What's it like training at Simpson House?
"I’ve known for 10 years that I wanted to work with children in a therapeutic setting and I’ve been waiting for the right circumstances and the right course to provide me with an opportunity. That has come through Simpson House.
"My heart lies in working with children and has done for many years. Being with children is a niche which feels right for me, and as a result I’ve felt drawn to do more in that area.
"I love working with children because of the fun and the freedom that they can bring to situations. For me, creativity is a real passion too, and I absolutely love the fact that you can get involved with children in a creative way. The fact that counselling with children is not just a talking therapy, but has involved learning about art therapy, play therapy and storytelling, has been fantastic. Now it’s amazing as a student practitioner, to see how powerful these things can be as you work alongside a child in their different circumstances, providing a holding space; a safe, special place for them.
"Because Simpson House is actively involved in working with people and not just in teaching the learning environment is fantastic – it’s not dry or sterile at all. You can draw on the experience of the place and the staff. It makes it a very easy transition from being a student to being a practitioner.
"The course itself has been about looking back, about looking at the developmental stages of children, looking at the significance of things that happen in childhood and how these play out in adulthood. You can’t not participate in the course at a deep level, so it’s not possible to view this course just as a qualification. This has also meant that it has been a huge personal journey and a massive learning curve.
"I’m a parent which has had its own impact on how I’ve experienced the course. For me personally I feel that I bring experience and something intuitive from my experience of raising children. At the same time though, it has been hard; horrible even, to think in terms of what children can go through when I see my own children. The guidance from the course is to go home and be with children in a very positive way to redress the balance.
"This is by no means an easy course; it’s not a flimsy thing. It is hard work but it should be. If you are being trained to work in a therapeutic way with children and young people then it should be rigorous and the course has to have integrity, otherwise it would become de-valued. So, it has been hard work, but so rewarding.
"This course is the best thing I have ever done without a shadow of a doubt. It’s been great and the impact has been huge for me. Although you put in a lot of work, that’s really nothing compared to what you get back, and it feels like a huge privilege to be doing the course because of what I have learned."
Elizabeth - student on the Diploma in Higher Education Counselling Children & Young People
Students Comments:
"This course was very beneficial for my personal development. I felt I knew myself well before this course but I have learnt so much about myself by applying the theories learnt on the course to my life. I'd recommend this course to anyone wanting to improve their practice at work and have a fresh insight into substance use and themselves."
"I embarked on this course hoping it would develop my listening skills in working with clients with addictions. It exceeded my expectations; challenging my core beliefs and values, changing how I work from the inside out. I have learnt a lot of new counselling theories and information about drug use but the surprising part has been the amount of self-awareness that has come through being on this course."
"I really enjoyed learning in different ways; good teaching, creative experiences, reflective learning, group work and lots of skills practise. I know I do a better job of listening to my clients because of being on this course."
Students on the COSCA Certificate in Counselling Skills - Substance Use & Dependency
"The best thing has been the overall journey this course has taken us on as a group of students. If I think about the difference between the first day and the last day of the course, then I can see the collective experience of learning, practising and supporting together that we have had. This is a course where you share so much of yourself. In some ways you take risks by doing it but as a group of students we all jumped together."
