Continual Professional Development (CPD)

Please note:

• Our maximum number of participants is generally 12 per studio event.
• Bookings must be made at least two weeks prior to the start date as cancellation will be decided at that time.
• Places are not secured without payment.
• Refunds for studio CPD events cancelled by Dunamis will be made in full.
• Participant cancellation will be paid in full if cancellation is made at least two weeks before the studio day.
• Book early to avoid disappointment.

Diploma in Supervision

Course entry requirements – 3 years post Diploma with a minimum practice of 400+ hrs. Part of the training will require you to offer voluntary practice Supervision for a minimum of 24 hours.
For more information click here – Diploma in Supervision

Integrating aspects of inner child work

This studio day will be an experiential day to consider how various ideas about claiming your inner child can inform our self-compassion and calm our inner child trauma. The day will include looking at, Erikson’s stages, Bradshaw’s inner child, internal family systems and more.

Presenters: Sara Bishop and Sally Valentine

Event Date: 9th March 2024

Time: 9.30am – 3.30pm

Cost: £70

The closing date for this course is 24th Feb

Please download, complete and return the event booking form. We require acceptance of the event terms and conditions.

Trauma Forum – A two day studio event

The two days will consider:

• Somatic presentations and body awareness for clients
• Supporting clients to help themselves
• Awareness of EMDR
• PAUSING – Pacing, Attachment, Utilizing, Integrating, Nurturing, and Growth
• Trauma in children, Birth trauma, transgenerational trauma
• Complex trauma
• The traumatised brain

Presenters: Sara Bishop and Sally Valentine

Event Date: Friday 28th and Saturday 29th June, 2024

Time: Friday 28th 9.30am – 4pm
Saturday 29th 9.30am – 3pm

Cost: £150

The closing date for the course is Friday 14th June 2024

Please download, complete and return the event booking form. We require acceptance of the event terms and conditions.

Children and Young People Foundation Certificate (11-18 years)

This course will be run on demand. If six or more participants wish to undertake the training, it will be run from May 2024

Learn more and book your place.

Hard Lessons Learned

A thoughtful studio of learning and sharing the lessons learned throughout our working lives as counsellors, from the over eagerness of beginners to the potential for vicarious traumatization. We will look at pitfalls and ways to avoid them. Including dealing with a potential complaint, giving notes to a client, gifts and curved balls clients throw our way.

Presenters: Sara Bishop and Sally Valentine

Event Date: 9th November 2024

Time: 9.30am – 3pm

Cost: £70

The closing date for the course is Friday 25th October 2024

Please download, complete and return the event booking form. We require acceptance of the event terms and conditions.

Using Sand Tray – A Creative Approach

High Flying Free Fall – ‘Lose your mind and come to your senses’ Fritz Perls

An experiential day exploring the uses of sand tray work both as a therapist and a client. We will be looking at a brief history of Sand tray therapy, the subtle difference between Sand play and Sand tray work and the rest of the day will be working experientially.

Presenters: Tina Mellor

Event Date: 17th Feb 2024

Time: 9.30am – 4pm

Cost: £80

The closing date for this course is 3rd Feb

Please download, complete, and return the event booking form. We require acceptance of the event terms and conditions.

Be Here Now

This CPD Events Studio day is presented by Sally Valentine and Sara Bishop. It is for both trainee and qualified counsellors who are looking to explore and expand their knowledge and experience of experiential and experimental uses of Gestalt techniques.

The Presenters: Sally and Sara

Event Date:  TBC

Time: 9.30am-3.30pm

Cost: £80

Please download, complete and return the event booking form. We require acceptance of the CPD event’s terms and conditions.

Imagery Rescripting

An evidence-based intervention for childhood trauma

This experiential studio day introduces participants to Imagery Rescripting (ImRs) which is a powerful therapeutic technique that has recently been shown to be effective for PTSD like symptoms arising from childhood trauma (IREM Study. Katrina Boterhoven de Haan. PhD.2022). In this international randomised clinical trial, ImRs was compared with EMDR. Researchers found no significant differences between these therapies for childhood trauma, both were found to be effective.

With very few exceptions, schools of psychotherapy recognise the centrality and importance of helping a client to construct a ‘Healing Narrative’ although it may not be explicitly stated. To construct a narrative that ‘heals’ we have to connect with emotion, to actually ‘feel it’ as healing is not just a matter of thoughts and words – Imagery Rescripting seems to do this particularly well and then facilitates a corrective emotional experience.

