Foundation in counselling skills

Stage one: foundation course in counselling skills

The Foundation Course provides an introduction to the nature of psychodynamic counselling and is open to anyone who wants to develop their listening and communication skills in depth. This is a valuable one-year course for anyone working or volunteering in the helping or caring professions. It is also a pre-requirement for people wanting to go on to the Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling.

Course Aims and Outcomes

The course aims to teach you how to use counselling skills and attitudes, such as active listening and responding skills, ethically and with an understanding of how earlier life experiences can affect how people feel and behave in the present.

By the end of the year you will have:

• learnt about and practiced skills of listening, mirroring, reflecting back, paraphrasing, and summarising to facilitate the other's understanding and accommodation of their feelings and inner conflicts.
• begun to look at, reflect upon and recognised patterns of behaviour, feeling and thinking in yourself and in others and practiced clarifying, supporting and challenging others to recognise, think about and manage their feelings, thoughts and conflicts.
• shown an open interest in and commitment to self-exploration and development
• learnt some theory on human growth and development
• understood the importance of boundaries and ethics in counselling work
• become more aware of working and living in a multicultural and diverse society where issues of difference are acknowledged and worked with sensitively and assumptions are challenged.

Personal Awareness and Self Development

We believe that counselling and providing help to others is based on the core conditions of a non-judgemental, respectful, empathic and accepting attitude towards the other. By default, in order to be helpful to others you will be committed to developing an understanding, respect and sense of acceptance towards yourself. We see self awareness and self development as cornerstones to your capacity to help others.

The Training Day and Time Commitment

The training day is four hours, usually on a Monday evening from 5.30 - 9.30 pm. The time is divided between experiential seminars, skills practice and the process group. The course meets for three ten week terms with a reading week break in each term. In addition there are two Saturday workshops and two half hour tutorials outside of course time. Tutorials will not necessarily be in Frome. You should also allow time each week for reading. All aspects of the course are mandatory.

Course Content and Theory

Concepts and theories as detailed below will be presented in seminars. Seminars are experiential, interactive and opportunities for discussion, feedback and consolidation. Students will be provided with a reading list and be expected to read around the various concepts and theories.

Term One:

• Introduction, expectations and aims
• Ethical issues, BACP and wpf code
• Contracts, setting the scene
• Basic counselling skills
• Core conditions and attitudes

Term Two:

• Introduction to human growth and development
• Introduction to attachment, separation and loss

Term Three

• Psychodynamic perspective, confrontation, challenging
• Working with difference
• Responsibilities to client, organisation and self
• Unconscious processes, transference, counter transference
• Endings

Skills practice is an essential part of each training day. Students have an opportunity to put their learning into practice in a wide range of contexts, and to develop a reflective capacity on their practice in a supportive and challenging environment.

Process Group

The end of each training day is a one hour experiential process group. This offers a place to explore feelings and relationships, with a group facilitator. The aim of the group is to develop self awareness, gain insight to group dynamics and relationships and continue to process your learning, this in turn enhances a developing self-reflective capacity.

Assessment Process

The assessment process is continuous and achieved through self, staff and peer review and feedback from seminars, skills practice and written work. There are two assessed essays during the year. The first is 1500 words based on the Experience of Skills Practice both as client and counsellor, to be written in the second term. The second is 2500 words on Core Skills and Attitudes to be written in the final term. You are encouraged to keep a learning journal throughout the training.

You will need to achieve a pass in your essays, course participation and course attendance in order to receive the nationally validated wpf Certificate in Counselling Skills and Attitudes. As well as continuous assessment, staff assessment meetings are held at the end of each term and you will receive ongoing feedback on your progress, including specific feedback on areas of achievement and areas for further development.

Workshops

There are two Saturday workshops during the year. The first on Beginnings and the second on Psychodynamic Theory and Practice.

Personal therapy

Your experience of your own therapy throughout the training is seen as a core element of your learning. We believe that learning from the experience of being supported and helped is an essential component in learning how to give support and help. You will be provided with a list of Wessex Approved Therapists at the start of the course. For those of you wishing to continue to Stage Two of the training you will need to have started in therapy by the second term of the Foundation Year.

Course Times: Mondays, 5.30 - 9.30 pm