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Postgraduate degree

Family Therapy Grad Cert

To find out more about the Family Therapy Grad Cert register for the online information session on 6th March at 12pm.

Key information

Study mode:
Full time
Part time
Duration:
One year full-time, September to June, two years part-time
Credit value (UK/ECTS equivalent):
UK 75/ECTS 37
Application status:
Open
Start date:
September 2025
Apply

Scholarships available, see Fees & Funding section for more information. Our Family Therapy Grad Cert course enables mental health professionals to develop useful theoretical knowledge and practice skills to enable them to work effectively with couples and families in the context of their own professional practice. The focus of the course is in working in mental health settings, and the teaching draws from a range of different approaches. This integrative approach ensures that students have a solid grounding which enables them to adapt their practice to different client groups. At the end of the course students will have gained confidence in working with more than one person in the room and be able to use a number of approaches to help people towards positive change. There is a focus on evidence-based practice and on the development of good therapeutic relationships.

Key benefits

  • Introduces students to the field of systemic theory, practice and research.
  • Introduces basic practice skills and their application to clinical practice.
  • Enables students to begin to develop a stance of self-reflexivity and prepare for entry to qualifying level training.

Our Family Therapy course is designed for professionals working in a mental health setting, such as mental health nurses, GPs, paediatricians, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and occupational therapists. At the Graduate Certificate level, the course provides an introduction to the field of systemic theory, practice and research and will begin to develop your clinical skills and practice. This is an ideal course for entry into qualifying-level training.

Base campus

Main building at the Denmark Hill campus
Denmark Hill Campus

Home to the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience.

Please note that locations are determined by where each module is taught and may vary depending on the modules you study.

Regulating bodies

King's is regulated by the Office for Students

UK applicants

Standard requirements

A minimum 2:1 undergraduate Bachelor’s (honours) degree

If you have a lower degree classification, or a degree in an unrelated subject, your application may be considered if you can demonstrate significant relevant work experience, or offer a related graduate qualification (such as a Masters or PGDip).

Programme-Specific Requirements

In addition to the standard requirements, the accrediting body for Family Therapy in the UK – the Association for Family Therapy (AFT) – sets out entry requirements for the Grad Cert in Family Therapy. These are:

  • a registerable professional qualification
  • currently working in a clinical setting involving regular patient/client contact.

Registerable professional qualifications are as follows:

  • Psychology – clinical psychology, educational psychology and counselling psychology (a degree in psychology with no further clinical training is not accepted)
  • Social Work – the generic professional qualification is sufficient whichever training route was undertaken (e.g. undergraduate, postgraduate, or the employment based without an academic award attached).
  • Psychiatry and other medical specialities
  • Teaching – where individuals have had substantial experience in which they have worked with pupils and families in a counselling capacity.
  • Nursing – mental health nursing and other nursing specialities which require counselling skills.
  • Arts therapists (art, drama, dance and movement and music therapists), qualified and registered with the Health Care Professions Council, HCPC.
  • Counselling – three year minimum training, full BACP accredited membership (MBACP Accred) and experience in the public or voluntary sector is considered essential to establish equivalence.
  • Occupational therapy – qualified and registered with Health Professions Council.
  • Speech and language therapy – qualified and registered with the Health Professions Council.

Those whose training was outside of the UK and who are able to show equivalence to the above will be acceptable.

Applications from candidates who do not have a professional qualification but can demonstrate equivalence through their knowledge, skills and experience MAY be considered. This will be assessed through a Recognition of Prior Learning process.

International applicants

Equivalent International qualifications

English language requirements

English language band:
B

To study at King's, it is essential that you can communicate in English effectively in an academic environment. You are usually required to provide certification of your competence in English before starting your studies.

Nationals of majority English speaking countries (as defined by the UKVI) who have permanently resided in this country are not usually required to complete an additional English language test. This is also the case for applicants who have successfully completed an undergraduate degree (of at least three years duration), a postgraduate taught degree (of at least one year), or a PhD in a majority English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI) within five years of the course start date.

For information on our English language requirements and whether you need to complete an English language test, please see our English Language requirements page.

Selection process

Applications must be made online using King’s online application portal apply.kcl.ac.uk and a non-refundable application fee of £85 applies. Selected applicants will be interviewed in April and May.

Personal statement and supporting information

You will be asked to submit the following documents in order for your application to be considered:

Personal statement Yes

A personal statement is required. This can be entered directly into the online application form (maximum 4,000 characters) or uploaded as an attachment to the online application form (maximum 2 pages). Please detail your reasons for applying for the course and your future goals.

