Comments/notes
Title / Counselling Skills Workshops and Personal Development:
Applied Practice
Code / CY202
Level / 5
Credit rating / 20
Pre-requisites / Successful Completion of the Foundation Degree in Person-Centred Counselling
Type of module / Extensive over 1 semester
Aims / To facilitate students’ exploration and assessment of their development of the attitudes and personal qualities necessary for a person-centred counsellor.
Learning outcomes/objectives / On successful completion of the module, the students will be able to:
1 Demonstrate understanding and use of the necessary skills and attitudes to promote a person-centred counselling relationship
2 Analyse their own personal qualities in relation to counselling work
3 Analyse personal strengths and areas of continuing personal and professional development
4 Demonstrate understanding of a range of ethical issues in relation to counselling practice
5 Analyse own readiness to qualify from the course
Content / This is the sixth practice based module of the course which whilst linking the theory from modules CY104-CY103-CY105-CY203 focuses on the theory in module CY205 which applies counselling knowledge and theory to developing counselling practice.
The necessary skills, attitudes and qualities of a person-centred counsellor in practice including:
  • Understanding of person-centred philosophy and its application to practice
  • The ability to offer therapeutic conditions of congruence, unconditional positive regard, and empathy at a level of relational depth
  • Understanding of the principles and standards of counselling and how they apply in practice
  • The appreciation of difference and diversity
  • Non-discriminatory counselling practice in a multi-cultural society
  • Motivation
  • Commitment
  • Resilience and robustness
  • Integrity
  • Self care
  • The ability to evaluate own level of competence
This final counselling skills and personal development module consolidates previous skills learning to provide the foundation for a career as a professional counsellor
Residential weekend: Sexuality and Gender
Teaching and learning strategies / Tutor facilitated counselling skills groups
The provision of a Community Group to enable students to use and develop counselling skills
Personal development groups each facilitated by a core tutor
Individual tutorials
Facilitate assessment groups
Present workshops on different aspects of counselling practice
Present workshop and facilitate forum on developing counselling practice and seeking employment, including self employment, after qualification
Learning support / Tutor Support from Module Team
Peer Learning Group
Learning Support Tutors
Indicative Reading
Barrett-Lennard, G. T. 1998.Carl Rogers’ Helping System: Journey and Substance. London: Sage Publications
Cooper, M., O`Hara, M., Schmid, P., and Wyatt, G. 2007. Handbook of Person-Centred Psychotherapy and Counselling. Palgrave Macmillan
Kirschenbaum, H & Henderson V. L. 1990.The Carl Rogers Reader.
London.; Constable
Worsley, Richard. 2002 Process Work in Person-Centred Therapy.
London: Palgrave:
CPR. research journal for counsellors and psychotherapists
Person-Centred Quarterly: magazine of the British Association for the Person-Centred Approach (BAPCA)
Therapy Today: Magazine for counsellors and psychotherapists
Journal for Person-Centred and Experiential Counsellors and Psychotherapists (PCEP)
Sussex Downs College and University of Brighton Library and e-technology resources.
Sussex Downs College iLearning Moodle
University of Brighton Studentcentral
Assessment tasks / The assignment is in two parts
  1. A 2000 word analysis of the students counselling practice will be presented to the panel one week ahead of the student’s presentation. The analysis will include the students understanding of person-centred counselling, their own qualifies and strengths as a person-centred counsellor and areas for continuing development, and any ethical dilemmas or difficulties that have been experienced in counselling work to this point. This assessment will be informed by the formative peer assessment from the student’s assessment group
  1. A one hour presentation and analysis of counselling work to a panel comprising two tutors from the student’s course and one cross campus tutor. There is an option for a peer to be present at the presentation to support the student. The presentation will comprise a 15 minute presentation of the student’s counselling practice, a 15 minute taped session from the student’s counselling practice with transcript and process analysis of the selected piece of work ( to be submitted two weeks before the presentation to panel members), and a 30 minute examination of the student’s counselling practice.
Part 1, the analysis and Part 2, the presentation will be marked separately. An aggregate mark will be given for each part of the assignment
The weighting is 50% for each part of the assignment. Both parts have to be passed
Brief description of module content and/or aims (maximum 80 words) / This module provides students with the opportunity to examine their effectiveness to practice as a person-centred counsellor and to identify areas for continuing skills and personal development.
Area examination board to which module relates / Foundation Degree in Person-Centred Counselling Area Exam Board
Module team/authors/ coordinator / Author-Graham Molyneux
Module team
Graham Molyneux - module leader
Sue Creenan
Joy Oakley
Semester offered, where appropriate / One semester- Semester 3 Year 2
Site where delivered / Sussex Downs College: alternate years at Lewes and Eastbourne sites
Date of first approval / July 2006
Date of last revision / May 2011
Date of approval of this version
Version number / 2
Replacement for previous module
Field for which module is acceptable and status in that field
Course(s) for which module is acceptable and status in course / Foundation Degree in Person-Centred Counselling – Mandatory
School home / School of Applied Social Science
External examiner / Derryn Ellingham

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