Course fee $875 (Canadian currency)
This practical, informative diploma course is designed to enhance the student’s understanding of how crisis, trauma and grief impact and shape the lives of children. It will give you crucial insights and teach you techniques to support young clients who have suffered in this way so that they can start to heal.
Specifically, this course will address the following: an overview of child development and the therapeutic relationship; play therapy and therapeutic techniques for counselling crisis, trauma and grief; family issues; abuse and self-harm; self-esteem, peer pressure, bullying, gender and sexual identity; addictions and eating disorders; an introduction to trauma, grief and loss; the complicated journey through trauma and grief; the role of attachment in recovery from trauma; Psychological First Aid; and the successful management of a crisis or trauma.
SYLLABUS
PART I
Module 1: An Overview of Child Development and the Therapeutic Relationship
Topics Studied
• Developmental characteristics
• Attachment theory
• Secure attachments
• Anxious resistant/ ambivalent attachments
• Avoidant attachments
• Establishing a therapeutic relationship with young clients
• Some therapeutic activities for children
Learning Outcomes and Summary of Objectives
Upon successful completion of this learning module, the student should be able to:
• Classify developmental traits and characteristics
• Summarize attachment theory
• Describe how the counsellor can form a therapeutic relationship with young clients
Module 2: Play therapy and Expressive Techniques
Topics Studied
• What is play therapy?
• Basic play therapy skills
• Teenagers and group work
• Some popular counselling techniques
• Developing a feelings vocabulary
• Some therapeutic activities for older children
Learning Outcomes and Summary of Objectives
Upon successful completion of this learning module, the student should be able to:
• Describe play therapy techniques and skills
• Suggest popular techniques when working with children
• Discuss the importance of developing a feelings vocabulary.
Module 3: Family Issues
Topics Studied
• There’s no place like home
• When families split apart
• Children in single parent families
• Children in blended families
• Teaching young people good communication skills
• Family related therapeutic activities
• Counsellor self-awareness questionnaire: Exploring family influences
• A look at adoption
Learning Outcomes and Summary of Objectives
Upon successful completion of this learning module, the student should be able to:
• Describe the five love languages
• Propose some challenges faced by children in single parent families
• Predict some challenges that children may confront in blended families
Module 4: Abuse and Self-Harm
Topics Studied
• Abuse
• Physical abuse
• Emotional abuse
• Psychological abuse
• Neglect
• Sexual abuse
• What the statistics show
• Living with abuse
• The law and abuse
• Self-harm
• The crisis of suicide
Learning Outcomes and Summary of Objectives
Upon successful completion of this learning module, the student should be able to:
• List different kinds of abuse
• Describe the effects of abuse on young people
• Analyse the most effective ways of helping young people who self-harm
Module 5: Self-esteem, Peer Pressure, Bullying, Gender and Sexual Identity
Topics Studied
• Self-esteem
• Adolescent self-esteem questionnaire
• Low versus healthy self-esteem
• Peer pressure
• Activity: Peer pressure role plays
• Bullying
• Activity: The impact of bullying
• Gender and sexual identity
• Counselling skills practice activity
Learning Outcomes and Summary of Objectives
Upon successful completion of this learning module, the student should be able to:
• Discuss the development of self-esteem
• Suggest ways of dealing with peer pressure
• Propose ways of dealing with bullying
Module 6: Addictions and Eating Disorders
Topics Studied
• Introduction to addictions
• The stages of an addiction
• Diagnosing an addiction
• An alcohol addiction
• Drug abuse
• A sexual addiction
• An internet addiction
• Anorexia nervosa
• Bulimia nervosa
• Binge eating disorder
• What have you learned? Reviewing Part 1
Learning Outcomes and Summary of Objectives
Upon successful completion of this learning module, the student should be able to:
• Describe the stages of addiction
• Discuss the warning signs of anorexia and bulimia nervosa
• List the key factors that make cyber-sex appealing
PART 2
Module 1: An Introduction to Trauma, Grief and Loss
Topics Studied
• What is a trauma?
