162 Courses

Introduction to Cardiovascular Disease (2-Day Course)Course Description:BBO Training has responded to numerous requests for a course focused on cardiovascular disease, following the success of our previous courses, such as Introductions to COPD/Asthma/Diabetes and Minor Illness. In response, we have developed a comprehensive two-day agenda on this critical subject.These days are designed to provide a holistic approach to cardiovascular diseases, encompassing Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), Stroke, Heart Failure, and Hypertension. Participants will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to perform annual reviews for patients with these conditions.This course is particularly well-suited for Nurse Associates, Practice Nurses, Nurse Practitioners (NPs), Emergency Nurse Practitioners (ENPs), Paramedics, and Pharmacists. Dr. Tamara Cunningham, an experienced GP Trainer, will lead these interactive online sessions.Day One09.15 - Coffee and Registration09.30 - Introduction and Course Objectives09.45 - Setting the Scene: - Screening, Diagnosis, Pathophysiology, and Symptoms10.30 - Q-Risk Assessment10.45 - Coffee Break11.00 - Diet & Cardiovascular Disease: - Healthy Eating - Range of Dietary Approaches - Weight Management Services (PH25)11.45 - Benefits of Activity for Cardiovascular Disease12.30 - Lunch01.30 - Hypertension - A Review of NICE Guidelines (NG136): - Targets - Risk Assessment - Medications - Assessing Target Organ Damage02.45 - Lipid Modification - A Review of Nice Guidelines (NG181): - How Lipids Affect Cardiovascular Risk03.15 - Case Studies03.30 - Action Plan, Evaluation, and Resources03.45 - CloseDay Two09.15 - Coffee and Registration09.30 - Heart Failure - How to Perform a Safe Annual Review (NG106)10.45 - Coffee Break11.00 - CHD - Performing an Annual Review and Including Assessment of Angina12.30 - Lunch01.30 - Stroke - Secondary Prevention and Management of Long-Term Complications02.30 - Case Studies - Group Work to Consolidate Learning03.30 - Competencies, Training, and Resources03.45 - CloseKey Learning Outcomes for Both Days:Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:1. Explain the basic physiology of cardiovascular disease.2. Perform risk assessments with patients and discuss modifiable factors such as diet and exercise.3. Describe the targets for blood pressure and cholesterol and how these affect primary and secondary prevention of CVD.4. Describe the basic anti-hypertensive and cholesterol-lowering medications involved in CVD.5. Name the major complications that may arise in people with a long duration of CVD and measures that may limit or prevent them.6. Describe the key advice to patients regarding Heart Failure and recognition of when to escalate/refer.7. Perform a safe review for stroke, CHD, and HF, recognizing how to work within your professional limits and when to signpost.8. Provide examples of referral pathways to other services, e.g., weight management, secondary care, activity, and psychological services.9. Explain the key components and process of an annual review and a self-management plan.Join us for this comprehensive 2-day course via Zoom and enhance your ability to provide effective cardiovascular disease care within primary care settings.

Psychology, the science of the mind, unveils how thought processes function, the reasons for our behaviours, and our learning methodologies. This GCSE Psychology course empowers you to comprehend yourself and others more effectively, providing a stellar kick-start for anyone intrigued by psychology at a higher level or simply keen on understanding how our minds function. 💡 GCSEs are esteemed qualifications across the UK, considered as the educational standard for school-leavers at 16. Discover different psychological schools and theories, explanations for diverse behaviours, and research techniques used in the discipline. Comprehensive course specifics can be found below.  This GCSE Psychology course, aligned with the most recent specifications, is designed to set you up for success. It provides a clear induction and structured assignments, aiding in the development of the necessary skills and knowledge for the exam. For UK students, a guaranteed exam centre access is included. GCSEs - qualifications that truly count. 🎖️ You will benefit from: A fresh, engaging course, aligned with the latest specification 📘 Fast track option for 2022 exams ⏭️ Access to our partnership exam centres, ensuring a guaranteed exam venue 🏢 Unlimited tutor support - we assist you in drafting a study plan and provide continuous support 🤝 Exam pass guarantee (we offer support until you clear the exam) 🎯 About the awarding body Awarding body: AQA Our course code: X808 Qualification code: 8182 AQA qualifications are globally recognised, highly esteemed by employers and universities, and a pathway for young people to advance to their future stages. AQA offers a range of qualifications including GCSEs, IGCSEs, and A-levels to cater to diverse abilities.  ⏱ Study Hours: Allocate between 120 to 150 hours for study, in addition to time for completing assignments. 👩‍🏫 Study Method: Our course is delivered via an online learning platform, engaging learners with dynamic resources. The materials can be printed if preferred. Learning resources span different media including videos, quizzes, and interactive activities. 🎥📝🧩 📆 Course Duration: Post-enrolment, up to two years are granted to study and sit your exams, with ongoing unlimited tutor support.  📋 Assessment: Enrol now for Summer 2022 exams. Completion of two GCSE standard written exams is required. A guaranteed exam space is provided in our exam centres across the UK. During your course, nine assignments and one introductory assignment are also to be completed. These provide a chance to submit work to your tutor for marking and feedback, helping gauge your progress. 👩‍🎓 Course Outcomes: Successful completion of this home learning course awards you a GCSE in Psychology, issued by AQA. The syllabus has been handpicked due to its suitability for distance learning. ℹ️ Additional Information: Difficulty - Level 2. There are no formal entry requirements; however, effective English reading and writing skills are recommended. Course Content: The course encompasses various fascinating modules including Memory, Perception, Development, Research Methods, Social Influence, Language, Thought & Communication, Brain and Neuropsychology, and Psychological Problems. 🧠🔬📚