Aims for the studio day – to introduce participants
 The Origins of ImRs from Schema Therapy
 Recent developments – ImRs as a stand-alone treatment for PTSD like symptoms arising from childhood
 Personal experience of the Imagery Rescripting technique
 What next – pathways to developing ImRs practice

Who is this studio day for?
Qualified counsellors and psychotherapists who want a taster of this powerful approach and might want to undertake a certificated course at some point in the near future
Please Note: Because of the experiential nature of the day, places are strictly limited to 8 persons

Facilitator: Steve Sharkey
Steve is a UKCP registered psychotherapist and former NHS Consultant Adult Psychotherapist (retired). Steve continues to practice on a private basis a day a week and teach. He has a special interest in personality disorder – he completed a post graduate training in forensic psychotherapy in the NHS and is a former executive council member of the International Association for Forensic Psychotherapy. He has completed the internationally recognised trainings in both individual and group schema therapy. He has had over seventy hours videoed supervised practice on imagery techniques with Dr Alessandro Carmelita, Past President of the Italian Society for Schema Therapy and inventor of
Mindful Interbeing Mirror Therapy.

CPD Events Dates: TBC

Time: 9.00am – 4.30pm

Cost: £100

Please download, complete and return the event booking form. We require acceptance of the event terms and conditions.

Come Fly With Me – Certificate in Couples Work

This course is open to those who have qualified or are in training at Diploma level.

The aims of this course are to enrich practical skills and knowledge of how to work with couples. There will be an emphasis on experiential learning to equip you for this exhilarating work.

On the course you will consider how to work with stuck couples, soothing yourself when working with an angry couple, creating a couples contract and the pitfalls. Creating your own resources and more.

Presenter: Paul Lewis – Paul has over 8 years of professional training and experience working in various fields including alcohol and addiction issues, depression and anxiety, and sexual health and identity issues. BACP (accred)

Event Dates: TBC

Time: 9.30am – 4pm

Cost: £650

Part 1 £325

Part 2 £325

Part one can be booked alone but to attend part two completion of part one is required.

Please download, complete and return the event booking form. We require acceptance of the CPD event’s terms and conditions.

Create your own Resilience Tool kit

We need resilience to survive the emotional, mental, and physical stress, and distress, we naturally experience in our lives.

Resilience is a distinctive pursuit for each of us, we have unique life experiences, and we have different personalities; these will impact on how we build our resilience.

Building and maintaining our resilience is important work, and our personal toolkit needs to be continually improved, audited, and assessed; it is an everyday task.

Resilience is not

• a magic ingredient that some have, and others do not; it is something we build.
• about keeping dry in the rain – it is about coping when we inevitably get wet.
• the answer to the problem – it is the foundation from which we address the issue.

What is in my resilience toolkit?

The toolkit is unique to each person – but based on a combination of the following:

• Self-care how you keep yourself safe, and physically and mentally well.
• Self-belief how much trust you have in your ability.
• Experience how you have responded to your life experiences.
• Tolerance how much pain and discomfort you can withstand.

Presenter: Rachel Cutler MA, Dip. Coaching, PG Dip. Counselling, PG Dip. Psychology, MAC, MBACP (Accred.)

Event Dates: TBC

Cost: £70

Please download, complete and return the event booking form. We require acceptance of the CPD event’s terms and conditions.

Mental Health Awareness  – (This studio day is open for general participation)

This facilitated Study Day on Mental health will provide opportunities to explore our understanding of and responses to mental health in the context of therapy. Thorough the lens of mental health awareness, it will enable a safe space to think about how we and our clients are affected by mental health. Hopefully it will give individual and collective insights into how mental health affects our ways of being and practice as therapist.

Presenter: Dennis Murray – is a Therapist, Clinical supervisor and trainer who is in private practice and has over 35 years of working professional in primary and secondary statutory mental health services and in third sector organisations with a wide range of adults in community settings as well as supporting mental health service users design and deliver their own mental health services. Dennis has also been involved in designing and delivering a range of mental health related training events throughout his career.

Event Date: TBC

Time: 9.30am – 3.30pm

Cost: £70

Please download, complete and return the event booking form. We require acceptance of the event terms and conditions.

Flying Solo – Starting out in Private Practice

If you are thinking of taking the next step into private practice, then this Dunamis Studio Day is for you.

The day will cover issues including ethical, legal and self-care and practicalities such as note taking and making administration work easy and effective for your business.

The day will provide a confidential and supportive environment for participants to discuss their hopes and fears about moving into practice with others in the same position. There will be ample opportunity for a question-and-answer session, and Rachel will help shed light on the good, bad, and potentially ugly aspects of private practice using examples from her own experiences.

