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Total
period of study: approx. 9
months
Cost:
£250.00 (250 Pounds Sterling - for currency conversion see
www.xe.com )
(Textbooks extra - approx. cost of
textbooks £160.00)
Modular payment plan - £ 50 per month over 5 months (subject to
approval)
Payment by PayPal, Google Checkout, UK cheque, Sterling bank draft, wire transfer
(for modular payments, only direct bank transfer or standing order accepted)
The fees cover the delivery of course instructions and tutoring
by email only. If this is not suitable for you please contact us.
Course description
This
distance learning Diploma course leads to a private UK qualification in counselling and
psychotherapy. It has been created in response to demand from students who, due to
location or other circumstances, find themselves unable to attend
tutorials or classes, or who wish to pursue the subject out of personal
interest. The course will also benefit those who have been in practice for many
years without a formal qualification, or with qualifications other than
counselling/psychotherapy, who now
wish to consolidate and update their learning. Others who will find the course
attractive include those trained in highly specific therapeutic approaches who
wish to broaden their horizons.
Theoretical
orientation: This course
takes an integrated approach drawing from dynamic, cognitive, brief therapy and
self-therapy models within a framework of counselling and helping skills.
Entry
Criteria: Our courses are for adult learners who have shown some
aptitude for study, perhaps with good grades at school, at least one
good Advanced level, or a vocational course. Students should enjoy reading and
writing and be able to cope with textbooks. A good standard of written English
is essential. Applicants with experience of
working with people in some helping capacity (paid or voluntary) are preferred -
for example, teachers, doctors, nurses, camp counsellors,
Samaritan volunteers, social workers, probation officers, community care
workers, ministers, hypnotherapists, complementary practitioners. Other applicants will be considered on their merits on
receipt of a fully completed application form. The course may also be taken for
personal interest and self-development subject to the Course Director’s specific
approval of the applicant. If you are not sure whether you qualify, please
just ask us!
Syllabus
۰ Introduction to
Psychotherapy
۰ Counselling and
Helping Skills: The Egan “Skilled Helper” Model
۰ The Therapeutic
Relationship
۰ Cognitive and
Behavioural Therapy Techniques
۰ Stress Management
۰ Critical Incidents
and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
۰ Supported
Self-Therapy
۰ Practice Management
Introduction to psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is described in the set text as the use of relationships to help
people with their problems. This module is an introduction to psychodynamic
psychotherapy: the branch of psychotherapy which works by helping people know
and understand themselves. Dynamic psychotherapy sees symptoms or problems as an
expression of inner conflict. Parts of our behaviour or feelings which we find
disturbing are kept out of awareness and we say that they become unconscious. To
keep those aspects of us unconscious, we engage in defence mechanisms, which may
help us cope or on the other hand may create symptoms.
You will study the history of psychodynamic psychotherapy and the key mental
processes which, according to the psychodynamic view, drive our feelings and
behaviour. You will read about how the self develops through childhood;
how psychodynamic therapists view the mind (different experts have proposed
different "models" of the mind); and how psychotherapeutic relationships work.
You will read an introduction to the various styles of psychotherapy
including some of the newer therapies. Finally there is a section on outcome, or
how we know whether psychotherapy works.
Counselling and
Helping Skills
The Egan model of counselling skills is widely taught and the workbook,
"Exercises in Helping Skills", is one of the best ways of learning counselling
skills short of actually attending classes. You will work through examples of
many types of counselling situation and interaction and be able to recognise
when you respond correctly and when your responses need improvement. Some
learning about yourself is also involved. The skills learnt in the Egan model
can be used in formal and informal counselling situations. They form a complete
method of brief counselling in themselves and they can also be used by orthodox
and complementary medicine practitioners to increase communication with patients
or clients.
The Therapeutic Relationship
Communication and relationship are two essential ingredients of psychotherapy.
You will study the theory of the relationship between therapist and
client, and at the two key processes: transference, the emotions the client
feels towards the therapist, based upon the client's earlier relationships, and
counter-transference, the emotions the therapist feels towards the client, based
upon the therapist's feelings towards significant figures in his or her life.
This module also looks at some of the difficulties of therapy which are caused by
such feelings arising but not being dealt with appropriately.
Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy Techniques
This module presents in condensed form the key
concepts and techniques of cognitive therapy, which is a brief therapy that
seeks to help clients change the negative and irrational thought patterns that
are connected with conditions such as depression and anxiety. Studying these
cognitive therapy skills will give you an extra toolkit which integrates well
with the other brief interventions you will learn on this course. A list of
further reading on this popular approach to therapy will also be given.
Stress Management
Many people enter
counselling or therapy because they are stressed, and the helper needs to have a
broad knowledge of stress and also of stress reduction techniques. The set text
for this unit provides an excellent introduction to what stress is and how to
cope with it, plus instructions in many areas of stress reduction. The following
categories of intervention are presented, each with clear how-to-do-it
instructions:
Breathing exercises, Progressive relaxation,
Meditation, Visualisation, Applied relaxation, Self-hypnosis, Autogenics, Brief
combination techniques, Making relaxation tapes, Refuting irrational ideas,
Thought stopping techniques, Worry control, Coping skills, Goal setting and time
management, Assertiveness, Coping with job stress, Simple nutrition, Exercise
These techniques will give you scope for
conducting classes and groups, including specific techniques in therapy sessions
according to the client's needs, using some of these techniques as "icebreakers"
to build rapport with the client, and using them as a complement to other
therapies which you might be practising.
You will have the textbook as a handy reference
book and you can refresh your knowledge of any of the skills whenever you need
to. For this course, you do not need to master all of the techniques but you
will be asked to study a selection of them.
Critical Incidents
and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Many people show symptoms of stress, or have
other problems, years later stemming from a trauma or crisis in their lives.
This may have been a violent incident, a disaster, an accident, or an acute
illness, but trauma need not only be caused by a sudden event. It can be caused
by an accumulation or series of negative events such as childhood abuse,
bullying or even being overworked and underappreciated at work, which has driven
many people to stress breakdown (what used to be called "nervous breakdown").
Other causes of traumatic stress that are only beginning to be recognised are a
difficult birth and a miscarriage.
It is important for the therapist to be able to
recognise the signs of post traumatic stress syndrome, so that they can reassure
clients that their symptoms are actually normal reactions to an abnormal series
of events. The helper also needs to know when to refer clients on to an
experienced therapist who specialises in the area of post traumatic stress.
Sufferers of post traumatic stress syndrome often do not respond to "stress
management" regimes and do not do self-help homework when given. They can
respond to special therapeutic approaches, to sensitive counselling, and to
physical therapies such as aromatherapy.
Supported Self-Therapy
Supported Self-Therapy is the core of the diploma
course. Based on Cognitive Analytic
Therapy, the set textbook has many exercises and questionnaires helping you
explore yourself on a deep level, and at the same time, providing techniques
which you can use with others. Ideally this module should be studied in parts
throughout your course. As you study the other topics, you will also spend time
working with approximately one chapter of the set textbook per month - doing any
of the exercises or other set work in the book. Tutor feedback will be
given. This is the only book for the course which is to be tackled as a
long-term project, because it involves self-therapy work and it might be too
much for you to cram all of the work into a few weeks. By the time you have
completed all of the other modules, you should also have completed the supported
self-therapy work.
Practice Management
Practice management deals with the business side
of setting up as a therapist: how to advertise and gain publicity, select a
place to work from, run your practice, organise the financial side of the
business, liaise with financial experts such as an accountant an insurance
broker, and other business matters. There are also the micro-management skills
of how to manage a session, set up your therapy room, keep records, and so on.
This module will help you decide what type of therapeutic setting suits your
personality and circumstances.
Level
of study: this diploma course
includes introductory and advanced university-level material. The textbooks are
chosen to be accessible to the intelligent student who is new to the subject. Most students will have experience of
previous study at Advanced Level, High School Certificate/Baccalaureate,
professional examination or higher.
Method
of study
For its theoretical content, this diploma uses the traditional 'read a book,
write a paper' distance learning method widely used by various distance learning
colleges.
For each unit, the student will
need to acquire one main textbook. Supplementary reading is optional. After study of the textbook and carrying out any practical
exercises or assignments necessary, the student will submit a written paper or
report. Tutor feedback on the assignments will be given by email or post.
A great deal of care has been made
to select textbooks which are accessible, written by top authorities, and
which, by including practical exercises and examples, provide the next best
thing to classroom study.
