St Paul's Centre,
102a Church Street,
Enfield. EN2 6AR
Tel: 0208 367 2333
Email:ecs@onetel.com
Diploma in Psychodynamic
Counselling
The two year Diploma course qualifies trainees to
work as agency counsellors seeing clients on a once
a week basis and is accredited by WPF.
It provides a firm grounding in psychodynamic counselling both
theory and practice, and contributes towards the requirements
for eventual BACP individual accreditation.
The Diploma course at Enfield has the advantage of being attached to a counselling
centre so an external placement is not necessary.
Supervision is also included in the course fee.
The training comprises of:
Theoretical seminars
Successful completion of the course depends on trainees meeting the required standard in all the
above areas.
Details of the assessment process will be provided on successful application.
What is Psychodynamic Counselling
A psychodynamic model of human behavior and relationships, which is grounded in psychoanalytic
theories and has, at its core, the notion that our unconscious shapes our internal world and contributes to
how we relate to others.
Our inner and outer worlds are often in conflict with each other in a way which is troubling and which
can compromise our functioning in our daily lives. Past experiences, particularly in infancy and
childhood, influence us in the present and contribute to patterns of behavior and ways of relating.
We transfer feelings and thoughts associated with important figures from our past onto those in the
present, but our conscious awareness of this is inhibited by psychological defence mechanisms.
In practice, a psychodynamic counsellor will have in mind this model of the psyche when working
with a client. The aim of psychodynamic counselling will include facilitating unconscious processes to
become more consciously accessible to the client so that there is a possibility of change in patterns
of behavior and ways of relating.
One of the main ways of doing this is through the transferential relationship the client develops with the
counsellor. This is an important tool for counsellors to use in their understanding of their clients.
Course structure and time commitments
Each term is 11 weeks; 10 weeks of seminars plus one week mid-term which is designated as reading
week.
The seminars will take place on one evening per week. This is likely to be on a Monday evening from 7pm
to 10.15pm. You will be expected to attend supervision on a weekly basis for 42 weeks per year each
session lasting 90 minutes. There will also be additional time commitments for client work, reading and
study.
An important part of the course will be once a term meetings with the personal tutor.
There will also be once a term plenary sessions with the training coordinator.
In Addition
As a trainee counsellor you are regarded as part of Enfield Counselling Service and you will be expected to participate in some important Service events, such as the once termly service meeting. This is held on a Saturday morning and all ECS staff attend.
You will also be encouraged to make every effort to attend the Enfield Counselling Service AGM.
Course Content
Theory and academic study
Year 1
Each study evening consists of a theoretical seminar followed by an experiential group.
The theoretical seminars cover technique and practice and developmental psychology. There will
also be weekend workshops on social perspectives and endings.
The experiential group offers trainees the opportunity to learn about themselves and others in a
group setting.
Year 2
There will be two theoretical seminars per evening, each 90 minutes long.
These will cover developmental psychology, clinical concepts, psychopathology and group work.
There will also be an additional Saturday seminars on 'endings' and the 'social perspectives module' may
continue into the second year.
There is usually a different seminar leader for each module.
All teachers are experienced, highly qualified psychodynamic counsellors or psychoanalytic psychotherapists.
Written work
You will be required to write five papers over the course of the two years.
There are two readers for each paper. There is an External Examiner who moderates the marking.
Practical Components
Experiential Group
During the first year of training the seminars are followed by an experiential group of 90 minutes.
The purpose of the group is to explore what is of concern to individual members and the group as
a whole.
It is part of the group’s task to identify these concerns and discover how to work with them, with the help of the group conductor.
This work provides a source of learning about oneself and about group dynamics and will inform the
seminars during the second year on group work.
Client work
Clients are seen on a once a week basis and over the two years trainees work towards seeing three
clients each week; a minimum of two clients per week is necessary to fulfil course requirements.
Clients are seen within the counselling centre at Enfield so there is no need to obtain an external
placement.
Trainees need to have completed 120 hours with clients.
It should be noted that, because of this requirement, client work may continue beyond the
two academic years.
Supervision
In their supervision groups trainees explore the dynamics of the client/counsellor relationship and
learn in a supportive setting, the applied use of theory and technique.
To meet BACP standards for supervision, trainees will meet in supervision groups, with a maximum
of 4 to a group. Supervision days and times offered are dependent on supervisors' schedules, group
numbers and room availability.
The supervision group continues until the required number of client hours have been completed and for
as long as clients are seen.
Personal therapy
Personal therapy is a requirement of the course and applicants need to have this in place at least
four months prior to seeing clients. It is a vital component of the training, as personal therapy becomes
a model for trainee’s own work with clients.
It also develops a level of self-awareness that enables trainees to work effectively and ethically
with those who seek their help.
You will need to be with a WPF approved psychodynamic counsellor or psychoanalytic psychotherapist.
If you are seeking a therapist prior to applying for the Diploma course it is recommended that
you contact the training coordinator: John Goodchild, email ecs@onetel.com who will provide you with
our therapy adviser’s details.
You will be required to remain in personal therapy throughout the training and for a period post
qualification.
Fees
In addition to this you will need to fund your personal therapy.
How to Apply
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Return your completed application form, by post or email, ecs@onetel.com to John Goodchild, training coordinator, together with a brief report from your Counselling Skills course tutor.
Where the requirements have been met, the applicant will then have two interviews.
Selection
The course is a vocational, not an academic, qualification. Trainees are therefore selected on the basis of:
First interview
This is conducted in two parts.
The first part is a case discussion. The applicant will be given a case to consider for discussion
with the Counselling and Training coordinators, either individually or as part of a group with other applicants.
The second part is an interview with the Training coordinator
There is a fee of £40 for the first interview.
Second interview
This will be with our external assessor to whom a fee of £55 is to be paid.
Applicants may be asked to attend a third interview.
The decision to offer a place will be based on the outcome of all the interviews and the fulfillment
of the above requirements.
If you have any queries or would like to discuss anything in more detail do contact:
Please note: Enfield Counselling Service reserves the right to cancel or change the contents of all
courses.
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