Foundation Course in Psychotherapy & Counselling
Course Structure
The Foundation Course comes in two formats:
- One-year Foundation course
- Intensive Foundation course
The content, course components and tuition hours of both options
are identical: it is simply the structure that differs.
One-Year Foundation Course
The one-year Foundation course consists of one 4-hour session
per week across three 10-week terms. We have intakes for the
one-year course in January and September, where applicants can
choose between:
January 2012
January class times are:
- Tuesday evening classes: 5:30-9:30pm
April 2012
April class times are:
- Wednesday evening classes: 5:30-9:30pm
September 2012
September class times are:
- Monday morning classes: 10:00am-2:00pm
- Monday evening classes: 5:30pm-9:30pm
- Saturday morning classes: 10:00am-2:00pm
Intensive Foundation Course
Winter Intensive Foundation
The Winter Intensive Foundation is usually held across 10
consecutive weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) from 10:00am-5:00pm.
The course runs from January – March.
Spring Intensive Foundation
The Spring Intensive Foundation begins with a 5-day block, from
Wednesday to Sunday (10:00am-5:00pm each day). After this, students
attend class on alternating weekends (one Saturday and Sunday in
class, one Saturday and Sunday off, etc.). The course then
concludes with another 5-day block, from Wednesday to Sunday. This
programme runs from April – July.
Summer Intensive Foundation
The Summer Intensive Foundation is held over 5 full-time weeks,
from Monday to Friday (10:00am-5:00pm) each day. This programme
runs from July – August.
Please note that the intensity of the Summer Intensive course
requires that students have had some experience which will have
prepared them for the impact of the personal and experiential
learning concentrated into this brief period.
Autumn Intensive Foundation
The Autumn Intensive Foundation begins with a 5-day block, from
Wednesday to Sunday (10:00am-5:00pm each day). After this, students
attend class on alternating weekends (one Saturday and Sunday in
class, one Saturday and Sunday off, etc.). The course then
concludes with another 5-day block, from Wednesday to Sunday. This
programme runs from September – December.
Course Components
The Foundation Course includes three main components:
theoretical, experiential and practical. See descriptions
below.
Theoretical
Lectures and presentations will introduce students to basic
theories of psychotherapy and counselling, with an emphasis on the
existential-phenomenological, psychodynamic, and
humanistic/integrative orientations.
Material focused upon professional issues in counselling will
also be presented. There will be an opportunity to engage in
discussion and experiential work relating to the topic of the
presentation.
Experiential
Experiential exercises will relate to the theoretical material
presented and to the development of listening skills,
self-awareness, and giving and receiving feedback.
Skills Practice
In these sessions students will be introduced to the essential
skills and techniques of psychotherapy and counselling. Students
will also participate in exercises with each other usually in
triads of ‘counsellor’, ‘client’ and ‘observer’, and using material
from their own experience. This is an opportunity to practise
psychotherapy and counselling skills and to receive feedback.
Self-Development Group Work
Course members will work in a small group, with a facilitator.
This will be an opportunity for students to explore their personal
and interactive processes in the group, and their own professional
and personal development.
Assessment
Evaluation is based on assessment of students’ participation
throughout the course and on the successful completion of three
pieces of coursework, a brief process report, an essay about their
personal and professional development throughout the course, and a
theoretical paper.
Page last updated 12/20/2011