Sep 20, 2014 - Wimbledon Guild is launching a new Diploma in Attachment-based Counselling1. This course is ... approved
Diploma in Attachment-based Counselling 2-year course held over 20 Saturdays, Sept 2014 – July 2016 Venue: Drake House, 44 St George’s Rd, Wimbledon, SW19 4EF
Fees: £1,950 Overview: Wimbledon Guild is launching a new Diploma in Attachment-based Counselling1. This course is intended for those students who have not previously studied counselling to Diploma level. The course will provide students with an in-depth knowledge of counselling skills and theory, with a specific focus on attachment theory. This course is relatively unique in adopting a specific focus on attachment theory at Diploma level. Attachment-based counselling is based on the work of John Bowlby, who identified how our early childhood attachments to our primary caregivers shape the way we relate to others, the world and ourselves. Throughout life we are confronted with new challenges and anxieties, and our attachment styles often shape the way in which we respond to these. This Diploma draws on theory and research to provide participants with an understanding of attachment themes. It uses this framework to help participants to develop the skills necessary to take up a counselling role in a voluntary or workplace setting. The course is taught on a part-time basis over 2 years, and participants are expected to undertake a supervised 100-hour placement in a counselling setting. On successful completion of the course, students will be eligible to register with the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP) as Individual Members. They will also be eligible to sit the Certificate of Proficiency in order to join the new BACP Register of Counsellors and Psychotherapists, approved by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care.
Learning Outcomes: As a result of completing this course students should: -
Acquire a comprehensive knowledge of counselling skills and theory
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Acquire a specialist understanding of attachment-based approaches to counselling
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Be able to utilise counselling skills in a work-based setting
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Attain the standard necessary to apply to become a Registered Member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy
Course Structure: The course takes place over a two-year period, and consists of a taught course and a placement. It incorporates 3 modules on attachment theory, as well as the teaching and practice of counselling skills. There are a total of 120 teaching hours. Each day of teaching comprises both theoretical input and 1
Please note that this Diploma is awarded by Wimbledon Guild and is not validated by an external accrediting body. However it meets all the current requirements necessary for students to apply for Individual Membership of the BACP on successful completion of the course.
experiential learning, with skills practice playing an important role from the outset. The morning sessions will consists of teaching about attachment theory, followed by a time for processing within the group. In the afternoon, there will be training in counselling skills, followed by some time for skills practice. There will be a short check-out at the end of each day. In addition to the training days, students will also be required to undertake a placement during the second year of their course.
Course Content: The course is divided into three modules of 6-7 training days each. Each module will include teaching on attachment theory and skills practice. Below is an overview of the course content: Module 1: Introduction to Attachment Theory (Sept 2014 – March 2015) Attachment Theory Module 1 begins with an introduction to counselling in general and attachment-based counselling in particular. Students will become acquainted with the work of John Bowlby and the context for his ideas. They will learn the main principles of attachment theory: the fundamental human need for an attachment figure from cradle to grave, the ‘secure base’, attachment types and their clinical classification in both children and adults, the effects of maternal deprivation, separation-anxiety and loss, and how our earliest experiences with our caregivers form blueprints for how we form relationships in later life. Students will learn about recent developments in attachment theory and neuroscience. Skills Practice In the afternoon sessions students will be introduced to basic counselling skills focused on helping a client elaborate on their own subjective experience. They will first practice basic skills in pairs, moving into threes, with an observer. Skills will include active listening, prioritising and empathising with the client’s subjective experience, reflecting the content of the client’s narrative and feelings (both explicit and implicit), working with silences, starting and ending sessions, time management, observation and feedback. Module 2: Attachment Theory in Practice (May 2015 – December 2015) Attachment Theory In Module 2, students will deepen their understanding of attachment theory, and how it informs work in the consulting room. We will begin to explore the aims of counselling, the therapeutic relationship, assessment, the problems that clients may present with, and how these issues can be understood in the light of their early experiences. We will learn how to recognize the three forms of insecure attachment styles in our clients, and how to work most effectively with each. We will look at the concepts of creating a narrative and ‘earned security’. We will also explore our own attachment histories and styles and consider how they may impact our work as counsellors. Skills Practice In this module, students will start to develop skills to explore the deeper, implicit material, making connections with the client’s past and attachment styles, exploring how things can sometimes symbolise other things (unconscious dynamics), the pattern of the relationship between the client and counsellor (transference and countertransference), how a client can unconsciously recreate and re-enact earlier relationships and attachment styles in the counselling, body language (both the client's and the counsellor's), and how the client (and counsellor) manages or regulates anxiety, conflict and affect. Resistance, defences and ambivalence will also be explored. Module 3: Clinical Applications of Attachment Theory (January 2016 – July 2016) Attachment Theory In Module 3, students will look at clinical applications of attachment theory. This will include: establishing a secure base for our clients, deepening the working attachment relationship between counsellor and client, the role of mourning in the clinical setting, working with trauma, unconscious material and dreams, and
working with clients to develop an understanding of how current patterns of relating are shaped by early attachment relationships, with particular emphasis on the therapy relationship. Issues of identity and diversity will be explored, and we will consider how to work with these in the counsellor-client relationship. Skills Practice Skills practice will focus on areas related to preparing students for their placements and will include record keeping, risk management, working with a client’s ambivalence about counselling, boundaries, ethical dilemmas, and endings. BACP guidance and the BACP Ethical Framework will be integral into many aspects of this module. This module will also help students in preparing a study of supervised practice.
