Certificate in Teaching for Psychotherapists and Psychotherapeutic Counsellors
A Six-Day Certificate for Psychotherapists and Psychotherapeutic Counsellors Who Teach
Introduction
Most of us who teach counselling and psychotherapy were never taught to teach. We learned it by watching the people who taught us, absorbing their habits and their way of running a room, and much of what we absorbed was good. But it was rarely examined, and it is not the same as having been trained.
This six-day certificate treats teaching as a distinct professional practice with its own body of knowledge. It is for practitioners who already teach and want a firmer footing, and for those preparing to teach for the first time. The course is taught in person in Brighton and Hove.
Who is the course for?
- Psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors who teach on training programmes
- Practitioners preparing to teach for the first time
- Trainers working towards TSTA, and PTSTAs developing their training practice
- Supervisors moving into teaching and training roles
- Experienced practitioners asked to deliver CPD, workshops or modules who want to build confidence and a firmer footing
No previous teaching qualification is assumed.
Course structure
Six days, taught in three two-day blocks across May, June and July 2027. Each day runs from 09:30 to 16:30 and is built around four 80-minute sessions, giving 32 hours of contact time.
The three blocks move in sequence. The first is concerned with theory: how adults learn, and what that means for a training room. The second is concerned with practice: planning, managing and delivering teaching. The third is concerned with assessment and evaluation: how learning is judged, how feedback is given, and how a programme is reviewed. There is a reader of materials to supplement the teaching and learning delivered on the course.
Participants teach twice during the course, once as a short mini-teach and once as an assessed session, receiving feedback on both.
What does it cover?
- How adults learn: andragogy and adult learning theory
- Learning theories, and how to use them in practice
- Developing your own philosophy of teaching
- The role of the tutor and trainer in a psychotherapy and counselling context
- Learning styles, and differences between learners
- Lesson planning and course design
- Classroom and group management
- Creativity in teaching
- Materials development
- Inclusive design: what is essential for some and helpful for all
- Types of assessment, and designing assessment that serves learning
- Giving verbal and written feedback
- Evaluating learning, and evaluating a teaching programme
- Lifelong learning and professional identity
Assessment
To be awarded the certificate, participants complete three things:
- Attendance on all six training days
- A short mini-teach, and participation in the assessment of peer teaching, with verbal feedback from tutors and peers
- An assessed teaching session in the final block, with written feedback
There is no written assignment. The course is assessed on teaching itself.
What you will gain
- A certificate in teaching for psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors
- 32 hours of CPD
- A considered and articulated philosophy of teaching, which is what the TSTA examination asks candidates to describe
- Practical experience of planning, delivering and evaluating teaching, with feedback on both of your teaching sessions
- A peer group of practitioners thinking about the same questions
Contact
For details, or an informal conversation about whether the course is right for you, contact Mandy and Patrick at admin@connexusinstitute.com.
Dates:
- 15 and 16 May 2027
- 5 and 6 June 2027
- 3 and 4 July 2027
Length: Six days, in 3 two-day modules
Times: 9:30am to 4.30pm all days
Mode: Face-to-Face in Brighton & Hove
Cost: £920. VAT is not chargeable on this course
For details, or an informal conversation about whether the course is right for you, contact us: admin@connexusinstitute.com The ‘Book Now’ button below will also take you to a contact page
Meet your course leaders
Patrick Brook
Patrick Brook TSTA, CTA (Psychotherapy), MA, BA (Hons) is a UKCP-registered psychotherapist and supervisor. He is one of the founding directors and the Academic Director of Connexus Institute. Alongside his teaching, he runs a private psychotherapy and supervision practice in Brighton and Hove. Before training as a psychotherapist, Patrick worked for many years in higher education as a university lecturer and academic manager, teaching in the UK and abroad. He has written widely on curriculum design and learner-centred education and remains interested in how ideas translate meaningfully into practice. Patrick enjoys creating warm, engaging, and lively learning spaces where people can explore and develop their own professional and personal identities.
Mandy Atkinson
Mandy Atkinson TSTA (P), CTA (P), MA, Cert Ed, CELTT is a UKCP registered psychotherapist, Supervisor and teacher, trainer, based in South Walsham, near Norwich. Mandy came to transactional analysis after over 25 years of teaching experience, working for over 12 years as a Senior Lecturer in Higher Education. She is passionate about how people learn and the student experience of learning. Mandy can be contacted at mandy.atkinson@mattersofthemind.org.uk