Diploma in Professional Development: Counselling Skills and Perspectives

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London Metropolitan University

Comments about Diploma in Professional Development: Counselling Skills and Perspectives - At the institution - London - Greater London

• Objectives
  This award leads to a general counselling skills qualification, relevant to professionals or voluntary workers in helping relationships with others, including volunteers in community groups, teachers, nurses and social workers. It is equivalent to a foundation year in professional counsellor training, and carries the award of 45 CATS points at level 2. It may be used as part of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) application for individual accreditation. Learning methods include a combination of formal teaching, practical and experiential activities, individual, paired and group exercises, role-play and the use of creativity and the arts. The course will draw upon reading from recommended texts and the experience of the group. Core tutors are members of the BACP and are in supervised counselling practice.
• Entry requirements
  No formal qualifications are necessary, though it is expected that you will have an appropriate level of literacy and study motivation, and some opportunity to put skills into practice. You must be at least 21 years of age. To enhance your learning experience, we aim to recruit from a diversity of backgrounds and experiences. To apply for the course, you should submit an application form. This will be followed by a group interview which takes the form of a prompted discussion. You will be asked to talk about your motives for undertaking the course, your own self awareness and emotional insight, and your cultural beliefs and values.
• Academic title
  Diploma in Professional Development: Counselling Skills and Perspectives
• Course description
  Course structure
  
  The course combines study in four areas:
  
  -Core Conditions: exploring acceptance, genuineness and empathy. You will also develop an awareness of the nature of counselling relationships and processes.
  -Counselling Skills: enables you to work with the emotional experience of others, exploring their issues and concerns. This will include skills such as attention giving, active listening, reflecting, paraphrasing, summarising, questioning and focusing.
  -Theoretical Perspectives: introduces several counselling approaches: psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioural, existential, humanistic and transcultural. The course will look at the application of these to counselling work and in your personal development.
  -Personal Development: you will use themes and issues from the course to explore some aspects of your own personal development. You will be encouraged to develop an awareness of yourself and others, of issues of power and oppressions, and to reflect upon the relevance of this to the counselling process.
  
  You are expected to complete 5-10 additional hours of private study each week, including reading, developing a personal creative journal, essay writing and preparing for presentations.
  
  Assessment
  Assessment methods involve peer and tutor feedback and include: live assessment of counselling skills, a personal creative journal completed over the course, a written essay and a presentation.
  
  Career opportunities
  The course is of value in areas such as nursing, social work and teaching. On successful completion, you can also apply for the Postgraduate Diploma in Integrative Counselling, which leads to a professional qualification in counselling.
  
  Attendance & duration
  Part-time (day/eve): one year, one evening a week (Thursday, 5pm - 8pm) and four Saturdays (9.30am - 3.00pm)
  

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