• Trauma and the brain
• Risk factors increasing the likelihood of trauma
• Factors which increase resilience
• Resiliency questionnaire
• Counselling grieving children
• The importance of being self-aware
• Differentiating between grief and mourning
• Some suggestions for adults who’re supporting traumatized and grieving children
• Some therapeutic activities for children
Learning Outcomes and Summary of Objectives
Upon successful completion of this learning module, the student should be able to:
• Explain what trauma is
• List risk factors which might increase the likelihood of trauma
• Suggest factors which might enhance resilience, and help protect against being traumatized
Module 2: The complicated Journey Through Trauma and Grief
Topics Studied
• Tracing a path through grief and loss
• Complicated mourning/ abnormal grieving
• What leads to complicated mourning?
• Childhood traumatic grief
• How to help a child who is suffering from traumatic grief
• Resonating trauma
• Other losses that can scar a child
• Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and the lifelong consequences of trauma
Learning Outcomes and Summary of Objectives
Upon successful completion of this learning module, the student should be able to:
• Outline what leads to complicated mourning
• Explain what is meant by “resonating trauma”
• Discuss the long-term consequences of Adverse Childhood Events (ACE)
Module 3: The Role of Attachment in Recovery from Trauma
Topics Studied
• Revisiting attachment theory
• Attunement in relationships
• How the child’s brain responds to stress and trauma
• The PACE model: Playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy
• Negative or trauma bonding
• How trauma continues to affect us over time
• Trauma and the family
• A final word on how professionals can help
Learning Outcomes and Summary of Objectives
Upon successful completion of this learning module, the student should be able to:
• Discuss how a child’s brain responds to stress and trauma
• Describe how to apply the PACE model
• Explain what is meant by negative or trauma bonding
Module 4: Additional Therapeutic Techniques
Topics Studied
• Reviewing play therapy
• Introducing rational-emotive behaviour therapy (REBT)
• Introducing action and commitment therapy (ACT)
• Relaxation and mindfulness
• The value of meditation
• Understanding and treating flashbacks
• Understanding and treating dissociation
Learning Outcomes and Summary of Objectives
Upon successful completion of this learning module, the student should be able to:
• Outline the main concepts in REBT
• Describe how to use mindfulness and relaxation, as part of ACT.
• Suggest ways of responding to dissociation
Module 5: Psychological First Aid
Topics Studied
• The key objectives of Psychological First Aid
• Requirements for providing Psychological First Aid
• The core elements of Psychological First Aid
• The value of ritual
Learning Outcomes and Summary of Objectives
Upon successful completion of this learning module, the student should be able to:
• List the key objectives on Psychological First Aid
• Outline the requirements for providing Psychological First Aid
• Describe the core elements of Psychological First Aid
Module 6: The Successful Management of a Crisis or Trauma
Topics Studied
• Developing a Safety Plan
• Formulating a Crisis Response Plan
• Debriefing responsibilities of the Crisis Response Team
• Helping interventions with different grades and ages
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in children
• Supportive interventions for different grades and ages
• Ethical framework for good practice in counselling
• The counsellor’s personal moral qualities
• What have you learned? Reviewing Part 2
Learning Outcomes and Summary of Objectives
Upon successful completion of this learning module, the student should be able to:
• Formulate a Crisis Response Plan
• List the main objectives of a crisis-related debriefing meeting
• Summarise what constitutes an ethical practice for counsellors
Suggested textbooks for the course (to be purchased by the student)
The textbook for Part 1 is: Vernon, A., & Schimmel, C.J. (2018). Counseling children and adolescents (5th Ed.). San Diego, CA: Cognella Academic Publishing.
The textbook for Part 2 is: Gordon, J.D., & Doka, K.J. (2016). Living with grief: Children, adolescents and loss. (2nd Ed.). Abingdon: Routledge.