Crisis and trauma counselling is growing in popularity to help individuals cope with stressful events in their lives. It is also a specialty that is used in many organisational settings such as healthcare and emergency services, corporate organisations and education.  Crises and traumatic events are not limited to major incidents, disasters or fatal outcomes; but encompass ordinary everyday events in life. Therefore a crisis might be an event that one individual cannot cope with, yet another can. This makes crisis and trauma counselling diverse and dynamic. Furthermore the immediacy of media coverage on major disasters and incidents leads to the situation where those needing counselling support extend well beyond the immediate victims.

This course is aimed at those who are already in a counselling role but wish to develop their professional knowledge and widen their practice scope; for those who may be involved in a voluntary role within groups or organisations who specialise in crisis and trauma victim support, or for those with a keen interest in the subject and who wish to expand their current understanding.

Successful completion will allow practising counsellors to widen their client base and gain insight into the theory of crisis and how crises develop. It may also facilitate access to voluntary and support roles, demonstrating knowledge gained which can then be developed and translated into practical applications and skills; or it may allow those already in an organisational role to expand their responsibilities and become involved in a support team.

• Lesson One
  • Basic Counselling Skills and Theories
    • Introduction
    • Counselling as a Form of Communication
    • Skills and Theory
    • Counselling Tools
    • The Scope of Counselling
    • Summary
• Lesson Two
  • Ethics in Counselling
    • Confidentiality
    • Transference
    • The Counselling Contract
    • Ending the Counselling Relationship
    • Referring Clients
    • Supervision and Mentoring
    • Professional Development
• Lesson Three
  • Theoretical Models for Counselling
    • The Psychodynamic Approach
    • The Humanist Approach
    • The Behaviourist Approach
• Lesson Four
  • Current Perception of Crisis and Trauma Counselling
    • Stress
    • The Stress Reaction
    • Defining Crisis or Trauma
    • Reactions to Crisis or Trauma
    • Classification of Psychological Disorders
    • Common Scenarios in Crisis and Trauma Counselling Practice
    • The Heightened AccessibilityState
    • Preparing to Counsel Those who have Suffered a Crisis or Trauma
• Lesson Five
  • Theories and Models
    • The Theory of Crisis and Intervention
    • The ABC Model
    • The Iceberg Theory
    • Critical Incident Stress Debriefing
    • Self-Awareness
    • Loss Processing
    • Problem Management
    • False Memories and Reprocessing
• Lesson Six
  • Crisis and Trauma Counselling in Action
    • Family Issues
    • Child Abuse
    • Alcohol and Drug Abuse
    • Death and Dying
    • Depression and Suicide
    • Summary
• Lesson Seven
  • Critical Incidents
    • Counselling and Critical Incidents
    • Stress Debriefing
    • The Critical Incident Stress Debriefing Model (CISD)
    • The Critical Incident Reprocessing and Recovery Model (CIPR)
    • Psychological First Aid
    • Positive Psychology
    • Critical Incidents and the Counsellor
• Lesson Eight
  • Specialist Skills and Short Term Interventions
    • Introduction
    • Short Term Intervention Using the ABC Method
    • Short Term Intervention Using Egan’s Skilled Helper Model
    • Telephone Intervention
    • High Risk and Volatile Situations
    • Setting Boundaries
• Lesson Nine
  • Ethical Practice
    • Introduction
    • Counselling Conflicts and Dilemmas
    • Coping with Client Distress
    • Legal Implications
    • Understanding Client Rights
    • Training and Preparation
    • Emotional Burnout
    • Complaints
• Lesson Ten
  • Being a Crisis Counsellor: Self Evaluation and Reflection
    • Introduction
    • Application of Skills
    • Being a Counsellor
    • Personal Therapy, Supervision, Peer Review and Reflective Practice
    • Counselling Levels of Expertise

No practical training is required to complete this course.