module specification

This module will help you to develop a range of core personal and professional skills in preparation for work in supervised counselling placements. It is designed to foster core competencies and reflective skills that underpin effective counselling practice both in room and working remotely. It complements the theoretical and intellectual competencies developed in other aspects of the course through its focus on developing the practical person-centred therapy and CBT skills required to work safely and effectively with clients with differing expectations and needs, both face-to-face and remotely. The module is experiential in its approach and provides opportunities for you to participate in person-centred and CBT skills in roleplay counselling sessions with peers and to critically reflect upon and discuss your experiences with your peers and members of the course team. The module will also help you to develop your critical awareness of the limitations with your own competencies and to take responsibility for addressing such limitations. It thus provides an important context in which your readiness to work in supervised practice placements is developed and assessed.

Available for Study Abroad? NO

In this module, you will develop person-centred therapeutic skills, including the use of the core conditions and an accepting, non-judgemental attitude; active listening and attending skills; alliance and rapport building; recognising and working with the client’s agenda; relational therapeutic skills; client consent and confidentiality; maintaining ethical boundaries and the therapeutic frame; personal and professional development skills; professional standards and conduct in training and practice; working with diverse populations; online and other forms of remote counselling; reflexive ethical practice; and working with beginnings and endings in the therapeutic relationship.

You will be introduced to the core principles and techniques underpinning second- and third-wave Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). You will learn to identify negative automatic thoughts, underlying assumptions, and core beliefs, and to understand how these, alongside common cognitive distortions, influence emotional experiences and behavioural patterns. You will also develop skills in key behavioural techniques, including activity monitoring, behavioural activation, and behavioural experiments, as well as approaches for testing and modifying unhelpful beliefs, alongside elements of mindfulness and acceptance-based practice. Emphasis will be placed on the structured yet flexible application of these approaches to real-life situations.

You will also develop knowledge and skills for working with Online and Phone Therapy (OPT), including assessing client suitability; establishing and managing therapeutic contracts across different communication media; applying theories of confidentiality, security, and ethical practice in online environments; developing contingency plans for technological failure; integrating theoretical perspectives on online disinhibition; managing endings in OPT work; and applying theory to support practitioner wellbeing and self-care.

This module will introduce you to the professional Readiness to Practise and Fitness to Practise PSRB requirements and support you in developing the therapeutic skills and professional behaviours to meet these requirements.

Teaching in this module consists of work in smaller groups involving skills triads and fishbowl learning methods. The OPT teaching part of this module will be delivered online. Your skills will be observed by your skills tutor, and you will be provided with regular feedback by your peers and skills tutor on your developing skills. These regular observations are not formally assessed but provide you with an opportunity to develop your therapeutic skills, reflect upon your learning and prepare you for clinical practice. Teaching will be largely delivered in room with some synchronous online session inputs.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to: 

1. Critically evaluate and use person-centred therapeutic skills, including active listening, relational techniques, alliance building, and the maintenance of ethical boundaries.
2. Work within the BACP Ethical Framework and apply principles of consent, confidentiality, and professional standards, demonstrating reflective judgement on personal and professional development and the implications of working with diverse populations.
3. Critically evaluate and be able to use core principles and techniques underpinning second and thirdwave Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
4. Design and implement CBT interventions, including behavioural activation, activity monitoring, behavioural experiments, and mindfulness or acceptance-based approaches, tailoring these techniques to therapeutic scenarios.
5. Evaluate and manage online and phone therapy, integrating considerations of client suitability, ethical and security frameworks, technological contingencies, and practitioner wellbeing to inform best practice.