When qualified counsellors decide to work online or by telephone, the biggest risk isn't technology — it's not knowing what they don't know. The ethical, legal, and clinical considerations for digital practice are genuinely different from face-to-face work.
This course was built to close that gap. Eighty hours of structured, self-paced learning that takes you through every aspect of online and telephone counselling — from client suitability and contracting, through to risk management, data protection, and how to transfer your existing skills into a digital environment.
Mapped to the BACP framework for online and telephone counselling, and Quality Checked by the NCPS. Over 13,000 counsellors and psychotherapists have completed it. Delivered entirely online, at your own pace, via a secure student portal.
The course is built in a logical sequence — each phase prepares you for the next.
Build the ethical and legal foundation every digital practitioner needs. Modules 1–3 cover the online mindset, client suitability, contracting, ethical and legal requirements, data protection, confidentiality, risk management, and the black-hole effect. This is not background reading — it is the essential knowledge that separates safe digital practice from unsafe practice.
Learn how to carry everything you already know into a digital context. Modules 4 and 5 explore the research on online therapy effectiveness, the particular dynamics of video, telephone, and text counselling, working without visual cues, online self-care and supervision, and how to maintain your professional presence through a screen or on a phone. The transition is not as simple as opening a video app — this is where most counsellors discover what they didn't know they didn't know.
Practise, consolidate, and build the confidence to work with clients online. Buddy training and experiential exercises are embedded throughout the course so that the learning stays practical, not theoretical. Module 6 guides you through the transition into professional digital practice — so you finish knowing how to build and sustain a safe, ethical online caseload.
"I now see myself as an online counsellor rather than a counsellor having to work online."
Gillian, CardiffThe online mindset, benefits and challenges, client suitability assessment, synchronous vs. asynchronous communication, online contracting, technology from both therapist and client perspectives, and selecting the right tools for your practice. This is where the foundations are laid.
Ethical and legal requirements specific to digital practice, assessing client best fit, jurisdiction considerations, insurance, online confidentiality, data protection, and disclaimer protocols. The legal landscape for online counselling is different — this module makes sure you know it.
Referrals, the black-hole effect, emergency contacts, risk management protocols, and how to maintain appropriate boundaries as a digital practitioner. Online counselling introduces specific risk considerations that face-to-face training doesn't prepare you for.
Research on online therapy effectiveness, the specific dynamics of telephone counselling, video session considerations, text counselling, and the critical challenge of working without visual cues. Your existing skills are highly transferable — this module shows you exactly how.
Your online professional presence, supervision in the digital age, self-care for online practitioners, how to handle session endings in a digital environment, and using evaluation forms to monitor therapeutic progress. This module is about you as a practitioner, not just your clients.
Transitioning from training into practice, building a sustainable online caseload, and continuing your professional development in the digital space. This final module brings everything together so that when you complete the course, you know exactly what comes next.
Experiential learning exercises built into the course structure, including peer buddy practice to embed the learning.
Every lecture is available as video, downloadable audio, full transcript, closed captions, and a written summary — so you can learn in whatever way suits you best.
Receive a certificate of completion equivalent to 80 CPD hours, recognised for your professional body's continuing development requirements.
Ken and Rory lead the course content — both qualified counsellors who made the transition to digital practice themselves, and have been teaching others how to do it safely ever since. Behind the course, a Counselling Tutor team of nearly twenty — academic, technical, and student support staff — are here to help you every step of the way.
I've been a qualified counsellor, clinical supervisor, and counselling tutor for many years. I hold a post-graduation certificate in online and telephone counselling — which I completed in 2012 — and a teaching qualification. I'm the author of Basic Counselling Skills: A Student Guide, recommended reading in counselling training centres around the world.
Through Counselling Tutor, I've supported thousands of counsellors across the UK and internationally. I specialise in online training and outcome-based learning — so the way this course is built reflects how I actually think about effective teaching.
I'm a qualified counsellor, clinical supervisor, and lecturer with over a decade of counselling instruction experience. I'm the author of Counselling Theory in Practice: A Student Guide and a Pearson Teaching Award Fellow. In 2015 I received the Silver Plato award for outstanding use of educational technology — which tells you something about how seriously I take the craft of online teaching.
