Counselling Skills

Counselling Skills- NCFE Level 3 Award
Supported Home Study
Course Summary

Reach Your Potential in Counselling
Do people turn to you for a sympathetic ear?

Do you work with them to find a solution to a problem? If so, there is a very good chance you have what it takes to be a great counsellor.

For many of us, the complex, fast-moving world we live in results in experiences that are difficult to understand and come to terms with. Counsellors can make a big difference in people's lives by filling the role of an interested and concerned listener. But it's not as simple as it sounds. Any topic may come up which places demands on the counsellor to be objective and professional. As a counsellor you have to be able to establish a finely balanced relationship with your client, nurture it and, when the time is right, end it.

Module 1: Preparing to counsel others

• The foundations of human behaviour
• The process of socialisation
• Social issues in general
• Social issues in the workplace
• Psychological and social wellness
• Counselling tasks and competencies
• Recognising ambiguity and complexity

Module 2: An introduction to counselling

• The aims of counselling
• Counselling theory and practice
• The social meaning of counselling
• The role of Carl Rogers
• Eclecticism and integrationism
• Themes and issues in counselling
• Psychodynamic counselling
• The work of Sigmund Freud
• The cognitive-behavioural approach
• Solution-focused therapy
• The person-centred approach
• Experiential focusing

Module 3: Working with systems

• Concept of a person's social ‘niche'
• The counsellor as consultant
• Feminism as philosophy and socialization
• Narrative approaches to counselling
• Enlisting community resources and audiences
• Multiculturalism approach to counselling
• Awareness training
• Philosophical counselling
• Post-modern therapy
• The counselling relationship
• Effective therapeutic alliances
• The process of counselling
• Making sense of process

Module 4: The politics of counselling

• Empowerment, control and difference
• Disadvantaged and marginalised groups
• Ethics and moral reasoning
• Moral principles and ethical codes
• Types of counselling organisation
• Role conflict
• Alternative modes of delivery
• Non-professional counsellors
• Counselling on the internet
• Research in counselling and in therapy
• Skills and qualities of effective counsellors
• Training and supervision in counselling
• Key issues in counselling theory and practice