COURSE SYLLABUS
The syllabus for the PHTA Diploma is very wide in its scope, covering a broad range of skills and techniques. The first year lays the foundations for the training, and includes counselling skills training, an introduction to hypnotherapy and NLP, plus additional skills. In the second year students build on their foundation to learn more advanced hypnotherapy and NLP techniques plus a range of other treatment strategies, including practice building.
Year Two.
February: Setting up your practice. What kind? Solo, in partnership, in a group? From home, from outside premises? How to market, create your image, advertise, keep records, the law, essentials of your workplace, timekeeping, fees. Tax and insurance requirements. We supply samples of suitable forms and give clear and specific advice. Ample expert and sympathetic guidance is given throughout the course.
Assertiveness. Ways to communicate clearly and skilfully; stating your own needs calmly, whilst negotiating; recognising and acknowledging the other person's rights too; becoming more effective in everyday dealings with others, without aggression. Dealing with criticism and anger.
March: Stress and Anxiety (including post-traumatic stress disorder). You study the many effects (both physical and psychological) of stress and how to recognise the extent to which it is affecting all our lives. Psychological approaches come into play when devising an individual package of support for each client.
April: PsychoNeuroImmunology. This day will look at up-to-the-minute research and its therapy implications in the following areas: How stress and emotional distress cause physical as well as emotional disease, Neurogensis, the recent discovery that even as adults we can create new brain cells. The New Biology that challenges the idea that the brain of the cell is the nucleus and that our destinies are written in our DNA. Could information from outside the cell be more influential than DNA? The three intelligence centres in the body. The brain in our skulls runs only one of the three information systems in our bodies, we have two more, in our gut and in our heart. Energy psychology - human beings as energy systems. We will also look at ways that we can work with people with cancer and other serious illnesses.
May: Hypnotherapy. Revision of year 1. Regression, including how to work with past life should it spontaneously occur. False memory syndrome and dangers of regression in search of cause. When to use/not use regression, why and how. Regression metaphors, timeline, magic vehicle etc. Regression techniques to revisit and reframe, and progression. Abreaction linked to regression.
June: Hypnotherapy. Guided imagery, glove anaesthesia for pain. Anxiety, panic attacks and phobias, inner child healing. Making tapes/CD’s for clients.
July: Hypnotherapy. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and pain management. Applications including: nail biting, bed wetting, insomnia, bruxism (teeth grinding), exam and sports performance.
August: Hypnotherapy. Hypnotic phenomena, the screen technique – memories and phobias. Conscious/unconscious dissociation induction and direct and rapid inductions.
September: Holistic Approach/Integration of the Course. Bringing together the different techniques and skills learned during the training, and applying them to your client work.
October: Addictions and Compulsions. The study of abnormality in terms of addictive and compulsive behaviours. Compulsions and addictions will be examined from both the biological/medical and psychological models, including psychodynamic, behavioural and cognitive perspectives. The critical issue covered will be eating disorders, and various treatment strategies will be examined.
November: Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. Based on the theories of Sigmund Freud, aimed at making the patient aware of the unconscious impulses, desires and fears that are causing anxiety. Psychoanalysts believe that if the patient can achieve insight and work through his or her unconscious conflicts, he (or she) can be free of recurring problems. Looking specifically at the role transference and countertransference plays in the therapeutic relationship.
December: Bereavement and Loss. How to counsel most effectively; understanding the stages of loss; the journey towards ultimate acceptance and the required support and empathy along the way.
January: Cognitive Therapy. Emotional upsets are fuelled by negative self-talk. By learning how to challenge this, and unrealistic beliefs and expectations, the client is freed to focus on more effective ways of coping. Communication improves and the client's path through life becomes smoother and more satisfying.
Module 13: Supervision. Supervision is not an optional extra for practising therapists, it is mandatory. The Supervision workshop will consider two prime aspects of the supervisee-supervisor relationship. First we will examine the components of supervision and second the approaches to supervision which include: the characteristics of case-centred supervision; the characteristics of counsellor-centred supervision; the characteristics of interactive supervision and the types of supervision available to supervisees.
Module 14: NeuroLinguisticProgramming. Timelines (Tad James), Walt Disney/Robert Dilts strategy/perceptual position. The Meta mirror and Meta programmes. The Milton model, Virginia Satir's personality types. Cases.
Module 15: Brief Solution Focused Therapy. The term Brief Counselling covers a range of planned, short-term therapies and therapeutic interventions. Many brief therapies, also called Brief, Solution Focused Therapy and Time Limited Therapy, are based on psychodynamic, cognitive behavioural, crisis or humanistic approaches, each with its own method of working. The results of brief therapy are said to be comparable with longer-term therapy. The workshop will look at a number of elements including: What is Brief and Time Limited Therapy? What are the goals and focus of brief therapy? What range of problems can be effectively treated in only 6 to 12 counselling sessions? Which clients are suitable for brief therapy, which are not? How are clients assessed? How is the therapeutic relationship managed? How is therapy conducted?