Certificate in Humanistic Counselling Skills

Certificate in Humanistic Counselling Skills

Counselling skills are regarded as advanced, interpersonal, communication and social tools that enable people to express, explore and come to terms with their thoughts and feelings. Showing that you can listen and understand a person, even if nothing can be changed about their situation is invaluable to them. Counselling skills are also used to guide people through decision processes, perhaps helping to see potential possibilities or areas for change.

Gestalt holds a central position in this course and as an evolving, exciting and universally applicable theory, supports the use of counselling skills. It is well respected and has influenced and enriched many other therapeutic, educational and managerial approaches to supporting people.

There are three components to the course:

The first component provides the Foundation to your training and is fifty hours long. You will learn about the various counselling skills and techniques needed to support people in personal exploration and during times of difficulty. Looking more closely at yourself and relationships with others, you will be invited to consider your attitudes to race, gender, sexuality and other differences. There will be an introduction to Gestalt theory and practice and how it supports the use of counselling skills.

The second component presents Gestalt in Action. You will use the twelve hours of this training to deepen your understanding of Gestalt theory and practice using words, art, writing, sound, movement and other creative ways. You will explore how we make and break links (or contact) with ourselves, others and the environment and how this affects our life. You will also consider how, as self-regulating animals, we seek out what we need to keep us healthy but sometimes deny these needs by employing various psychological mechanisms.

As a central issue of Gestalt, you will also look at the issue of responsibility; how, what and when you may disown it and the consequences. Our personalities are made up from many different parts and so we experience contradictory thoughts and feelings and often deny the parts that we consider unacceptable eg. our anger. Inner conflicts result, which lead to confusion, anxiety and fatigue. It is important that when we use counselling skills, we recognise these conflicts in ourselves as well as in others.

We also offer Gestalt in Action as a single weekend.

The third component concentrates for thirty-four hours on Loss and Bereavement. As children, the quality of the bond that we make with others lays the groundwork for future relationships and determines how we cope with the many different losses in our lives. We respond to loss by beginning a process of grieving and you will learn how best to understand and support people who are going through this process in the light of various cultural and spiritual attitudes. Sometimes, grieving can be complicated by unusual or unexpected loss, eg. a child's death, suicide, the loss of a limb, redundancy, illness etc. and you will consider this too. You will also have the opportunity to look at how you respond to the losses in your life and how this affects your work with grieving people.

We offers you:

• flexible training times - either thirty Thursdays 7pm-9.30pm plus three Saturdays 10am-5pm, thirty Fridays 10.30am-1pm plus three Saturdays 10am-5pm or sixteen whole days (Saturdays and weekends) 10am-5pm.
• Please ensure you specify which format you wish to be considered for when applying.
• * participation in a varied, stimulating learning environment which includes tutor and student input, group-work and personal reflection
• an understanding of the theories which support the use of counselling skills
• opportunities to practice within an ethical and professional framework, various counselling skills and techniques
• a safe place to begin to explore and share some of your personal beliefs and values
• continuing professional development.

To successfully complete this course you will have:

• shown appropriate participation in all areas of the course
• kept a Personal Learning Journal which gives an account of your reflections on the course material and its impact on you as a person and your relationships
• written two Essays, one on a theoretical topic relating to counselling and the other on an aspect of Gestalt theory that has interested you.