To heal others, you must first heal yourself. This simple truth lies at the heart of the training offered by the Garnethill Centre in Glasgow.
For over four decades, the centre has been quietly enabling people to begin transforming their lives – not just of the clients who walk through their doors, but of the professionals they train to become skilled psychodynamic counsellors.
A key part of the centre is its two-year part-time psychodynamic counselling diploma. The course is intensely experiential, combining rigorous academic study with deep personal work that graduates describe as “life-changing”.
What is psychodynamic counselling?
Psychodynamic counselling explores the hidden connections between our past and present, uncovering the unconscious patterns that shape our relationships and experiences.
It is also central to this approach to explore those aspects of the self that are not fully known and that we may not be conscious of, particularly as they emerge and are potentially influenced in the here and now of the therapeutic relationship.
While all successful therapies seek to relieve symptoms like depression and anxiety, the aims of psychodynamic counselling extend beyond this.
By providing a safe and deeply authentic relationship, the counsellor seeks to foster and develop psychological capacities and resources in the client that enable them to live and relate to others in a more meaningful and satisfying way.
An SCQF level 10 course
The programme was credit rated by the University of the West of Scotland and sits at SCQF level 10 with 120 credit points. It also has professional validation from COSCA (Counselling and Psychotherapy in Scotland).
The course is highly experiential and comprises theoretical seminars; clinical seminars; counselling skills practice; experiential groups; personal and group tutorials; supervised counselling practice; and the requirement for participants to undertake their own personal therapy. Course theory is underpinned by attachment theory and object relations.
Students qualify as psychodynamic counsellors once they achieve the diploma, after which they may proceed directly to professional registration and/or accreditation with a relevant professional body. Many graduates of the centre go on to take up counselling posts, while others remain in their current posts with enhanced competence.
What graduates are saying
An intense, life-changing experience…that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
A rigorous course. Incredibly useful. I have developed a genuine sense of confidence in my work with clients – something I could not imagine at the start.
I have learned so much about myself, theory and skills. I now have a solid foundation to build on for my future career as a counsellor.
More information
To learn more about the diploma, visit their website
To find out how you can have your learning or training programme added to the SCQF, visit Get Your Programme on the SCQF.