Previous Academic Study Yes A copy (or copies) of your official academic transcript(s), showing the subjects studied and marks obtained. If you have already completed your degree, copies of your official degree certificate will also be required. Applicants with academic documents issued in a language other than English, will need to submit both the original and official translation of their documents.
References Yes Two references are required with at least one academic. Professional references will be accepted if you have completed your qualifications over five years ago.
Other Yes Please also include a CV with details of your clinical experience.

Teaching methods - what to expect

You will be taught through a mix of lectures, seminars and tutorials.

Module name  Lectures (hours) Seminars/tutorials (hours) Field/lab/studio/supervised learning (hours) Project work (hours) Self-Study (hours)
Theories Informing Systemic Practice with Families &
Couples
30 50 - 20 50

Systematic Practice with Families & Couples

- 60 - 100 140
Clinical Practice - - 120 20 10
Personal & Professional Development - 25 - 75 50

Contact time is based on 30 academic weeks. Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work. To meet accreditation requirements, students are required to accumulate 60 hours of clinical practice during the course and acquire 10 hours of clinical supervision arranged by the student.

We will use a delivery method that will ensure students have a rich, exciting experience from the start. Face to face teaching will be complemented and supported with innovative technology so that students also experience elements of digital learning and assessment.

Location

Our course is primarily taught at the King’s College London Denmark Hill Campus.

Assessment

  • Written Examinations
  • Coursework

The primary methods of assessment for this course are written examinations, coursework and practical work (oral presentation of clinical work).

The study time and assessment methods typically give an indication of what to expect. However, these may vary depending upon the modules.

Regulating body

King’s College London is regulated by the Office for Students.

The study time and assessment methods detailed above are typical and give you a good indication of what to expect. However, they are subject to change.

Structure

Required modules

Courses are divided into modules. You will normally take modules totalling 75 credits. As a full-time student, you are required to take the following modules spread over a 24-months, whereas as a part-time student, you are required to take the following modules over 12 months:

Theories informing Systematic practice with Families and Couples (15 credits)
Systemic Practice with Families and Couples (30 credits)
Clinical Practice (15 credits)
Personal and Professional Development (15 credits)

Optional modules

There are no optional modules for this course.

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates.

Please note that modules with a practical component will be capped due to educational requirements, which may mean that we cannot guarantee a place to all students who elect to study this module.

Employability

Students can go on to study the qualifying level training (MSc in Family Therapy). Or use their knowledge and skills to incorporate systematic work in existing clinical practice. Graduates of this course are eligible to apply to the Association for Family Therapy for System Practitioner membership status.

Tuition Fees

UK:

Full time: £7,631 per year (2025/26)

Part time: £3,816 per year (2025/26)

International:

Full time: £11,850 per year (2025/26)

Part time: £5,925 per year (2025/26)

These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King’s terms and conditions.

Deposit

If you receive an offer for this programme, you will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit to secure your place. Deposit payments are credited towards the total tuition fee payment.

The Home deposit is £500. The International deposit is £2000.

  • If you receive an offer before March, payment is due by 20 March.
  • If you receive an offer between 1 March and 20 May, payment is due within one month of receiving the offer.
  • If you receive an offer between 21 May and 15 July, payment is due within two weeks of receiving the offer.
  • If you receive an offer between 16 July and 10 August, payment is due within one week of receiving the offer.
  • If you receive an offer from 11 August onwards, payment is due within three days of receiving the offer.

If you are a current undergraduate King’s student in receipt of the King's Living Bursary this academic year, you are not required to pay a deposit to secure your place on the programme. Please note, this will not change the total fees payable for your chosen programme.

Please visit our web pages on fees and funding for more information.

IOPPN Postgraduate Taught Scholarships

Scholarships of £5000 are available for this programme for 2025/26 entry, to support students with the financial commitments of postgraduate study. the scholarships are available for all full-time Home and International fee status students, with a deadline to apply of Friday 21 February 2025 click here to find out more.

Additional Costs

In addition to your tuition costs, you can also expect to pay for:

  • Books if you choose to buy your own copies.
  • 10 hours to clinical supervision- arranged by student.
  • DBS checks.
  • Clothing for optional course related events and competitions.
  • Library fees and fines.
  • Personal photocopies.
  • Printing course handouts.
  • Society membership fees.
  • Stationery.
  • Travel costs for travel around London and between campuses.
  • Graduation costs.

