Marion's story: fulfilling her counselling dream!

“Counselling is one of the newer Open Study College subjects, and their flexibility and support has helped me to fulfill my dream to complete a course such as this!” 

Marion, 52

Having already successfully completed the Counselling Level 2 course via distance learning with Open Study College, Marion has decided to study a Counselling Level 3 course. Her plan is to use her new qualifications to help her to explore further opportunities for employment in this field. Marion opens up about her journey thus far:  

“I always had an interest in counselling and I chose to learn with Open Study College and go down the online studying route because I work full-time and knew it would be difficult to do both at the same time.  

“This method of studying has been really beneficial as I can learn when it suits me and I‘m able to plan a lot better around my routine. Counselling is one of the newer Open Study College subjects, and their flexibility and support has helped me to fulfill my dream to complete a course such as this!”  

Marion is currently a support worker and felt the time to progress in her career and life was now: “This new course couldn’t have been introduced at a better time for me. I felt it came about at the right moment. I am currently a support worker and have been in this role for nearly 12 years.  

“Although I really enjoy it and I have gained so much great experience; I didn’t want to be stagnant in learning new skills. When I started my studies, it was around the lockdown period so it felt important to commit myself to complete something achievable in that period, which I did. 

“When I first started learning, the thing I found most challenging was actually getting back into it again. It had been several years since I last studied, so picking this back up was tricky. Distance learning often means working through your studies independently - it’s important to remember though that email and phone support are available. I wanted to work independently as much as possible, however, I have asked my tutor for help when I’ve needed it, which has been really helpful.” 

Marion offers some useful advice to those considering the distance learning route with Open Study College and talks about her plans to complete more courses.  

She said: “My advice to anyone interested in doing a course with Open Study College would be to enquire and go through reviews of those that have studied this way too. There are course advisers available who can give you more information if you require it. I am interested in completing other courses as studying in this format has worked for me in so many ways; I will continue to use Open Study College.”