The trauma massage course is designed to inform about different types of trauma, including domestic abuse, early childhood abuse, rape and also takes a look at post traumatic stress disorder. The course includes all information that is required to ensure a safe massage treatment for any client who has unresolved trauma, taking into account any precautions.

Introduction to Diabetes (2-Day Course)Course Description:These two days of comprehensive training are designed for nurses, nurse associates, pharmacists, paramedics, and other Allied Healthcare Professionals (AHPs), and experienced healthcare assistants (HCAs) who are new to or fairly new to the field of diabetes care. If you've recently started seeing patients with diabetes, or are planning to; this course is tailored to provide you with the fundamental knowledge and skills required to confidently care for individuals with diabetes. The primary focus is on adults with Type 2 diabetes, although key recommendations and signposting for patients with Type 1 diabetes will also be covered.Diabetes presents a significant healthcare challenge, costing the NHS £10 billion each year and impacting patients and their families. Primary care professionals play a pivotal role in managing the ever-increasing numbers of people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Good diabetes care is crucial and aligns with national and local policies supported by robust NICE guidance.These interactive days of learning will incorporate various methods, including case studies, to help you progress from basic knowledge to a more confident and positive approach in reviewing and managing patients with diabetes.Day One09.15 - Coffee and Registration09.30 - Introduction and Course Objectives09.45 - Setting the Scene: - Screening, Diagnosis, and Pre-Diabetes - Pathophysiology and Symptoms - Remission in Type 2 Diabetes10.45 - Coffee Break11.00 - Diet & Diabetes: - Healthy Eating - Carbohydrate Awareness - Range of Dietary Approaches - Weight Management Services01.00 - Lunch02.00 - Benefits of Activity02.15 - Foot Care and Diabetes02.45 - Organising Structured Diabetes Care in Practice: - QoF and the Annual Review - Care & Support Planning - 8 Care Processes and 3 Treatment Targets03.15 - Case Studies03.30 - Action Plan, Evaluation, and Resources03.45 - CloseDay Two09.15 - Coffee and Registration09.30 - Review Progress Since Day 109.45 - Non-Insulin Medications10.45 - Coffee Break11.00 - Medication Management01.00 - Lunch02.00 - Complications Associated with Diabetes02.45 - Hyperglycaemia, Hypoglycaemia, and Management of Illness03.15 - Blood Glucose and Ketone Monitoring03.30 - DVLA and Diabetes03.45 - Competencies, Training, Resources, and CloseKey Learning Outcomes for Both Days:Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:1. Explain the physiology of diabetes and differentiate between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.2. Discuss methods for diagnosing diabetes and provide information to individuals newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.3. Describe approaches that support achieving remission in Type 2 diabetes.4. Explain basic advice related to a healthy diet, various dietary approaches, and carbohydrate awareness.5. Discuss the modes of action of commonly used non-insulin medications.6. Identify major complications that may arise in individuals with long-standing diabetes and measures to limit or prevent them.7. Describe key advice for patients regarding the recognition and appropriate treatment of hypoglycaemia.8. Discuss DVLA guidance concerning driving and diabetes.9. Explain the risks of acute hyperglycaemia and provide advice to patients on self-managing illness periods.10. Provide examples of referral pathways to other services such as weight management, secondary care, podiatry, structured education, activity, and psychological services.11. Describe the process of routine foot review and factors influencing diabetic foot risk status.12. Discuss local recommendations for the appropriate use of blood glucose and ketone monitoring.13. Explain the key components and processes of an annual diabetes review and a self-management plan.Join us for this comprehensive 2-day course via Zoom and enhance your ability to provide effective diabetes care within primary care settings.