Working with Ken at Counselling Tutor, I've seen how many counsellors assume that working online is simply a matter of opening a video call. This course exists because that assumption is wrong — and because getting it right is genuinely not difficult when someone shows you how.
Lyn, Devon, United Kingdom"Before I started the course I thought to myself 'how hard can it be?' I had no idea of all the considerations and complexities involved. My insights have increased a hundredfold."
"They leave no stone unturned as far as giving you the right information to help you become an informed counsellor. I am now in my second year of private practice."
"The course has highlighted things I would never have thought of. Rory and Ken have a very congruent way of delivering — you can see they have walked the walk and are genuinely sharing their experiences."
"If you think you know how to make the switch, think again. This in-depth, practical course will make you aware of all the essentials that keep you the professional."
"The course is packed full of all the information and knowledge you need. Both Rory and Ken explain things in a manner which is serious, factual, and informative — as well as including the right amount of humour."
You have your qualifications and professional membership, and you want to offer online or telephone sessions — but you want to do it properly, not just wing it.
You're already seeing clients face-to-face and you want to offer online sessions — or you want to futureproof your practice for whatever comes next.
Many charities, the NHS, and employee assistance programmes now offer counselling via telephone and video. This course gives you the competencies to practise safely in those settings.
Counselling students who are already in placement and working with clients online or by telephone can take this course — provided they are supervised throughout.
Many experienced counsellors find this course most valuable precisely because they're already practising. You'll validate what you're doing well — and discover the considerations you didn't know you were missing.
This course is for qualified counsellors and psychotherapists, and for students who are already client-facing under supervision. It is not a route to becoming a counsellor. To work independently with online or telephone clients, you must first hold a recognised counselling qualification and professional body membership.
Organisations interested in bulk access for teams should contact colette@counsellingtutor.com for agency rates.
If you enrol and feel dissatisfied for any reason, you have 30 days to let us know and we will refund 100% of your money. No awkward questions.
Almost certainly yes. This is one of the most common things experienced practitioners tell us after completing the course. Many qualified counsellors who have been working online for years discover ethical, legal, and clinical considerations they had never formally encountered — contracting for the black-hole scenario, jurisdiction and data protection obligations, working without visual cues, and more. The course consistently surprises people who assumed they already knew enough.
Yes, with one exception. The course is designed for qualified counsellors and psychotherapists, and for counselling students who are already client-facing under supervision. If you are still in training and not yet working with clients, the course content will still be valuable, but you will need to complete your qualification before practising online independently.
Yes. This course is mapped to the BACP framework for online and telephone counselling, and to the BACP curriculum suggested for online counselling training — provided you hold a recognised counselling qualification and professional body membership. Completion of this course alone does not qualify you to practise — it provides the specialist training to complement your existing qualification.
The course exceeds 80 hours of guided learning and carries a completion certificate equivalent to 80 CPD hours. You can use this towards your professional body's annual CPD requirements. The NCPS Quality Checked status means NCPS members can count it directly.
All three. The course covers telephone counselling, video sessions, and text-based counselling as distinct modalities — because each one has its own clinical and ethical considerations. Module 4 specifically addresses the different dynamics of each medium, and Module 2 covers the legal and insurance implications across all of them.
The course is fully self-paced. All content is delivered through a secure online student portal — video lectures, supporting documents, and experiential exercises — which you access on your own schedule. There are no live sessions to attend and no deadlines to meet.
Lifetime access. One payment, no subscription, no expiry date. You can work through the course at whatever pace suits you and return to any module whenever you need to.
Buddy training is a structured peer practice component built into the course. You work with a fellow learner (or a suitable colleague) to practise the skills and considerations covered in the modules in a real online or telephone context. Instructions and frameworks for how to run these sessions are provided within the course materials.
Yes. The course is accessible on any device with an internet connection — desktop, laptop, tablet, or phone.
Yes. 30 days. If you enrol and feel dissatisfied for any reason, contact us within 30 days and we will refund 100% of your payment. No awkward questions.
Yes. If you are purchasing on behalf of a team or organisation, please contact colette@counsellingtutor.com for agency pricing.