There will be opportunities for experiential work throughout the day, which will enable participants to look more deeply into their motivation for starting in private practice and explore their own ideas about how they want their private practice to look and feel.

The day will be fun, informative, and enlightening, and will we hope, encourage you to confidently step into your own private practice, at the heart of our therapeutic business.

Presenter: Annabel Giles – Annabel is a Humanistic Integrative Counsellor/Psychotherapist, Annabel maintains a thriving private practice.

Event Date: TBC

Time: 9.30am – 4pm

Cost: £70

Please download, complete and return the event booking form. We require acceptance of the event terms and conditions.

What’s the drag? Working Effectively with Resistance and Ambivalence

Resistance and Ambivalence are commonly present in the counselling room, even when clients are keen to make changes. Acknowledging this and understanding better ways to address these concepts improves outcomes for clients.

This Studio Day will consider how to work with resistance by using effective, evidence-based approaches to overcome ambivalence which keeps people from making changes in their lives.

The day will include theory from the well-known Procheska and Diclemente’s Cycle of Change, as well as the much-evidenced Motivational Interviewing techniques of Miller and Rollnick. The day will be interactive, a good combination of theory and practical exercises to put the techniques into practice.

At the end of this Studio Day you will feel confident and equipped to work more effectively with resistance in all its forms.

Presenters: Ness Chapman – Ness is an accredited Integrative Psychotherapist with 20+ years’ experience working in the therapy field doing counselling, psychotherapy, supervision and training. Her specialisms include trauma, anxiety and addiction.

Event Date: TBC

Time: 9.30am – 4pm

Cost: £70

Please download, complete and return the event booking form. We require acceptance of the CPD events terms and conditions.

Advanced Skills Studio Days

This day will be a day to enrich the practice of seasoned therapists.

To have an opportunity to share strategies and a variety of interventions that may be new to your repertoire or to cement their usage in your every day practice.

We will also consider relational depth, deep process and the tricky sticky bits of the therapeutic endeavour.

Presenters: Sally Valentine and Sara Bishop

Event Date: TBC

Cost:

Please download, complete and return the event booking form. We require acceptance of the CPD events terms and conditions.

Inner Child

What is an inner child?

How can this concept help our clients move forward?

Different theorist use the idea of an inner child in different ways.
We will be considering at our own take on the inner child using thoughts of several theorists to create a new imagery of the phenomenon. We will also be spending time using experiential exercises to enrich our own understanding and work.

The Presenters: Sally and Sara

Event Date: TBC

Cost:

Please download, complete and return the event booking form. We require acceptance of the event terms and conditions.

Polyvagal Theory

An Introduction to Polyvagal Theory, combined with practical experiential practices, delivering therapists practical applications, in allowing clients to maintain safety & regulation.

This workshop will cover the Autonomic nervous system and its functions. Understanding the hierarchy & origins of the Parasympathetic Nervous System & Sympathetic Nervous System, when observed through the lens of Polyvagal Theory. As a structure of Safety & Connection, Mobilization & Immobilization.

Presenter: Sara Bishop and Sally Valentine

Event Date: TBC

Cost:

Please download, complete and return the CPD events booking form. We require acceptance of the event terms and conditions.

What’s the Schema

An Introduction to Schema Therapy

Dr Jeffrey Young developed Schema Therapy in the 1980’s. Schema Therapy draws upon attachment, cognitive-behavioural, gestalt, object relations, constructivist and psychoanalytic approaches and blends these into a unifying conceptual and emotionally focussed treatment model.

Schema therapy places emphasis on relationships and affect, including transference. It links these with childhood development by using brief psychometrics and emotionally focussed exercises that raise awareness of our schemas and coping styles. Schema Therapy is truly eclectic and yet its unifying framework does not overlap with any existing approach.

Studio Day aims:

• Introduction to the Schema and Mode models
• Raise awareness of personal schemas through experiential work.
• Acts as a taster for those that may wish to train in Schema Therapy
• Enhance your assessment skills by thinking “What’s the Schema?”

Who is the workshop for?

All mental health professionals. Participants will be asked to complete some psychometric questionnaires prior to the start of the workshop. Numbers are limited to 10 persons due to the experiential nature of the day. Important: The workshop is not suitable for individuals in crisis or in need of therapy

The Presenter: Steve Sharkey,  is a UKCP registered psychotherapist and Consultant Adult Psychotherapist at Kent and Medway Partnership NHS Trust. Steve combines NHS work with a small private practice. He has a special interest in personality disorder – he completed a post graduate training in forensic psychotherapy in the NHS and managed a Department of Health sponsored residential community for clients with severe and dangerous personality disorder. Steve is a former executive council member of the International Association for Forensic Psychotherapy.

