Certificate.
- Offered by: Udemy
- Rating: 4.6 out of 5
- Duration: 32 Hours
- Best Candidate: Beginners
This counselling course aims at giving student counselors the skills to help people deal with destructive thought chains and of course provide alternative growth options.
Also, this course makes students self-aware. In addition, it helps students improve their people’s skills to be able to influence the thought process of others.
#7. Psychological First Aid by Johns Hopkins University.
- Offered by: Coursera
- Rating: 4.8 out of 5
- Duration: 6 Hours
- Best Candidate: Beginners
The Psychological First Aid program is centered around handling psychological emergencies using the Reflective listening, Assessment of needs, Prioritization, Intervention, and Disposition: RAPID model.
Also, students are able to extend help to others in traumatic situations like bereavements, suicides etc.
You may want to know more about the John Hopkins University Acceptance Rate for 2022.
#8. Positive Psychiatry and Mental Health by The University of Sydney.
- Offered by: Coursera
- Rating: 4.8 out of 5
- Duration: 20 Hours
- Best Candidate: Beginners
Next in our list of free online counselling courses with certificates in the UK and Canada is Positive Psychiatry and Mental Health.
Also, this course aims at how the body and mind interacts for relaxation and mindfulness. Also, students are able to identify how work and relationships are the primary concern of any individual.
#9. Free Counselling Certification
- Offered by: Digital Defynd
- Rating: 4.6 out of 5
- Duration: Not Specified
- Best Candidate: Beginners
This course comes with a free certificate on completion.
Also, it aims at teaching students on all they need to know about counselling at the beginners, intermediates, and experienced levels.
#10. The Arts and Science of Relationships: Understanding Human Needs by University of Toronto.
- Offered by: Coursera
- Rating: 4.5bout of 5
- Duration: 32 Hours
- Best Candidate: Beginners
If you ever dreamed of becoming a relationship counselor, this is the course for you and it’s totally free.
Here you develop strategies and skills for everyday social interactions.
Also, students get to deal with relationship problems by first understanding human psychology and the best possible way to handle conflicting situations better.
ALSO READ: How to Become a Child Psychiatrist 2022
#11. Counselling Programs and Certifications.
- Offered by: Coursera
- Rating: 4.3 out of 5
- Duration: Not Specified
- Best Candidate: Beginners
This is not just a free online counselling course. It is one of the free online counselling courses that comes with certificates.
It comes as a compilation of over 25 courses to help prospective counsellors jump-start a career in health and disorder counselling.
Students will be able to apply the principles of medicine and social science to prevent the occurrence of metal and behavioral disorders.
#12. Psychology and Counselling (University of Oxford)
- Offered by: Not Specified
- Rating: 4.4 out of 5
- Duration: Self-paced
- Best Candidate: Beginners
This course focuses on teaching students how to understand the human mind and its functions.
As you proceed, you can choose to progress your studies to postgraduate levels.
#13. Counselling and Psychology Courses.
- Offered by: Online Learning College
- Rating: 4.3 out of 5
- Duration: Self-paced
- Best Candidate: Beginners
Here you understand the psychological workings of the brain and how that affects the well-being of an individual.
This course allows you to explore counselling areas such as mental healthcare, counseling skills, child psychology, criminal psychology, cognitive behavioral therapy etc
#14. Counselling Degrees & Certificates.
- Offered by: Capella University
- Rating: 4.6 out of 5
- Duration: Self-paced
- Best Candidate: Beginners
This course allows you to focus on counselling topics like addiction, mental health, school counselling and marriage and family therapy.
Students will develop clinical, teaching, research and leadership skills.
Cheap Online Counselling Courses With Certificates in UK and Canada.
Some good online counselling courses don’t come free but most come at affordable or cheap prices due to the certificates.
Here are a few cheap counselling courses online!
#15. Understanding Anxiety, Depression and CBT
- Offered by: FutureLearn
- Duration: 35 days
- Cost: Not Specified.
Here you will learn to understand how depression and anxiety works and of course find an effective and evidence-based treatment.
#16. Maintaining a Mindful Life.
- Offered by: FutureLearn
- Duration: 1 month
- Cost: Free
This is one of the free counselling courses that teaches students how to apply mindfulness techniques.
This skill, you will apply in improving communication, relationships and emotional health.
#17. Trauma-Aware Education – Teaching Students Who Have Suffered Complex Trauma Microcredential.
- Offered by: FutureLearn
- Duration: 2 months.
- Cost: 708 EUR / full
Here you will learn the importance of trauma-aware education and produce an action plan to support people using trauma-informed practices.