Placement: Students will be required to undertake a 100-hour placement in a counselling setting, in which they can work using an attachment model. This placement can be started from January 2016, although some students may choose to wait until they have finished the taught component of the course. A limited number of placements will be available within Wimbledon Guild Counselling Services. All students must be in supervision with a supervisor who works using an attachment-based model. At the end of the placement, the students will need to submit a 2,500 word study of supervised practice, which will critically evaluate their work in at least 10 sessions with an individual placement client.
Assessment: In addition to the study of supervised practice, the student will be required to submit an essay of 2,500 words for each of the three modules. There will also be an assessment of skills at the end of each module. Students need to attend a minimum of 80% of each module and need to achieve at least a pass in all of their written assignments. Candidates can be awarded a pass, distinction or referral. If referred, they will have the opportunity to submit their work a second time. If it is still not of an adequate standard, they will fail the module and will need to re-take it the following year at their own expense. Candidates will also need to pass the skills assessment for each module; there will be a second opportunity provided in each module, in cases where the required standard is not met. Students will be required to keep a personal journal throughout the whole course, in order to promote selfawareness and reflection. This will be submitted at the end of each year, but will not be assessed. This course requires students to undertake a substantial amount of self-study. They will be provided with a reading list and will be expected to undertake 2-3 hours reading per week in preparation for each module.
Course Dates: This course will be held on Saturdays, beginning in September 2014. Each day will run from 10am-5pm, with an hour’s lunch break from 1-2pm. Course dates for 2014 - 2016 are as follows: Module 1: 20 Sept 2014, 25 Oct 2014, 15 Nov 2014, 29 Nov 2014, 24 Jan 2015, 28 Feb 2015, 28 March 2015 Module 2: 16 May 2015, 20 June 2015, 11 July 2015, 19 Sept 2015, 24 Oct 2015, 21 Nov 2015, 19 Dec 2015 Module 3: 23 Jan 2016, 20 Feb 2016, 2 Apr 2016, 21 May 2016, 18 Jun 2016, 9 Jul 2016
Entrance Requirements: No previous experience of counselling is required, although Wimbledon Guild will welcome applicants who have already gained a Level 2 or Level 3 qualification in counselling skills. All students will need to be proficient in written and spoken English in order to undertake this course. Students must be able to produce written academic work of Diploma standard. Students are required to be in weekly counselling themselves throughout the course. The counsellor must be accredited, ideally trained at the Bowlby Centre, and with a substantial training in attachment theory. The BACP Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy is observed throughout the course and students are expected to join the BACP as student members by the beginning of the second module.
Course Tutors: Debbie Zimmerman is a UKCP registered Attachment Based Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist. She trained at Regent’s College, and then at The Bowlby Centre, where she is involved in developing the curriculum for the psychotherapy training course. She works as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist in the NHS at Guy’s Hospital, and in private practice. Stephen Callus is a UKCP registered psychotherapist, trained in integrative/body psychotherapy at the Chiron Centre and the Minster Centre London. He has a private practice in central London. Stephen also teaches the Foundation Year at The Minster Centre, London, and supervises students there. He also teaches on the Certificate in Counselling at Birkbeck College. He supervises counsellors and therapists and has supervised students on placements in various community and hospice-based counselling services.
Application Process: If you are interested in applying for this course, please complete the attached application form and send it to the address indicated. If shortlisted, you will be invited for a short interview. A maximum of 15 students will be accepted onto the course each year. If you are offered a place on the Diploma course, you will be required to pay a deposit of £100 to secure your participation. The remainder of the fee must be paid by cheque or bank transfer before the 1 August 2014. Alternatively, you may set up a Standing Order to pay for the course on a monthly basis. You will be liable for full payment even if you do not complete the course. If, having accepted a place, you find that you are unable to participate in the course, refunds (less the £100 non-refundable deposit) can be requested up to and including 1 August 2014. No refunds will be possible after this date.
Further Information: If you have any questions or require any additional information about this course, please contact: Amanda Glass Counselling Training Co-ordinator, WG Counselling Training, Wimbledon Guild, 30/32 Worple Road, London, SW19 4EF Email:
[email protected] Telephone: 0208 296 0030
Diploma in Attachment-based Counselling: Application Form Personal details: Title (Mr/Mrs/Miss, etc.) First Name: Surname: Address:
Postcode: Email: Tel. No: Date of Birth:
Qualifications: Please list your educational qualifications, beginning with the most recent: Educational Institution
Qualification Type (e.g. GCSE)
Subjects
Grade
Date Awarded
Employment: Please list your current and previous places of employment. Include any relevant voluntary work. Dates
Name of Employer
Position
Previous Counselling Courses: Please list any counselling skills courses you have previously completed: Organisation
Course Title
Qualification achieved
Date Awarded
Reasons for Application: Please state why you wish to undertake this Diploma course. How do you intend to use the training?
Personal Statement: Please set out your personal strengths that you believe make you a suitable applicant for this course. Include any previous experiences you have of using counselling skills (e.g. in a voluntary role) and any experience you have of being in counselling yourself. Please also state any difficulties that you think may impede you.
Additional Information: Do you have any specific needs that should be taken into account when undertaking this course (e.g. disability)?
How did you hear about this course?
I confirm that all of the information included on this form is true to the best of my knowledge. I understand that any inaccuracies may lead to any offer of a place on the course being retracted, with no refund of the course fees. Signature:
Date:
Please send your completed application form to: Joanna Benfield, Counselling Training Co-ordinator, WG Counselling Training Wimbledon Guild, 30/32 Worple Road, London SW19 4EF E
[email protected] T 0208 296 0030 W wimbledonguild.co.uk
