‘Can anybody hear me?’ Better listening in independent practice.
- 9.15am–4.30pm, 25 March 2010
- Fieldhead Hotel, Leicestershire
Sadly we had to cancel this course due to extreme lack of numbers. Trish and I were very priviledged in being invited to the speaker's house so she could give us a condensed version of the day - we both gleaned new knowledge and the opportunity to hone some of our existing skills. We came away wishing others had been able to share the experience and hope that we will be able to offer this course to our fellow practitioners somewhen in the future. The precis for the course had been: The beauty of independent practice is having the time to spend with individual clients to be able to listen to them in depth. You might be the first person that really listens to the client, and doing so is invaluable when considering how best to help. But how able do you feel to encourage your clients to open up so that you can explore their needs fully? What are the important cues and signals to listen for? How can you respond to a client's tears so that they feel understood but are not left in pieces when you leave? This training day will help you to build on existing skills as well as developing new techniques for listening more effectively. It is a practical, enjoyable, inspiring and active day that aims to give you a variety of helpful listening skills to add to your toolbox. Stand out from the crowd and maximise your potential as an independent practitioner by learning to listen better. When Trish and I have the opportunity, hopefully during the summer period, we will try and share some of the things we learnt via our news page.
Course outcomes
It is intended that at the conclusion of the programme the independent practitioner will have:
- Identify the elements of poor and good listening and draw on a range of skills to improve their listening
- Think about their own blocks to listening effectively to others
- Respond sensitively to clients in distress while maintaining appropriate boundaries when using listening skills
Programme
| 08:45 | Registration |
|---|---|
| 09:15 | I beg your pardon? (I never promised you I would actually pay attention!)
|
| 10:45 | Break |
| 11:15 | What have questions got to do with it?
|
| 12:30 | Lunch |
| 13:30 | You say ‘potato’ and I say ‘solanum tuberosum’
|
| 15:00 | Break |
| 15:30 | Who’s crying now?
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| 4.30pm | Close |
(The cost for this day was to be held at 2009 prices)
Clare Symons currently works as a Lecturer in Psychodynamic Counselling at the University of Leicester and as a counsellor in independent practice. She originally trained as a flautist but very quickly discovered that the life of a professional musician was not for her. After struggling to decide what else to do with her life and while volunteering for ChildLine she discovered - to her astonishment – that she enjoyed listening to people. Her passion for helping others through listening led her to formal counsellor training at Nottingham Counselling Centre followed by an MA in Counselling at the University of Birmingham. She is currently studying for a PhD, but still enjoys playing the flute in her spare time.