ALSO READ: How to Become a Mental Health Counselor |Complete Guide 2021
#18. Introduction to Counselling Skills
- Offered by: FutureLearn
- Duration: 2 Months
- Cost: 476 EUR / full
Just like the name signifies, this is an introductory course offered by the University of Westminster via FutureLearn.
This course aims at understanding counseling and developing effective skills in practicing it.
#19. Counselling Studies and Skills (Online)
- Offered by: FutureLearn
- Duration: One Year
- Cost: 3,001 EUR / year.
This almost free online counselling course is offered by the University of Derby via FutureLearn.
Prospective counsellors learn counselling skills from scratch and how it can be used in different types of organization.
#20. Applied Psychology and Counselling
- Offered by: FutureLearn
- Duration: 1 year
- Cost: 6,544 EUR / year
At the end of the Applied Psychology and Counselling course, students get diploma certificates as proof of having completed the course.
This certificate is offered by Kelowna College of Professional Counselling.
Keep in mind that this program is an accelerated, online program that can be completed in just one year.
#21. Grief Counselling
- Offered by: Warnborough College Online
- Duration: Not Specified
- Cost: 470 EUR / full
This is a need for counseling specialization in the world today.
The Warnborough College has made available one of the best Grief online counselling courses with certificates almost for free for UK, Canada and people all over the world.
Here, you will develop understanding of appropriate practices and procedures for Grief Counselling.
#22. Online and Telephone Counselling
- Offered by: Warnborough College Online
- Duration: Not Specified
- Cost: 208 EUR / full
Absolutely no one has the time to sit many hours in an office listening to a counselor.
However, online counselling though a little distracting can suffix for such availability.
In this course, students will learn how to use the telephone to counsel clients online. This course is offered by Warnborough College online.
#23. Professional Practice In Counselling
- Offered by: Warnborough College Online.
- Duration: Not Specified
- Cost: 470 EUR / full
Via the Professional Practice In Counselling course, students will develop an understanding of appropriate practices and procedures within the counseling profession.
Furthermore, it gives them hands-on knowledge of the self, personality, and emotion awareness and how it affects the counseling process.
#24. Counselling Women
- Offered by: Athabasca University Online
- Duration: One Year
- Cost: 10,710 EUR / year
Here is one of the free online counseling courses with certificates offered by Athabasca University.
As the name signifies, it’s a professional counseling course for people who want to counsel women.
This course will benefit counselors who work directly with women in crisis intervention.
#25. Managing Stress
- Offered by: Warnborough College Online
- Duration: 20 Hours
- Cost: 208 EUR / full
Here students learn how to help clients manage stress with proven strategies and understanding of Managing Stress.
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List of Top 10 Counselling Courses With Certificates in The World.
- Introduction to Psychology: Yale University
- The Addicted Brain: Emory University
- Conflict Transformation: Emory University
- Addiction Treatment: Clinical Skills for Healthcare Providers: Yale University
- Psychological First Aid: Johns Hopkins University
- Positive Psychiatry and Mental Health: The University of Sydney
- Introduction to Self-Determination Theory: An approach to motivation, development and wellness: University of Rochester
- The Arts and Science of Relationships: Understanding Human Needs: University of Toronto
- Understanding the Brain: The Neurobiology of Everyday Life: The University of Chicago
- Major Depression in the Population: A Public Health Approach: Johns Hopkins University
How Do I Find a Counsellor?
When you discover you need counseling, the next is to find a counselor that can handle the problem you’re facing.
Therefore, being a counselor often comes with specializations like child counseling, relationship counseling, etc
When searching for an appropriate counseling service, here is what you should do: don’t be afraid to ask the counselor questions such as;
- Their particular area of expertise.
- Cost of each session.
- The duration of each counselling session.
- Find out if the counsellor is a member of one of the peak professional counselling bodies of counselling.
- Lastly find out if they adhere to a Professional Code of Ethics.
FAQ
You can study to become a counsellor without having to go to university if you prefer. There are many courses available to give you essential skills and an understanding of the role. However, only some will allow you to qualify as a counsellor.
Training as a counsellor involves a combination of theoretical study and practical experience, but you don’t need a degree to become a counsellor.
As a qualified counsellor, you can seek work in organisations offering counselling services, such as: counselling agencies, charities, healthcare, and education settings. Also, with experience, managerial and program lead roles as well as private counselling practice and counselling training roles.
Conclusion
Whether you want to be a counselor professionally or not, the above courses we have listed will help you get the best training.
Also, most of these free online counseling courses in the UK, Canada, and all over the world come with Certificates.
We often recommend such because certificates endorse your claim of learning and professionalism.
Therefore, we wish you luck and speed as you start a professional journey in counseling!!!
Good luck!!!
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