Diploma Overview

Earn your Diploma in just 1 year. KCPC offers a variety of options to accommodate the diverse employment opportunities for mental health practitioners. 

Choose from four areas of specialization

Click on each area for a detailed program description

• Professional Counsellor
• Addiction Counsellor
• Counselling Therapist*
• Psychotherapist*

*An undergraduate degree is required for Counselling Therapy, and Psychotherapy

Professional Opportunities:

Although KCPC cannot guarantee job placements, graduates from each area of specialization are prepared for entry-to-mid level careers in community agencies, hospitals, treatment centers, and private practice.

KCPC’s Diploma in Applied Psychology and Counselling provides competency-based training in the major theories and techniques used to treat disorders of emotion, cognition, and/or behavior. The difference between the scope of practice in each area of specialization is based on :

• the type of clientele being served;
• severity of clients’ symptoms;
• length and depth of treatment;
• level of the practitioner’s training and clinical experience.

Professional Counsellors treat clients whose mental health issues are typically less severe and shorter in duration than those requiring in-depth intervention.

Addiction Counsellors treat clients struggling with multi-faceted issues involving substance and/or behavioral addictions.

Counseling Therapists and Psychotherapists utilize advanced techniques to treat complex mental health issues that severely impact the client’s emotional, cognitive and/or behavioral functioning.

When difficult to resolve issues fall beyond their professional capacity, all mental health practitioners follow the same ethical protocol: obtain supervision, and/or refer the client to an appropriately qualified practitioner.

Scope of Practice

Working wIthin their scope of practice, Diploma graduates possess the skills required to assess and treat a variety of mental health concerns such as:

• depression, anxiety, and other emotional and behavioral disorders
• assessment and treatment or referral for disorders found in the DSM V
• addictions: prevention, recovery and follow-up treatment
• youth, family, and couples’ issues
• suicide and emergency intervention
• identity and developmental milestones
• loss and grief
• abuse, trauma, and domestic violence