ADVANCING COUNSELLING COMPETENCY
COURSE for GUIDANCE COUNSELLORS
Aims and Objectives:
To provide participating guidance counsellors with the opportunity to
engage in a self-evaluation process of their current professional practice in their counselling role,
including its underlying values and assumptions.
To provide them with models, techniques and instruments that will assist
them in developing their own continuous professional development plan
To provide a variety of opportunities to learn and practise a range of
evidence-based counselling and therapeutic approaches and practices.
To provide a framework which will enable them to find their own way to
competence in any area where they self-evaluate a need for growth and development
To facilitate a group climate that will enable an open, co-operative learning
experience with self-evaluation and peer feedback as key processes for growth and development.
Learning Outcomes:
The programme is designed with a practical focus on what participants may find useful in their work
and in their reflection on that work as they continue their journey towards counselling competency.
On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:

Apply ideas and experiences from the sessions to their counselling practice with clients

Focus on counselling outcomes, and on the goals, tasks and methods that facilitate good
outcomes.

Develop their Reflective Practitioner awareness and practice.

Value evidence-based practice.

Have a clearer sense of their strengths as counsellors, and of the areas of their work that are
not yet at advanced competence.

Have an understanding of the nature of advanced counselling competence, have an
understanding of the options open to them for continuing their own work towards advanced
competence, and have developed an individual plan to continue with that work.
Who is it for?
The course is open to any guidance counsellor with a recognised guidance
qualification, working as a guidance counsellor in a school, who is interested in committing to
growth in professional counselling competence, with a limit of 16 participants.
Course structure:
The 30-hour course begins on Saturday, 21st September, and continues on
ten Monday evenings, 7.00-9.30, commencing on September 30th ( excluding 28th October)
Course Content:
Individual Professional Development Needs Assessment:
What is Advanced Counselling Competence, how will I know when I have
arrived there, and where am I now on that path?
Self Audit of current Counselling Practice and Counselling Skills
What do I actually do when counselling, and how well do I do it?
Model for Advanced Counselling Competence including Cognitive
Complexity
A Map of the Territory
Deepening the Client/counsellor relationship
Working at relational depth. The Personal/Professional dynamic.
Evidence-based counselling interventions and their appropriate use, drawn
from a range of therapy models
An opportunity to be exposed to counselling techniques which may be new to
participants, and which participants will experience by demonstration and by
practice through role-play.
Pluralistic Counselling model as a possible guide to professional
development
Finding and using the best of all worlds
Methodology:
The course will seek to create a learning community which will invite
participants to offer their experience and skills to further the aims of the
programme. It is designed to facilitate active participation in
-
theoretical challenge
-
self-reflection
-
skills practice
-
client role-play
-
peer feedback
Course accreditation
This is a CPD course where participants will be awarded an IGC
Certificate of Completion following submission of a Professional
Development Journal at the conclusion of the course. Participants
will be asked to keep a Reflective Journal during the training
programme
Cost
€40
Reading list
Participants will be offered suggested reading material by email
before and during the course. It will be useful to have looked
through a general counselling skills textbook before the start of the
course. e.g.:
John McLeod and Julia McLeod. (2011). Counselling Skills.
Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill
Kathryn Geldard and David Geldard. (2010) Counselling Adolescents.
London: Sage.
For a new framework for counselling theory and practice see
Mick Cooper and John McLeod. (2011). Pluralistic Counselling and
Psychotherapy. London: Sage
Also useful:
Hanley, T., Humphrey, N. & Lennie, C. (Eds.). (2013).
Adolescent Counselling Psychology: Theory, Research and
Practice. Hove: Routledge