Counselling Practice Study Guide

Sneak Peek

COUNSELLING PRACTICE SHORT COURSE

Learn the basics of counselling.

Counselling is all about helping people overcome the issues that cause them to worry and stress. Through this course you will develop a greater understanding of people and what drives them. Your ability to observe and understand people will improve, and that will help you to not only be better at counselling, but also better at communication in all other aspects of your daily life.

Some people will use this course for professional training, to start developing skills they might help in a job they are already doing. Others may use this as “taster” course, to see if they are suited to further training and working in counselling.  Yet others may use it to prepare for volunteer work (eg. Lifeline, Youth Work, Charities, etc)

Course Content

Lesson 1: WHERE CAN COUNSELLING BE USED?

• What Are Counselling Skills?
• Active Listening
• Open Questions
• Closed Questions
• Paraphrasing
• Clarifying/Encouraging
• Minimal Encouragers
• Silence
• Summarising
• Reacting
• Reflecting
• Non-Verbal Communication
• Body Language
• Electronic Non-Verbal Communication
• Empathy
• Body Language As Attending Behaviour
• SOLER Theory
• Influencing Skills
• Confrontation
• Focusing
• Reflection Of Meaning
• Consequences
• Reframing
• Self-Disclosure
• Feedback
• Advice
• Role Of Counselling
• Counselling Skills In Different Areas
• Personal Relationships
• As A Parent
• In The Workplace
• Teaching
• Employer
• Work Colleague/Team Member
• Health Practitioner
• Sales/Marketing
• Human Resources
• Consulting
• Police
• Lesson 1 additional reading
• Where Can Counsellors Find Work?

Lesson 2: HOW TO SEE BEHIND THE MASK

• Defence Mechanisms
• Denial
• Sublimation
• Projection
• More On Body Language
• Eyes
• Mouths
• Heads
• Arms
• Hands
• Personal Space
• Mirroring
• Our Perception Of Others
• Trait Theories
• Stereotypes
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
• Personal Construct Theory
• Primacy Effects and Recency Effects
• Halo Effects
• Schemas
• Scripts
• Other Schemas
• Attributions
• Fundamental Attribution Error
• Self-Serving Bias
• Locus of Control
• Covariance Theory
• Lay Epistemology
• Are You Stressed?
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Treatment of PTSD
• Lesson 2 additional reading
• Dangers of intervention
• Is Stress Always A Bad Thing?
• Stress is Good For Us

Lesson 3: EMOTIONS AND ATTITUDES

• Emotions
• Problems With Subjective Reports
• Attitudes
• The Range Of Emotions
• Love
• The Range Of Attitudes
• Attitudes And Behaviour
• Reasoned Action
• Values And Attitudes
• Heider’s Balance Theory
• Social Judgement And Attitudes
• Assimilation And Contrast Theory
• Accentuation Theory
• Attitude Change
• Cognitive Dissonance
• Adolescent Crisis
• Lesson 3 additional reading
• Interventions 62

Lesson 4: HOW TO COMMUNICATE BETTER WHEN ALL YOU HAVE IS WORDS?

• Counselling In Non Face-To-Face Situations
• Telephone Counselling
• Online Counselling
• Other Issues
• Case Study – Telephone And Online Help – The Samaritans
• Counselling Via Email
• Video Communication
• Social Implications
• Crisis Counselling - Crisis Intervention
• “Principles of Crisis Intervention"
• Lesson 4 additional reading
• Who Provides Crisis Intervention?
• Responding to a Crisis - Urgent or Routine?

Lesson 5: THEORY VERSUS PRACTICE

• Individual Differences
• Client-Centred/Person-Centred (Rogerian) Counselling
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
• Existential Approach
• Psychoanalysis
• Strength-Based Counselling
• Putting Theory Into Practice
• Putting Theory Into Practice – Helping A Grieving Child
• Case Study – Child X
• Grief Counselling
• How Do You Deal With Grief?
• Lesson 5 additional reading
• Depression in Childhood

Lesson 6: DIFFUSING DIFFICULT SITUATIONS

• Timing In Counselling
• Case Study: Counsellor Wishes To End Counselling
• Case Study: Client Wishes To End Counselling
• Some Examples
• Diffusing Difficult Situations
• Case Study I
• Case Study II
• Conflict
• The Suicidal Client
• The Chronically Depressed Client
• Anger Management
• Lesson 6 additional reading
• Understanding and Helping People with an Alcohol Problem

Lesson 7: GOLDEN RULES OR TIPS

• Empathy
• Respect
• Case Study – Euthanasia
• Listening
• Client’s Wishes And Needs
• Case Study I
• Case Study II
• Understanding Oneself
• Focus On Client Strengths
• Adhering To Ethical Codes
• Competence
• Informed Consent
• Confidentiality
• Balance Of Power
• Maintain Professional Boundaries
• Multicultural Awareness
• Burnout and Debriefing
• Relationship and Communication Counselling
• Final Assessment

How does the course work?

• Enrol any time.
• Start studying immediately or later (as you wish).
• Configure your study sessions at any length and frequency you wish.
• Work through at your own pace.
• Automated self assessment tests pop up at the end of each lesson. You can attempt these as many times as you wish; and each time, upon completion, you can see your results. You will need internet access to complete the self assessment tests.
• At the end of the whole course, you are presented with a major automated examination which can be attempted online, anywhere, anytime.
• If you achieve a 60% pass in the exam; you immediately receive a downloadable certificate of completion with your name on it.

Who might Study this Course?

• A starter course for anyone contemplating work in counselling
• Skills Development for health or welfare professionals or anyone working in community services
• Foundation (Introductory) training for volunteer counsellors (e.g. Church organisations, charities)
• Professional Development for anyone working with people, from human resources management to supervisors