PGCert Supervision in Counselling, Coaching and Other Helping Professions

Program Overview

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We are delighted to launch our new postgraduate certificate in supervision in counselling, coaching and other helping professions. The course is designed to help you acquire the knowledge and skills required for supervision. It is aimed at counsellors and psychotherapists, coaches, nurses, teachers, social workers and other professionals who wish to develop and enhance their continuing personal and professional development alongside their supervisory skills and practice.

For experienced professionals, becoming a trained  supervisor is the next step in terms of professional development. As a  supervisor, you will combine your professional knowledge and experience with a range of theories and skills to support the development of novice and trained counsellors, psychotherapist, coaches, nurses, teachers or social workers alike.

The

School of Psychology

at UEL offers an evidence-based approach grounded in the most up-to-date theories in the field.

This postgraduate certificate will help you to understand the purpose and principles of supervision and to make critical judgements on the application of various supervision models and techniques required for professional practice.

We are in support of promoting equality, diversity and inclusion by our mode of delivery (i.e., monthly block sessions), as this allows a broader range of working professionals to participate.

If you are interested in becoming a  supervisor and wish to learn more about training requirements, please contact us.

Program Outline

This course is designed to allow you to develop and demonstrate an understanding of both the art and science of supervision. It aims to support counsellors, psychotherapists, coaches and other helping professionals with supervisory responsibilities who wish to incorporate supervision into their career portfolio. The course provides the foundation for students wishing to apply the principles of supervision toward their existing or future professional practice in the domains of professional counselling, psychotherapy or coaching and in corporate, education, health, charity or community sectors.

You will learn the principles, the process and the structure of supervision. You will critically review some of the main theories and concepts in supervision and develop and demonstrate skills which can be applied directly in peer supervision and in either one-to-one or group-based supervision.

The full Postgraduate Certificate training comprises two core modules, either of which can also be taken independently as stand-alone short courses which are titled similarly to the modules.

In the module 'Understanding the Theory and Practice of Supervision' (or in the similarly-titled short course whose content is equivalent), a strong emphasis will be placed on equipping you to critically reflect on the theoretical and research underpinnings of supervision. Having acquired an introduction to these matters, you will be encouraged to reflect on your own approaches toward supervision as you experience and practice a carefully curated array of skills and techniques associated with supervision. The module will present a wide variety of supervision techniques, approaches and experiments, including innovative arts-based creative tools.

Whilst making various personal and professional discoveries, you will be introduced to the application of supervision by regularly participating in safe practice opportunities in threes - comprising a supervisor, supervisee and observer (or 'shadow supervisor') who will offer feedback - alongside group supervision with other participants in the course. As an option, you will regularly observe live group coaching supervision sessions, followed by a guided reflection with the supervisor.

In the module 'Evidence-Based Practice in Supervision: Personal and Professional Development' (or in the similarly-titled short course whose content is equivalent), the emphasis is placed on applying in practice your critical reflections on your own approaches to supervision, with the opportunity to experience and practise new skills and techniques associated with supervision.

Whilst putting into practice an array of personal and professional discoveries, you will increase your confidence in making a set of critical judgments on the application of evidence-based approaches to one-to-one and group supervision in different professional contexts. You will also become familiar and critically analyse the most recent research in supervision.

We consistently review our courses to ensure we are up to date with industry changes and requirements from our graduates. As a result, our modules are subject to change.

You'll be taught by a range of staff, many of whom run their own practices or work in practice, which ensures that the practice-led research which is disseminated in the learning environment, or actually takes place within it, is relevant to your industry and practice.  It also means that skills-practice labs are well-positioned to take advantage of myriad professional networks which are associated with the staff team.

Within each module there are theoretical elements and practise-based elements, with the intention that knowledge and skills are always introduced and developed in relation to professional practitioner settings and real-world applicability.  Thus, both the notion of evidence-based practice and that of practice-based evidence are valued, with the sense that each informs the other and is inextricably linked to the requirements of your day-to-day personal, professional and/or vocational settings.

When not attending timetabled lectures, seminars, skills-practice sessions and other activities, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-directed learning and study.

These efforts will typically involve reading academic journal articles and texts, working on individual and group projects, undertaking various coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for the submission of your assessment portfolio.

Your independent learning is supported throughout by a range of state-of-the-art facilities, including an array of online resources, the campus library and Moodle - our curated VLE platform which guides and shapes the scope and direction of your self-directed learning activities.

Our academic support team provides help and assistance in a vast range of areas, including but not limited to support for those who live with seen and/or unseen disabilities.

When you embark on your studies, we will introduce you to your Academic Advisor.  This a member of staff who will provide you with academic guidance, typically be a support throughout the entirety of your time at the University, and show you how to make best use of the full array of assistance, support and resources available to you as a student.

For each module (or similarly titled short course whose content is equivalent), you will typically devote in the region of 45 hours to timetabled learning and teaching activities.  These may be lectures, workshops, seminars, skills-practice sessions and either individual or group tutorials.  Contact hours may vary slightly.

You should also plan on devoting in the region of 255 hours to self-directed independent study.  Activities which are likely to be involved are self-directed reading and revising, portfolio assessment preparation, online and/or on campus skills-acquisition activities, peer study and groupwork, assimilation of formative feedback and reflection on summative feedback.  Your individual requirements may vary slightly.

Your individualised timetable is normally available to students within 48 hours of enrolment.  This training is being offered in an 'executive-style' format (i.e., approximately monthly on Saturdays) in order to accommodate the needs of busy working professionals who would rather not take time off from their weekday commitments.

To give you an indication of class sizes, this course is intended to attract up to 60 students per year.  Lecture sizes are normally conducted in a large-group format, whereas various small-group activities such as skills-practice sessions, seminars and tutorials are broken up into smaller group in order to heighten the opportunity for meaningful peer feedback and the development of professional networks amongst your peers.

The full Postgraduate Certificate training comprises two core modules, either of which can also be taken independently as stand-alone short courses which are titled similarly to the modules.

In the module  'Understanding the Theory and Practice of Supervision' (or in the similarly-titled short course whose content is equivalent), you will prepare a portfolio in which the emphasis is placed on the acquisition of supervision theory, comprising: (a) acquisition of theory, (b) analysis of skills, and (c) a case study. Considered as a whole piece of work, these three elements comprise 100% of your assessment for the module.

In the module 'Evidence-Based Practice in Supervision: Personal and Professional Development' (or in the similarly-titled short course whose content is equivalent), you will prepare a portfolio in which the emphasis is placed on the demonstration of supervision skills and processes applied in practice, comprising (a) application of theory in practice, (b) analysis of skills, and (c) a reflective journal. Considered as a whole piece of work, these three elements comprise 100% of your assessment for the module.

Students will be required to have more than one supervisee arrangement in place over the duration of the course; both to meet the number of practice hours required (30 per module) and to gain a sufficiently varied experience of offering supervision; in order to meet the assessment criteria. UEL will help by giving students the opportunity to supervise students, but you may also make your own arrangements to complete the hours required for the course. In order that your experience of offering supervision is itself representative of supervised practise, you will also need to undertake at least one supervision session every three months. These sessions must be arranged and funded independently, and therefore are considered as an additional cost to the course fees. A feedback form completed by your supervisor will be required as proof of their engagement.