Counselling

Counselling skills are needed in many different situations, and this is a course that can set you on the right track to developing such skills.

Counselling happens both formally and informally. Professional counsellors may need a high level of formal training and experience; well beyond what this course can teach you, but counselling happens every day at levels below that. Ordinary people help friends and family get through difficult times. Youth workers, social workers, clerics and undertakers among many other professionals need to practice counselling in their day to day work.

Whatever your situation, this is a great course to start developing your counselling skills.

Course STRUCTURE

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
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
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
Interventions

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”
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?
Depression in Childhood
Review what you have been learning

Lesson 6 DIFFUSING DIFF ICULT 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

Understanding and Helping People with an Alcohol Problem