The course aims to acquaint students with some of the fundamentals of counselling skills which include reflective listening, mirroring, and empathy, use of silence, and appropriate interventions. Students will learn how a therapeutic relationship is different from other relationships and how the counsellor needs to be aware and make use of their own thoughts and feelings, without allowing them to intrude or influence the counselling session.
This course will give students a basic familiarity with a good range of counselling and psychotherapy approaches including:
- Transactional Analysis
- Gestalt Therapy
- Person-Centred Therapy
- Transpersonal Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Attachment Theory
- Existential Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- We will also, unusually for a foundation level integrative counselling course, provide an introduction to working with couples and psychosexual therapy.
Students will be encouraged to engage on a personal level as a variety of experiential exercises will be offered in each module. The course ethos is designed to provide the student with a personal experience of the counselling relationship by incorporating skills training, and 'learning by doing' with peers engaging in simulation exercises.
Students will keep a journal throughout the course, give feedback each month on how they find the modules and their own process. They will also write two essays and engage in self-directed study.
Five two-hour optional Saturday online group tutorials will be offered to support students in following up the January to May modules with counselling role-plays and the chance to ask questions and receive extra teaching.
Those students who wish to continue to the LDPRT will need to follow application procedures for that course and meet the requirements (if necessary) of having 50 hours of personal counselling and undertaking a supervised counselling placement of 50 hours.
The programme acknowledges the diversity and multi-faceted nature of society; it is designed to support professional practice based on integrity, respect, challenge and the life affirming nature of sexuality in all its forms. Applications are welcome from all those who are suitably qualified, regardless of racial or ethnic origins, nationality, spiritual beliefs or religion, gender, age, social background, or sexual orientation/preference.
The London Foundation Certificate in Counselling & Psychotherapy reserves the right to amend, change or rearrange course design or trainers at its own discretion.