“Meaning-Fullness” critiques traditional psychiatric diagnosis, advocating for an existential/phenomenological approach to mental health. We aim to explore the lived experiences on irregular perceptions of reality with an open mind. Each Saturday includes: a live dialogue between Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and an International Existential Therapist; a moment to share your thoughts and feelings with the teachers; and a final integration facilitated by Bárbara Godoy. This series of ten dialogues set out to explore the multifaceted dimentions and complexities associated with Existential Therapies. It attempts to engage with various interpretations of insanity through the lens of patients often painful, confounding, and deeply unsettling life experiences. Meaning- between Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and Dr. Jan Resnick “Meaning-Fullness aims to develop an alternative approach to traditional psychiatric diagnosis of psychopathology through an understanding of the existential vacuum and a phenomenology of language and the body. There is a growing epidemic of mental un-wellness even though there has never been so many psychiatrists and psychologists available. This contradiction demonstrates how a bio-medical approach is far too limited at best and a radical mistake, at worst. Through the use of theory, philosophical discussion and case studies, Meaning-Fullness seeks to elaborate how mental disturbance and emotional suffering, traumatic and dissociative experience, emptiness and meaninglessness, can be understood differently and then worked with in psychotherapy. When an existential/phenomenological perspective informs the therapeutic relationship, terms like treatment, healing, cure, recovery, growth and development, can be seen in a different light from the standard narratives and take on a wholly different meaning.” Dr. Jan Resnick. Dr. Jan Resnick is a senior psychotherapist, supervisor, and author. He has a PhD in Psychology (Psychoanalysis). As founder and Director of Training, he ran a Nationally Recognized and Accredited Registered Training Organisation called The Churchill Clinic for 18 years which became the largest such organisation in Australia for conferring post-graduate qualifications for training Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists. He was the Founding President of the Psychotherapists & Counsellors Association of Western Australia where he later received an Outstanding Achievement Award after serving 10 years on the Management Committee. He was an Editorial Advisory Board Member of the national journal Psychotherapy in Australia for 20 years and currently, an Advisory Board member of Blue Knot Foundation (formerly ASCA – Adult Survivors of Child Abuse). He is accredited by the Royal Australian New Zealand College of Psychiatrists to supervise psychiatry registrars in psychotherapy and has taught in the Advanced Psychotherapy Training Program. He has presented at many conferences including last year in Valencia, Spain for the International Association for Relational Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, also for the Mental Health Practitioners Network of Australia, and 3 times for the RANZCP Psychotherapy Section bi-national conference. He runs a supervision group for Psychiatrists practicing psychotherapy for the past 15 years and supervises Developmental Paediatricians at the State Child Development Centre in West Perth. He has presided over 4 mental health charities and has over 100 publications including two books. His book based on his clinical work as a couples’ therapist is How Two Love, Making your Relationship Work and Last. His latest book published by Karnac Books (Oxford) is called Meaning-Fullness, Developmental Psychotherapy and the Pursuit of Mental Health, an existential/phenomenological and relational approach based on his clinical work over more than 47 years. Prof. Ernesto Spinelli was Chair of the Society for Existential Analysis between 1993 and 1999 and is a Life Member of the Society. His writings, lectures and seminars focus on the application of existential phenomenology to the arenas of therapy, supervision, psychology, and executive coaching. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS) as well as an APECS accredited executive coach and coaching supervisor. In 2000, he was the Recipient of BPS Division of Counselling Psychology Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession. And in 2019, Ernesto received the BPS Award for Distinguished Contribution to Practice. His most recent book, Practising Existential Therapy: The Relational World 2nd edition (Sage, 2015) has been widely praised as a major contribution to the advancement of existential theory and practice. Living up to the existential dictum that life is absurd, Ernesto is also the author of an on-going series of Private Eye novels. Date and Time: Saturday 19 July from 2 pm to 3 pm – (UK time) Individual Dialogue Fee: £70 Venue: Online Zoom FULL PROGRAMME 2025: 25 January “Knots” with Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and Bárbara Godoy 22 February “Healing” with Dr. Michael Guy Thompson and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 22 March “Difference” with Prof. Tod DuBose and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 12 April “Polarisation” with Prof. Kirk Schneider and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 3 May “Character” with Prof. Robert Romanyshyn and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 21 June “Opening” with Dr. Yaqui Martinez and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 19 July “Meaning” with Dr. Jan Resnick and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 25 October “Invention” with Dr. Betty Cannon and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 15 November “Hallucination” with Prof. Simon du Plock and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 13 December “Hysteria” with Bárbara Godoy and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli Read the full programme here > Course Organised by:

