Entry requirementsThere are no entry requirements.
Academic titleOn successful completion of the assignments you will receive a UK Open Learning Certificate.
Course descriptionStudent Profile
This is an excellent introductory course if you are considering a career in counseling and would like to try out some of your skills to help you make your decision. If you are engaging in one-to-one interviews at work, working with patients clients or colleagues.
Benefits
Develop business-oriented skills
Offers a flexible alternative to face-to-face training courses
Study Method
This course can be studied at your own pace. There are no deadlines for assignments, however you must complete the course within 12 months from the date you received the course.
Timescale
The programme takes place over a timescale to suit the student. Once registered, tutor support is available for up to one year or until completion whichever is the soonest.
Location
The programme is home or work-based enabling students to complete the course without having to attend scheduled college teaching sessions.
Tutor Support
Throughout the course, students will receive tutor support by email and by post.
Online Community
The tutor has now set up a forum for all of our students studying Introduction to Counselling and related courses. This will assist you with your studies as not only will you get full tutor support from a professional tutor for the duration of the course but you will get help from other students who are studying at the same time as you and also get an insight to other related courses by talking to students studying them. You can ask other students questions about your course or theirs, and they will try to help you.
This is a great community for all those students who wish to interact with other students in the same situation as theirs and get friendly advice where you can share your ideas and comments.
You will be able to interact with students studying the following courses:
Understanding Abuse and Trauma
Counselling and Psychotherapy
Understanding Eating Disorders
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Mental Health and Psychiatry
Working with a Diagnosis of Personality Disorder
Your tutor will provide all the details of how to get onto this forum if you decide to order the course.
How does the course work?
We send you the complete course by courier and you complete a series of assignments which you e-mail to your tutor for marking. There is no word count for these however you have to prove to your tutor you have fully understood the question.
Course Outline
Unit 1: Active listening and a model for helping
Active and Non-active listening
Barriers to listening
‘Attention-giving’ skills
A model of helping activities
Encouraging people to take responsibility for themselves.
The Egan model of helping
Unit 2: Counselling and counselling skills
The different between counselling and using counselling skills
How communication works as a ‘cycle’
The role of feedback as a counselling skill
Essential qualities for effective helping
The use of language in effective helping
Unit 3: Responding skills
The internal ‘frame of reference’
Power and control in the context of questions
The four types of question
The value of ‘Why?’ questions
The use of paraphrase and reflextion
Responding to silence
Ways of summarising
Unit 4: Essential qualities
A closer look at essential qualities
An examination of ‘core’ qualities
Carl Rogers’ definition of empathy
The important difference between skills and qualities
The importance of self-awareness when using counselling skills
Unit 5: Advanced responding skills
The concept of ‘challenge’ in relation to using counselling skills
A range of challenging skills
Using challenge in a positive way
How the challenging skills link up with Egan’s three-phase model
Some reminders about confidentiality
Unit 6: Getting there goals, targets and endings
What makes a goal
The difference between ‘wants’ and goals
How power, influence and authority can affect the helping relationship