Practicums: The student will be expected to carry out any required exercises with other
people (friends, colleagues, students, existing clients/patients, or in a
voluntary setting) wherever
this is feasible and wherever this does not conflict with the student's existing
ethical or contractual obligations. If the student is in a remote location or
cannot carry out any practicum for any reason, the situation should be discussed
with the Course Director, and the student will be required to do a written
assignment in lieu of the practicum.
Because
students in remote or foreign locations are often in regions suffering from
conflict or disaster, special attention is paid in the course to post-traumatic
stress and critical incidents. Help will be given towards further study of these
topics if desired.
As
part of the course, the student will be asked to engage in 'supported
self-therapy'. In this model, the student will be set serious self-therapy
exercises and will receive feedback on them from the tutor.
Web
research:
For those students with access to
the Internet, there is a vast number of authoritative websites with information
on psychology, mental health and other relevant subjects. We can introduce
students to many such sites, containing, in total, huge virtual libraries of
information.
Qualification
Students and graduates of the course will be eligible to apply for the
appropriate grade of membership of the Counselling Society (UK) - see notice
regarding accreditation at the top of this page. We can assist students
with the membership application process by supplying pre-approved
membership forms.
This diploma is accepted by Calamus International University (a
non-UK, private, unaccredited distance university) for credit towards
a degree. Prospective students are responsible for checking whether they need
any form of accreditation or licensing to practise as a counsellor or
psychotherapist in their own country. UK College of Holistic Training is unable to give advice on
local regulations in your country.
If you would prefer, for professional reasons, that the diploma be awarded as
a Diploma in Counselling or Diploma in Psychotherapy (but not both), that can be
arranged. The course and tuition fee will be the same.
Please note that this course is not accredited or approved by the British
Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy or the British Psychological
Society. This course is not an NVQ. It does not lead to UKCP or BACP accreditation. If
you wish to attain such qualifications you will normally have to attend a
classroom-based (part-time or full-time) training over a long period of time, not a distance learning
course.
Course reading list (individual titles may be
updated if new editions appear. An up-to-date book list will be issued to
enrolled students)
Essential Reading
Bateman, Brown and Pedder. Introduction to Psychotherapy: An
outline of psychodynamic principles and practice. London, Routledge, third
edition, 2000.
Davis,
Eshelman and McKay, The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook. Fifth
edition, 2000. New Harbinger Publications Inc, 2000.
Egan,
Gerard, The Skilled Helper, Seventh Edition, Brooks/Cole 2002.
Egan,
Gerard. Exercises in Helping Skills. Seventh Edition. Brooks/Cole 2002.
Kahn,
Michael. Between Therapist and Client. Revised edition, 1997, New York:
W.H. Freeman & Co.
Kinchin,
David. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (2005 edition). Didcot,
Oxfordshire: Success Unlimited, 2004.
McCormick,
Elizabeth Wilde, Change for the Better: Self-Help Through Practical
Psychotherapy. Second edition. New York & London: Continuum, 2002.
Neenan,
Michael and Dryden, Windy. Essential Cognitive Therapy. London, Whurr
Publishers Ltd, 2000.
Thistle,
Roger. Counselling and Psychotherapy in Private Practice. SAGE
Publications, 1998.
Further Suggested Reading
Ellin, Jeanne. Listening Helpfully: How to Develop Your Counselling
Skills. Souvenir Press, 1994.
Harold, Steven A. Marketing for Complementary Therapists. Oxford: How
To Books, 2002.
Jacobs, Michael. The Presenting Past: The core of psychodynamic counselling
and therapy. Second edition. Open University Press 1998.
Kennedy, Eugene and Charles, Sara C. On Becoming a Counsellor.
Dublin, Ireland: Newleaf, 2001. Also published by The Crossroad Publishing
Company.
Mitchell, Annie and Cormack, Maggie. The Therapeutic Relationship in
Complementary Health Care. Churchill Livingstone, 1998.
Noonan, Ellen. Counselling Young People. Routledge, 1983.
Rennie, David L. Person-Centred Counselling: An Experiential Approach.
Sage Publications, 1998.
Further information
Please see our FAQs page for general information about
practising counselling and psychotherapy in the UK and elsewhere.
We reserve the right to change the syllabus and other details of any course at
any time. If any key textbook becomes unobtainable we will provide a substitute
module based on another book.
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