Funding

To find out more about bursaries, scholarships, grants, tuition fees, living expenses, student loans, and other financial help available at King's please visit the Fees and Funding section.

Our Family Therapy course is designed for professionals working in a mental health setting, such as mental health nurses, GPs, paediatricians, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and occupational therapists. At the Graduate Certificate level, the course provides an introduction to the field of systemic theory, practice and research and will begin to develop your clinical skills and practice. This is an ideal course for entry into qualifying-level training.

Base campus

Main building at the Denmark Hill campus
Denmark Hill Campus

Home to the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience.

Please note that locations are determined by where each module is taught and may vary depending on the modules you study.

Regulating bodies

King's is regulated by the Office for Students

UK applicants

Standard requirements

A minimum 2:1 undergraduate Bachelor’s (honours) degree

If you have a lower degree classification, or a degree in an unrelated subject, your application may be considered if you can demonstrate significant relevant work experience, or offer a related graduate qualification (such as a Masters or PGDip).

Programme-Specific Requirements

In addition to the standard requirements, the accrediting body for Family Therapy in the UK – the Association for Family Therapy (AFT) – sets out entry requirements for the Grad Cert in Family Therapy. These are:

  • a registerable professional qualification
  • currently working in a clinical setting involving regular patient/client contact.

Registerable professional qualifications are as follows:

  • Psychology – clinical psychology, educational psychology and counselling psychology (a degree in psychology with no further clinical training is not accepted)
  • Social Work – the generic professional qualification is sufficient whichever training route was undertaken (e.g. undergraduate, postgraduate, or the employment based without an academic award attached).
  • Psychiatry and other medical specialities
  • Teaching – where individuals have had substantial experience in which they have worked with pupils and families in a counselling capacity.
  • Nursing – mental health nursing and other nursing specialities which require counselling skills.
  • Arts therapists (art, drama, dance and movement and music therapists), qualified and registered with the Health Care Professions Council, HCPC.
  • Counselling – three year minimum training, full BACP accredited membership (MBACP Accred) and experience in the public or voluntary sector is considered essential to establish equivalence.
  • Occupational therapy – qualified and registered with Health Professions Council.
  • Speech and language therapy – qualified and registered with the Health Professions Council.

Those whose training was outside of the UK and who are able to show equivalence to the above will be acceptable.

Applications from candidates who do not have a professional qualification but can demonstrate equivalence through their knowledge, skills and experience MAY be considered. This will be assessed through a Recognition of Prior Learning process.

International applicants

Equivalent International qualifications

English language requirements

English language band:
B

To study at King's, it is essential that you can communicate in English effectively in an academic environment. You are usually required to provide certification of your competence in English before starting your studies.

Nationals of majority English speaking countries (as defined by the UKVI) who have permanently resided in this country are not usually required to complete an additional English language test. This is also the case for applicants who have successfully completed an undergraduate degree (of at least three years duration), a postgraduate taught degree (of at least one year), or a PhD in a majority English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI) within five years of the course start date.

For information on our English language requirements and whether you need to complete an English language test, please see our English Language requirements page.

Selection process

Applications must be made online using King’s online application portal apply.kcl.ac.uk and a non-refundable application fee of £85 applies. Selected applicants will be interviewed in April and May.

Personal statement and supporting information

You will be asked to submit the following documents in order for your application to be considered:

Personal statement Yes

A personal statement is required. This can be entered directly into the online application form (maximum 4,000 characters) or uploaded as an attachment to the online application form (maximum 2 pages). Please detail your reasons for applying for the course and your future goals.

Previous Academic Study Yes A copy (or copies) of your official academic transcript(s), showing the subjects studied and marks obtained. If you have already completed your degree, copies of your official degree certificate will also be required. Applicants with academic documents issued in a language other than English, will need to submit both the original and official translation of their documents.
References Yes Two references are required with at least one academic. Professional references will be accepted if you have completed your qualifications over five years ago.
Other Yes Please also include a CV with details of your clinical experience.

Teaching methods - what to expect

You will be taught through a mix of lectures, seminars and tutorials.

Module name  Lectures (hours) Seminars/tutorials (hours) Field/lab/studio/supervised learning (hours) Project work (hours) Self-Study (hours)
Theories Informing Systemic Practice with Families &
Couples
30 50 - 20 50

Systematic Practice with Families & Couples

- 60 - 100 140
Clinical Practice - - 120 20 10
Personal & Professional Development - 25 - 75 50

Contact time is based on 30 academic weeks. Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work. To meet accreditation requirements, students are required to accumulate 60 hours of clinical practice during the course and acquire 10 hours of clinical supervision arranged by the student.

