12 weekly sessions - 70 hours

If you are involved in any form of helping relationship – for example, nursing, teaching, support work, youth work or pastoral care - and want to develop your listening and communication skills, this course is for you. It is also a suitable introductory course for those who are considering training as counsellors.

The course operates an equal opportunities policy and is open to anyone who has an interest in working with people. You do not need to have had any previous experience of listening to or supporting others. Nor do you need to hold a Christian faith as we welcome anyone who is comfortable with our Christian ethos and values. It is, however, important to recognize that some of the content of the course is explicitly Christian in its perspective and that in addition to covering the same ground that any good listening skills course would address, we also include topics that will be particularly relevant for those working in a pastoral context.

 

Good listening lies at the heart of any effective helping relationship and this course will enable you to identify and develop the skills you already have as well as to acquire new ones. You will explore the personal qualities needed to be a good listener, you will learn about the importance of listening to yourself as well as to others and you will be invited to embark on a gently challenging journey of self-discovery.

 

You will be introduced to a range of basic listening skills and will also have the opportunity to explore some of the difficulties and sensitive issues you may encounter as a listener such as maintaining confidentiality, holding appropriate boundaries and dealing with people’s defences. Finally, the course offers a very brief introduction to counselling and will help you to understand the differences between the supportive listener and counsellor roles.

 

Booking a place

The fee for this course is £120 (concessions £102), payable in three monthly instalments. Please contact us to request a flyer and booking form.

You can download the flyer in pdf format below. To save a file, right-click on the link and select 'Save Target As'.

 

'Being There' flyer

 

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