POST QUALIFYING DIPLOMA IN COUNSELLING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

This course is endorsed by the Awarding Body Consortium.

This is a post qualifying course for individuals drawn from the helping professions. It is designed to encourage participants who have successfully undertaken a Diploma in Counselling, (minimum of 450 hours of training) and can show evidence of working in a professional capacity in the community, particularly with children or adolescents, to continue their professional and personal development in the field of counselling.

TO SEE THE COURSE DATES, PLEASE CLICK ON THE RELEVANT "BOOK NOW" LINK.

Download the course prospectus here.

Method:

The course will be delivered through a series of lectures, seminars, experiential workshops, group discussion and private study.  It is a 14 day course delivered in 2 day sessions spread over 7 months.

Unit 1 will provide a historical background of counselling services for young people in this country and how they have been affected by, for example, The Tyler report, The Thompson Report, The Mental Health Foundation report, 'Bright Futures' and WHO (World Health Organisation) It will also look at children's place in our society and how it impacts on their lives as well as issues for counselling young people such as confidentiality, accessibility, choice, the child-counsellor relationship, the Children Act and equal opportunities.

It will enable students to develop a philosophical base for their counselling practice with young people.

Intentions:

Within this unit it is intended that participants will:

i) Explore the growth in youth culture in the post war years and the child's place in contemporary society.

ii) Consider the importance of counselling for young people as a discreet service, based on reports published in the last 40 years.

iii) Examine issues of confidentiality, accessibility, choice, the child - counsellor relationship, the Children Act and equal opportunities.

iv) Critically analyse the post war ideologies of childhood and their implications for the way children are addressed.

v) Critically analyse the ideologies of childhood embodied in reports on counselling children and the implications for the ways services are conceptualised and organised.

vi) Analyse and critically evaluate theories about what differentiates counselling children from counselling adults.

Content

The content will include:

• The growth of Youth Culture in the post war years.
• Family network systems and the child's place within them.
• Influences on the lives of young people in our society today.
• Tyler's research report No.1 1978
• The Thompson report 1982.
• The World Health Organisation report 1978.
• The Children Act 1989
• The boundaries of confidentiality.
• Access to counselling services, transport and rural communities.
• Freedom of choice and equal opportunities.
• The Child - Counsellor relationship.
• There will be opportunities for students to examine issues other than those listed above, as relevant to their work situations.

Assessment:

A case study of 2,000 - 3,000 words from the student's current practice, describing how the child's place in society and other issues related to counselling children and adolescents e.g. Confidentiality, the child - counsellor relationship, accessibility, have affected their work.

Unit 2 will focus on four different models of counselling and their relevance for work with young people, particularly in different settings such as schools, child guidance clinics, youth enquiry centres and peer group support/counselling.

It will enable students to critically assess the usefulness of different approaches in their working practice.

Intentions:

Within this unit it is intended that participants will:

i) Critically evaluate the application and relevance of different models of counselling children in their practice.

ii) Critically analyse the implications of different settings for counselling children.

Content

The content will include:

• Person Centred counselling
• Existential Counselling
• Egan's Three Stage model of counselling
• Transactional Analysis.
• School Counselling services
• Child guidance Clinics
• Youth Enquiry Centres.
• Peer group counselling.
• There will be opportunities for students to examine issues other than those listed above, as relevant to their work situations.

Assessment:

An essay of 2,000 - 3,000 words. Compare and Contrast two models of Counselling and assess their relevance to a particular counselling setting.

Unit 3 will explore some specific aspects of counselling children and adolescents, identifying issues relevant to the therapeutic process. It also offers a range of creative interventions suitable for working with this age group.

It will enable students to understand the specific needs of young people when dealing with life events, and to assess the usefulness of a variety of different interventions in their working practice.

Intentions:

Within this unit it is intended that participants will:

i) Explore some of the special areas of work concerned with counselling children such as bereavement, bullying, abuse, divorce and school phobia.

ii) Consider and experience a range of creative interventions for working with children.

iii) Consider the age appropriateness of a variety of interventions.

iv) Analyse and critically evaluate theories about what differentiates counselling children from counselling adults.

v) Examine issues which are likely to affect children and analyse the implications of how they are likely to experience them.

vi) Explore and critically evaluate a range of creative strategies for use in counselling children in general.

vii) Explore and critically evaluate a range of strategies for counselling children in relation to the specific issues.

Content

The content will include:

• How children and young people are affected by bereavement and loss.
• How children and young people are affected by divorce.
• The effects and causes of bullying.
• Physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
• School phobia, causes, symptoms and treatment.
• Play therapy
• Art Therapy
• Story telling
• Writing & poetry
• Sand tray work
• Music & Dance.
• There will be opportunities for students to examine specialist areas other than those listed above, as relevant to their work situations.

Assessment:

An essay of 2,000 - 3,000 words which explores one of the topics presented in this unit, e.g. bereavement, school phobia etc. and describe how it impacts on the student's work.

Essay title: 'Describe one specialist area of work with young people, e.g. bereavement, school phobia etc. and evaluate the use of creative interventions in your working practice.'