Psychotherapy & Counselling Foundation

General Description
The foundation course is the first year of the Counselling Psychology & Psychotherapy and the Psychotherapy & Counselling training programmes, however it can also be taken as a one-year introductory course. The course introduces the student to the major psychotherapeutic and counselling approaches. While the entire breadth of the field is covered this is done within a challenging philosophical framework. The programme provides an excellent academic background for the development of students’ practical skills and all students will be encouraged to find their own path and explore those concerns which are immediate and meaningful to them.

The course covers humanistic, cognitive-behavioural and psychoanalytic theory and practice, whilst using the philosophically based existential approach to allow for a critical stance to the study and practice of psychotherapy and counselling.

Objectives of the Course
At the end of the course students will be expected to have a basic understanding of:

* The range of psychotherapeutic and counselling approaches that are currently available in the field and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

* The relevance of social and political issues, such as those of sexuality, gender, race, power, status and age and their effect on personal development and professional competence.

* Ethical concerns that are directly relevant to this field.

* Specific settings and concerns in which counselling and psychotherapy are particularly appropriate.

* The aspects of their personal development on which a professional competence in this field is founded.

The successful completion of this course will enable students to be awarded a Certificate of Attendance. This certificate does not in any way provide students with a professional qualification to practice counselling or psychotherapy, but provides the foundation for further training.

Course Structure
The course is modular and consists of four hours of training per week over three terms. Each term is ten weeks. Each term represents one module of learning. Each module consists of a number of different elements.

The session starts with a lecture, followed by a discussion. The middle part of the session consists of skills training, where some of the principles of the lecture are applied and experienced in a practical format. During this component of the course students work with each other under supervision of the tutor. The session is then concluded with an experiential development group, which is facilitated by a staff member and where students learn to work on their own issues with each other.

Students are not required to be in personal therapy, although many will find this helpful. Students will not work in a placement setting, as the nature of the course is introductory and does not lead to a professional qualification. It is recommended that students keep a journal, documenting their personal development during the course. This will be used for the writing of one of the assignments.

Course Content
The course provides students with a mixture of theoretical, practical and personal work. The three terms of the course offer very distinct modules that together create a fairly comprehensive picture of the field. The course was developed by tutors who have many years of experience in this type of experiential learning and is taught to the highest standards. If students are to benefit from the course a commitment to learning and to questioning is essential. Students are expected to confront problems directly and honestly and to make themselves available in the skills exercises and development groups in an open manner.

Three modules are required to complete the course and these can be taken in any order, although many students will opt into the course for the entire year and follow the three modules in sequence with each other. The three modules are as follows:

Module 1: Humanistic and existential approaches

Module 2: Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic approaches

Module 3: Special approaches and specific client groups

Assessment
Students are required to attend all sessions. Minimum attendance in order to qualify for the award of the certificate is eighty percent. The students’ personal contribution to class work will be assessed by seminar leaders and tutors, who will monitor students’ active engagement with the course. Students will be required to complete a self-evaluation of learning each term to which the tutor will make comments. Two written assignments are required to be submitted for assessment, one at the end of term two and one at the end of term three. Students may be asked to resubmit the assignments if they are not satisfactory or they may be asked to repeat part of the course. Tutors will provide assistance to those who are not used to producing written papers and the standard of work required will be at an undergraduate level.