Vision Boarding

This mental health course looks at some common issues that massage therapy clients may present with, and looks at the circumstances which may require altered techniques to ensure client safety.

Hysteria’s history, rooted in Greek myth, evolved into a Victorian belief of a “wandering uterus” leading to disturbing medical practices. We aim to explore the lived experiences on irregular perceptions of reality with an open mind. Each Saturday includes: a live dialogue between Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and an International Existential Therapist; a moment to share your thoughts and feelings with the teachers; and a final integration facilitated by Bárbara Godoy. This series of ten dialogues set out to explore the multifaceted dimentions and complexities associated with Existential Therapies. It attempts to engage with various interpretations of insanity through the lens of patients often painful, confounding, and deeply unsettling life experiences. Hysteria- between Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and Bárbara Godoy “In this talk, I will compare the Histerical patient to the ancient Greek myth of Persephone, the goddess who traversed the boundaries between the world of the living and the underworld. Just as Persephone’s cyclical descent and return mirrored the changing seasons, hysteria was seen as a condition where emotions and experiences defied easy classification. This notion of transgressing boundaries became a cornerstone of early psychoanalysis. In Victorian times, hysteria took a decidedly bizarre turn. Here, the culprit was believed to be a mobile womb, an organ capable of throwing into disorder and confusion. This “wandering womb” was blamed for a variety of ailments and behaviours, particularly any expression of female desire out-of-wedlock. In a truly disturbing reflection of these beliefs, legal rulings based on this theory emerged. In some cases, women diagnosed with hysteria could be forced to undergo a hysterectomy.” Bárbara Godoy. Bárbara Godoy M.A., Adv. Dip. Exi. Psy, UKCP accredited Psychotherapist and Supervisor, MBACP and SEA – Director of Therapy Harley Street. Bárbara’s academic experience in London since 2008 includes lecturing and researching on the theory and practice of Phenomenological Existential Therapy on Doctorate, MA and professional courses at the School of Psychotherapy and Counselling Psychology, Regent’s University and the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling directed by Emmy van Deurzen. Bárbara has facilitated therapeutic Group Work internationally since 1997. The question about the meaning of Being-Woman was the topic of her thesis completed in 2005 and evolved into two main Women’s Groups: “Nine muses” and “Four Seasons” which she leads in addition to her individual private practice. Currently, as the clinical director of THS, Bárbara leads a team of over 20 professional practitioners in the area of Psychological services and Wellbeing consultancy. Bárbara is also the founder-director of THS’s Personal Development and CPD Programmes. Prof. Ernesto Spinelli was Chair of the Society for Existential Analysis between 1993 and 1999 and is a Life Member of the Society. His writings, lectures and seminars focus on the application of existential phenomenology to the arenas of therapy, supervision, psychology, and executive coaching. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS) as well as an APECS accredited executive coach and coaching supervisor. In 2000, he was the Recipient of BPS Division of Counselling Psychology Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession. And in 2019, Ernesto received the BPS Award for Distinguished Contribution to Practice. His most recent book, Practising Existential Therapy: The Relational World 2nd edition (Sage, 2015) has been widely praised as a major contribution to the advancement of existential theory and practice. Living up to the existential dictum that life is absurd, Ernesto is also the author of an on-going series of Private Eye novels. Date and Time: Saturday 13 December from 2 pm to 3 pm – (UK time) Individual Dialogue Fee: £70 Venue: Online Zoom FULL PROGRAMME 2025: 25 January “Knots” with Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and Bárbara Godoy 22 February “Healing” with Dr. Michael Guy Thompson and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 22 March “Difference” with Prof. Tod DuBose and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 12 April “Polarisation” with Prof. Kirk Schneider and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 3 May “Character” with Prof. Robert Romanyshyn and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 21 June “Opening” with Dr. Yaqui Martinez and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 19 July “Meaning” with Dr. Jan Resnick and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 25 October “Invention” with Dr. Betty Cannon and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 15 November “Hallucination” with Prof. Simon du Plock and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 13 December “Hysteria” with Bárbara Godoy and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli Read the full programme here > Course Organised by:

