The Counselling for Non-Counsellors Course is a course that teaches some practical counselling and effective nurturing skills for use in life with partners, kids, family, friends, colleagues, clients, etc.

It is for those who have a desire to gain the skills or enhance their existing skills to help others when they are emotional, stressed or suffering or who need some nurturing, but who don't want to spend a lot of money and time getting trained as a professional counsellor. There is no other pre-requisite for this workshop than a desire to help and care for others.

The course commenced on Tuesday, the 13th of May 2008 (7 PM to around 9 PM) and will run over eight Tuesday evenings and will conclude on the 1st of July. If you missed the first evening, it's not too late to join in!

The aim of the course is to:

• Explore the fundamentals of counselling,
• Greatly improve communication skills, especially deep listening skills,
• Become more able to be fully present with another person,
• Practice developing rapport with another person,
• Understanding and enhancing emotional intelligence,
• Learn and practice some practical counselling skills and
• Learn some effective nurturing skills and personally experience them,
• Be able to conduct an informal session with another person.

An added bonus is that attendees will get the opportunity to do some personal work with themselves and will learn some techniques on this course can also be easily self-applied.

I recommend that everyone who does my VITAL Relationship Skills workshop also does this course (and vice versa). The skills learnt on this course are very useful in relationships and especially in your relationships that really matter. Enhancing communications skills (especially listening skills), and taking them to a new level, are emphasized and thoroughly practiced throughout this course.

The need for these skills lies in the fact that the most common source of frustration in relationships is that those concerned don't feel heard and understood. Added to that is the fact that resolving issues or upsets that occur in relationships (and they do occur) requires the use of communication, but it must be effective communication. The consequence of not resolving issues is that unresolved emotional issues tend to stack up (and may become emotional baggage and cause problems). Effective communication is the magic key that opens the door. It is very learnable. You'll be amazed.

These are some of the comments from people who did the Counselling for Non-Counsellors Course last year:

"I gave up one of my passions to attend this workshop and … it was worth every minute of it." - Felicia Sandover. "The practical side was of the most benefit - putting concepts into practice". - E.C. "... a very supportive environment in which to interact and learn ... the demonstrations were very helpful …" - Margaret. “I have learned a great deal, all of it valuable. I feel much more confident in dealing with my issues with regards to helping others ..." - Janette Thornton. "The workshop introduced me to a wide variety of options to use in a counselling situation … Several of my new skills have already helped me in personal and professional situations." - Peggy Webb (Ayuveda practitioner). "I learnt the importance of active listening and how to help others resolve their emotional issues and personal problems even though I am not a professional counsellor." - D.A.B.

Venue: The Subiaco StillPoint Health & Wellness Centre, 15 York Street, Subiaco. This venue is directly opposite the Ronald MacDonald House and very close to the Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, near the Hamilton Street end of York Street. The West Leederville train station is the nearest station and is easy walking distance to York Street (heading south from the station along Coghlan Street) and then left into York Street.

Click here for information on How this Workshop Came About.

Note: This course is not a substitute for professional help when emotional issues are serious or persisting.