Certificate in Therapeutic Skills and Studies

The certificate aims to provide students:

• An introduction to Humanistic Counselling theory and practice which incorporates skills and knowledge from three modalities: Person-Centred, Gestalt and Transactional Analysis
• A foundation for practicing counselling skills
• Conversations around difference – for example, race, age, sexuality and gender
• An understanding of standards of ethical and professional practice
• Opportunities for reflective thinking and practice
• Training to progress to professional training programmes to qualify as a counsellor or psychotherapist in a range of health, social care and private settings

During the course participants will be introduced to the history and roots of counselling, its value base and core concepts. We will draw, in particular, on basic ideas from the major counselling and psychotherapy approaches that are studied at Metanoia, namely Gestalt, Humanistic, Integrative, Person-Centred, and Transactional Analysis. We will ask straightforward questions about these approaches, for example where did they come from, and what are their similarities and differences? We will identify what the conditions desirable are in counselling and what might bring about healing and change; why do people change and how does this come about in counselling?

The aim in the first half of the course is to provide a learning opportunity for participants to thoroughly familiarise themselves with the foundations or nuts and bolts of therapeutic skills. In the second half of the course, we will take a deeper look at the therapeutic process itself. As such the course is adaptable and will take into account the interests and needs of the group. Learning will be through group discussion, personal experience, exercises, presentations and didactic teaching.