We will use a delivery method that will ensure students have a rich, exciting experience from the start. Face to face teaching will be complemented and supported with innovative technology so that students also experience elements of digital learning and assessment.

Location

Our course is primarily taught at the King’s College London Denmark Hill Campus.

Assessment

  • Written Examinations
  • Coursework

The primary methods of assessment for this course are written examinations, coursework and practical work (oral presentation of clinical work).

The study time and assessment methods typically give an indication of what to expect. However, these may vary depending upon the modules.

Regulating body

King’s College London is regulated by the Office for Students.

The study time and assessment methods detailed above are typical and give you a good indication of what to expect. However, they are subject to change.

Structure

Required modules

Courses are divided into modules. You will normally take modules totalling 75 credits. As a full-time student, you are required to take the following modules spread over a 24-months, whereas as a part-time student, you are required to take the following modules over 12 months:

Theories informing Systematic practice with Families and Couples (15 credits)
Systemic Practice with Families and Couples (30 credits)
Clinical Practice (15 credits)
Personal and Professional Development (15 credits)

Optional modules

There are no optional modules for this course.

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates.

Please note that modules with a practical component will be capped due to educational requirements, which may mean that we cannot guarantee a place to all students who elect to study this module.

Employability

Students can go on to study the qualifying level training (MSc in Family Therapy). Or use their knowledge and skills to incorporate systematic work in existing clinical practice. Graduates of this course are eligible to apply to the Association for Family Therapy for System Practitioner membership status.

Tuition Fees

UK:

Full time: £7,631 per year (2025/26)

Part time: £3,816 per year (2025/26)

International:

Full time: £11,850 per year (2025/26)

Part time: £5,925 per year (2025/26)

These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King’s terms and conditions.

Deposit

If you receive an offer for this programme, you will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit to secure your place. Deposit payments are credited towards the total tuition fee payment.

The Home deposit is £500. The International deposit is £2000.

  • If you receive an offer before March, payment is due by 20 March.
  • If you receive an offer between 1 March and 20 May, payment is due within one month of receiving the offer.
  • If you receive an offer between 21 May and 15 July, payment is due within two weeks of receiving the offer.
  • If you receive an offer between 16 July and 10 August, payment is due within one week of receiving the offer.
  • If you receive an offer from 11 August onwards, payment is due within three days of receiving the offer.

If you are a current undergraduate King’s student in receipt of the King's Living Bursary this academic year, you are not required to pay a deposit to secure your place on the programme. Please note, this will not change the total fees payable for your chosen programme.

Please visit our web pages on fees and funding for more information.

IOPPN Postgraduate Taught Scholarships

Scholarships of £5000 are available for this programme for 2025/26 entry, to support students with the financial commitments of postgraduate study. the scholarships are available for all full-time Home and International fee status students, with a deadline to apply of Friday 21 February 2025 click here to find out more.

Additional Costs

In addition to your tuition costs, you can also expect to pay for:

  • Books if you choose to buy your own copies.
  • 10 hours to clinical supervision- arranged by student.
  • DBS checks.
  • Clothing for optional course related events and competitions.
  • Library fees and fines.
  • Personal photocopies.
  • Printing course handouts.
  • Society membership fees.
  • Stationery.
  • Travel costs for travel around London and between campuses.
  • Graduation costs.

Funding

To find out more about bursaries, scholarships, grants, tuition fees, living expenses, student loans, and other financial help available at King's please visit the Fees and Funding section.

Application closing date guidance

We encourage you to apply as early as possible so that there is sufficient time for your application to be assessed. We may need to request further information from you during the application process.

Our first application deadline is on 9 March 2025 (23:59 UK time).

Interviews:
Please apply as early as possible before the initial March deadline. Interviews will be scheduled and places offered as we go along.

After the first application deadline, the programme may close at any point once it is full. If there are places still available, the programme will remain open until the final application deadlines below:

  • Overseas (international) fee status: 25 July 2025 (23:59 UK time)
  • Home fee status: 25 August 2025 (23:59 UK time)

Key information

Study mode:
Full time
Part time
Duration:
One year full-time, September to June, two years part-time
Credit value (UK/ECTS equivalent):
UK 75/ECTS 37
Application status:
Open
Start date:
September 2025
Apply

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