Specialist Certificate in Counselling Skills

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Learning Outcome

1. From the course, you will first learn about core counselling skills and concepts consistent with a Person-Centred approach
   
2. Learners will explore the common elements of counseling and the various ways it can help clients in either one-to-one, couples or group therapy settings and how the clients themselves can get the most from their sessions.
   
3. You will also learn to use the skills of attending, observing, listening, and responding appropriately during a counsellor-client consultation
   
4. Learners will be able to critically reflect upon personal values and counsellor attributes, and evaluate one’s own counselling responses and set goals for self-improvement.

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Who is this course for?

This course is designed for any applicant who is interested in the area of counseling skills, individuals from diverse industries who wishes to learn more about psychology and mental health, existing professionals who wishes to have a structured review of this specific skills or aspiring private practitioners or any practitioners in the area of psychology, psychotherapy, counselling or coaching.

Requirements for enrollment

1. Diploma or equivalent (including English); or

2. NITEC or Higher NITEC (including English); or

3. Mature candidates (≥ 30 years old with min. 8 years work experience) or

4. Other private or foreign qualifications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis

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Topics

Topic 1: Introduction to Counselling as a Profession
In this topic we will explore counselling as a profession and how it is practiced.

Content covered:
What is Counselling. The Difference between Counselling and Therapy. The Working Alliance. The Goals, the Outcomes, and the Uncertainties

Topic 2: Ethics in Professional Practice
In this topic we focus on counselling ethics in professional practice.

Content covered:
What are Ethics? Types of Values. Types of Moral Theories. Professional Ethics. Personal and Professional Ethics. Understanding Law and Ethics. Confidentiality. Dual and Multiple Relationships

Topic 3: Developing Counselling Goals – Questioning Skills, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
In this topic we will focus on understanding and gaining questioning, paraphrasing, and summarizing skills for counselling.

Content covered:
Questioning Skills. Paraphrasing. Summarizing

Topic 4: Dealing with Emotional Intensity – Skills of Reflecting Feelings and Listening during a Five Stage Process
In this topic we will focus on understanding and gaining reflection of feelings and listening skills in a five-stage process for counselling.

Content covered:
Reflecting. Reflecting Feelings. Multiple Applications of Reflecting Feelings. Emotions and Feelings. Reflecting Listening. Attending Skills. Reflecting Skills. How to Conduct a Five Stage Counseling Session.

Topic 5: The Art and Practice of Counselling – Skills of Focusing, Exploring and Challenging
In this topic we will focus on understanding and gaining skills of focusing, exploring, and challenging clients during counselling.

Content covered:
Focusing on the Counseling Session— Exploring the Story from Multiple Perspectives. The Community Genogram: Bringing Cultural/Environmental/Context into the session. Applying Focusing with a Challenging Issue. Empathic Confrontation

Topic 6: Influencing—Skills of Reflecting Meaning, Reframing, and Transitions
In this topic we will focus on understanding and gaining reflection of meaning skills, reframing, and transitioning in counselling.

Content covered:
Reflection of Meaning and Interpretation/Reframing. Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills of Reflection of Meaning and Interpretation/Reframe. Multiple Applications of Reflection of Meaning and Interpretation/Reframing. Multicultural Issues and Reflection of Meaning

Topic 7: Strategies for Client Change—Skills of Self-Disclosure, Feedback, and Immediacy
In this topic we will focus on understanding and gaining skills for self-disclosure, providing feedback to clients, and immediacy in counselling.

Content covered:
Resilience and Stress Management. Self-disclosure and Feedback. Immediacy. Natural and Logical Consequences. Directive, Instruction and Psychoeducation. Making Action Skills Work

Topic 8: Theoretical Orientation in Practice—Skills of Integration of Closure
In this topic we will focus on understanding and gaining skills for self-disclosure, providing feedback to clients, and immediacy in counselling.

Content covered:
The Importance of the Right Time. About Termination. The Termination Process.

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What this course is not

This course is not a substitute for postgraduate qualifications to be a professional counsellor or psychologist. You will need to reach out to your respective governing bodies to achieve that. In Singapore to be a professional counsellor or psychologist will require Masters degree and above, supervised practice of at least 600 (counsellor) hours or 1000 hours (for psychologist), and registration, licensing or chartership. Overseas, the requirements are more stringent and demanding. Please contact your local regulating bodies about this.

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Duration of course

Total course duration is 24 hours and can be completed at the learner’s own pace, be it within a day or over several months. For busy adults, pre-recorded lectures are available; as such, the course can be attempted at the learner’s personal schedules.

For questions and guidance about the course content, our LMS system allows for learners to post their questions on the LMS learning wall, and a tutor will answer those queries to clarify the learner pointers.

How is this course delivered?

This course is delivered face-to-face (in person or via virtual environment) and supplemented via our e-learning portal, and through pre-recorded lectures for ease of accessibility.

Professional Membership and Certifications

Graduates from our programme are eligible to apply for the membership and registration status with:

1. Complimentary Medical Association UK (CMA UK).
2. International Association of Therapists (IAOTH).
3. International Association of Board Certified Psychology Coaches (IAOBPC).

For the Member status.

Certification

Sample Certificate