Event Date: TBC

Cost:

Please download, complete and return the event booking form. We require acceptance of the event terms and conditions.

Active Addictions: Dilemmas and Decisions

Working with currently manifesting addictions and compulsive behaviour can be difficult for client and therapist, both together and individually.  As a counsellor, when I’m facing a tricky and isolating situation, I look to helpful experience and insights (my own and others’) to guide me, and this is what I hope to share during this Studio Day.

I will offer perspectives and practical tools that both ground me and build upon 12 step and non-12 step models of addiction. Drawing on different modes of psychotherapy, neuroscience, forensic practice and existential philosophy, I will present my mind-body-spirit approach to addressing the dilemmas and decisions often required with this work.

Participants are encouraged to contribute their own experience and practice, and no one model of working with addictions is favoured.

The Presenter: Chris Willoughby, is a psychotherapist in private practice in London.  Since initially qualifying in 2001, Chris has also worked extensively in a drug and alcohol rehab and a therapy-focused residential forensic service.  The thesis for his Masters in Counselling (2009) was on the compulsive use of extreme pornography and he has presented widely on addictions and compulsive sexual behaviour, individually and also on behalf of NOTA and StopSO (two leading organisations for the treatment of sexually harmful behaviour).

Event Date: TBC

Cost:

Please download, complete and return the event booking form. We require acceptance of the event terms and conditions.

Disappointment, Entitlement, Grievance – An Introduction to Narcissism

Misplaced feelings of disappointment and an inflated or excessive sense of entitlement are among the most challenging presenting problems that we are likely to face in practice. We delude ourselves into believing that if we offer a safe, caring and therapeutic space, the client will resolve their sense of injustice, but instead the client’s problems begin to deepen, and in time, this includes a growing sense of disappointment, with us!

Normal or healthy entitlement involves giving and receiving – rights are balanced with responsibilities. In contrast, excessive entitlement is associated with a lack of empathy or appreciation of the others point of view – arrogance and a pervasive sense that one has been wronged begin to dominate when life’s realities conflict with unrealistic, polarised or magical thinking. When confronted, underlying feelings of fragility give rise to a sense that one has been mortally wounded. These are all narcissistic traits, and when it comes to working with these clients, we find that their defenses are often rooted in disappointing, un-boundaried, or overly permissive early relationships.   This studio day will look at the spectrum of psychological difficulties associated with feelings of disappointment, entitlement and grievance and introduce participants to the continuum of narcissistic difficulties ranging from mild to the more severe, narcissistic personality disorder.

The Presenter: Steve Sharkey, is a UKCP registered psychotherapist and Consultant Adult Psychotherapist at Kent and Medway Partnership NHS Trust. Steve combines NHS work with a small private practice. He has a special interest in personality disorder – he completed a post graduate training in forensic psychotherapy in the NHS and managed a Department of Health sponsored residential community for clients with severe and dangerous personality disorder. Steve is a former executive council member of the International Association for Forensic Psychotherapy.

Event Date: TBC

Cost:

Please download, complete and return the event booking form. We require acceptance of the event terms and conditions.

Queer World

an introduction and exploration of contemporary LGBT+ issues, concerns and lives for counsellors and psychotherapists. 

If you are working with,  or likely to work with clients who  identify with one of these labels,  or who are themselves questioning sexuality, gender, gender expression or with family members affected by these issues this Studio Day will provide you with an insight into contemporary issues relating to clients who are not sure, gay, bi, lesbian, trans or questioning.  How do the constructs of gender identity, attraction, gender and sexual expression, and sex relate to each other?  From the language that is useful, to exploring current issues and concepts together with a clear model that you can take away to use in your work, this promises to be an interesting and even fun day.   Be prepared to confront prejudices and explore issues that may be challenging.    Please note that this one-day event does not and cannot equip therapists who are looking at working with clients who may be wanting to undertake gender reassignment – this is an area requiring further in depth knowledge and training.

The Presenter: Robert, is a therapist in private practice who has worked developmentally with people since the early 1990’s and as a qualified counsellor since 2000.    He lives with his husband and cat in Eastbourne and has direct experience both personally and professionally of the issues we will cover.

Event Date: TBC

Cost:

Please download, complete and return the event booking form. We require acceptance of the event terms and conditions.