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Counselling and Psychology Training

Introduction to Counselling Skills

Daytime classes (Monday to Thursday 10.00am to 4.00pm):
January 7 to January 10
March 16 to March 19
May 11 to May 14
July 6 to July 9
September 14 to September 17

Evening Classes (Wednesdays 6.00pm to 8.30pm):
January 28 to March 4
March 25 to April 29
June 24 to July 29
September 2 to October 7

Cost – $600

Students in this program will learn the basic skills required to become effective in helping people with their problems, their relationships and their lives. Through hands-on exercises and role-plays, students will come to understand what is required to become an effective counsellor.

Students will learn to recognise and develop the qualities required of helpers. Students will learn the skills to respond meaningfully, to support people with their problems and to help them develop more effective coping skills. The course highlights the importance of active and reflective listening techniques, as well as self-management for counsellors. The emphasis is on developing practical skills and building your confidence and understanding of the counselling process.

Topics Covered

Creating a helping environment and developing a collaborative relationship
Active listening skills
Attending to non-verbal cues
Open and closed questions
Reflective and empathic responses.
Solution-focused problem solving strategies.
Counselling demonstration

Advanced Counselling Skills

Daytime classes (Monday to Thursday 10.00am to 4.00pm):
January 19 to January 22
June 1 to June 4
November 23 to November 26

Evening classes (Wednesdays 6.00pm to 8.30pm):
May 13 to June 17
October 14 to November 18

Cost – $600

Students in this unit will learn to apply the core skills learnt in the introductory course to particular problems and issues. Throughout the program, students will be challenged to reflect on the way their own experiences impact on the counselling process and learn to recognise and manage their own stress. Students will learn more advanced skills in maintaining the counselling relationship and managing any difficulties that may arise.

In this course participants will learn how to assess clients at risk. Students will gain a range of strategies aimed at helping people who are feeling anxious and stressed. They will also learn how to work with clients who have suffered a loss and are trying to cope with their grief.

Topics Covered

Review of micro skills and counselling techniques
Working with client resistance
Interventions for stress and anxiety
Assessing the client at risk
Counselling for grief and loss
Preventing counsellor burnout
Ethical issues in counselling

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

January 19 to January 21
July 6 to July 8
10.00am to 4.00pm

Cost – $450

We hear a great deal about CBT, its widespread application to many problems, and its effectiveness with some major problems.

What is CBT?
How does it operate?
Why is it effective?
Who can use it?

In this workshop you will learn how CBT helps people think differently, feel differently and behave differently. Participants will hear how it can be used with considerable benefit for anxiety and stress related problems, depression, relationship conflicts. Worksheets and questioning techniques that help clients to identify and improve their unhelpful thinking patterns and explore their maladaptive beliefs will be presented and participants will have an opportunity to practise the method in role plays.

Topics Covered

Theory of CBT and what it can achieve for clients
Techniques of self monitoring and self reinforcement
Strategies for identifying and challenging dysfunctional thinking
Identifying the origins, triggers and sustainers of unhelpful thought patterns
The critical components of CBT as a therapeutic intervention for depressed people

Counselling for Loss and Grief

January 19 to January 21
August 17 to August 19
10.00am to 4.00pm

Cost – $450

Loss and grief are associated most acutely with the death of a significant person. But increasingly, emotional loss such as divorce, estrangement and geographic distance, have become an integral part of life. Effective counselling can bring relief from the emotional pain of loss, soften the persisting memories and enable the person to move forward in more positive and appropriate ways. Participants in this workshop will learn skills and
interventions for working more effectively with people experiencing loss and grief issues. Participants will also be given the chance to reflect on their own experiences, sensitivities and strengths. Dr. Francis Macnab’s book “Life After Loss” will be used as a model for the way people can move beyond the acute pain of their loss and grief.

Topics Covered

Overview of the theories of loss and grief
The “tasks” of grieving
Exploration of the different grief reactions
Exploring different kinds of grief
Counselling skills to facilitate the grieving process
Identifying abnormal or pathological grief reactions
Adaptation to the new reality

Counselling Children and Adolescents

January 14 to 15
July 7 to 8
10.00am to 4.00pm

Cost – $360

People from a variety of professional backgrounds are often placed in a position where they are required to become a counsellor or mentor for children and adolescents. Some young people do not want to come to counselling, won’t talk, or are angry or depressed.

It can be challenging to elicit difficult and sensitive information, while still maintaining their self-esteem and emotional safety. Participants will learn practical counselling skills to help young people feel heard, express their emotions, learn new ways of thinking and other techniques that lead to behavioural change. Techniques for building self esteem, social skills and confidence, through the use of worksheets and other play techniques, will be learned. You will also develop the consultative skills necessary for working with parents, teachers and other people involved.