Recognizing the brilliance of someone psychological disturbance normalizes their experience and opens the door to transformative change. We aim to explore the lived experiences on irregular perceptions of reality with an open mind. Each Saturday includes: a live dialogue between Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and an International Existential Therapist; a moment to share your thoughts and feelings with the teachers; and a final integration facilitated by Bárbara Godoy. This series of ten dialogues set out to explore the multifaceted dimentions and complexities associated with Existential Therapies. It attempts to engage with various interpretations of insanity through the lens of patients often painful, confounding, and deeply unsettling life experiences. Invention- between Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and Dr. Betty Cannon “When I first saw the topic of this year’s dialogues, I asked myself whether I had anything to contribute. After all, I told myself, I do not usually work with psychoses or other so-called ‘extreme’ or’ irregular’ states of consciousness. This started me thinking about a series of demonstration videos that I have been making with students and supervisees over the last couple of years as part of a book project. Do those videos display ‘extreme states’? To my surprise, the answer is yes. They are filled with experiences that might be described as hallucinations (positive and negative), dissociative states, paranoia, delusions, manic and depressive states, crippling anxiety, schizoid withdrawal, depersonalization and derealization, and body dysmorphic phenomena. Not to mention the so-called normal neurotic trances that Freud called transference, countertransference and defenses, psychedelically induced extreme states, and those nightly hallucinations, our dreams. So why did I not remember at least some of these states as being ‘extreme’? Perhaps the answer lies in my perspective on therapy, which is largely existential-phenomenological. I think that the following quote, from a letter that Sartre wrote to R.D. Laing, captures the essence of this perspective: “Like you, I believe that one cannot understand psychological disturbances from the outside, on the basis of a positivistic determinism or reconstruct them with a combination of concepts that remain outside the experience as lived and experienced. I also believe that one cannot study, let alone cure, a neurosis without a fundamental respect for the person of the patient, without a constant effort to grasp the basic situation and relive it, without an attempt to rediscover the response of the person to that situation and––like you, I think––I regard mental illness as the ‘way out’ that the free organism, in its total unity, invents in order to be able to live through an intolerable situation.”* When a client and I together are able to appreciate the true brilliance of this invention, my experience is that it not only normalizes the client’s experience, it also opens the doorway to change. It allows us to invent something new.” Dr. Betty Cannon. Betty Cannon, PhD, is a licensed psychologist who has taught and practiced in Boulder, Colorado, for over 40 years. She is Professor Emerita of the Colorado School of Mines and president and founder of the Boulder Psychotherapy Institute, which has trained mental health professionals in Applied Existential Psychotherapy since 1989. In addition to existential philosophy, especially the philosophy of Sartre, AEP has roots in Gestalt therapy, classical and contemporary psychoanalysis, humanistic psychology (especially the person-centered therapy of Carl Rogers), and body-oriented psychotherapy. Betty is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal for the Society of Existential Analysis and Sartre Studies International. She is the author of Sartre and Psychoanalysis and numerous articles and chapters on existential therapy. Her mentor was Hazel E. Barnes, who translated Sartre into English and who was the world’s foremost Sartre scholar until her death in 2008. Betty is her literary executor, and her book on Sartre is dedicated to Hazel. Prof. Ernesto Spinelli was Chair of the Society for Existential Analysis between 1993 and 1999 and is a Life Member of the Society. His writings, lectures and seminars focus on the application of existential phenomenology to the arenas of therapy, supervision, psychology, and executive coaching. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS) as well as an APECS accredited executive coach and coaching supervisor. In 2000, he was the Recipient of BPS Division of Counselling Psychology Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession. And in 2019, Ernesto received the BPS Award for Distinguished Contribution to Practice. His most recent book, Practising Existential Therapy: The Relational World 2nd edition (Sage, 2015) has been widely praised as a major contribution to the advancement of existential theory and practice. Living up to the existential dictum that life is absurd, Ernesto is also the author of an on-going series of Private Eye novels. Date and Time: Saturday 25 October from 2 pm to 3 pm – (UK time) Individual Dialogue Fee: £70 Venue: Online Zoom FULL PROGRAMME 2025: 25 January “Knots” with Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and Bárbara Godoy 22 February “Healing” with Dr. Michael Guy Thompson and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 22 March “Difference” with Prof. Tod DuBose and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 12 April “Polarisation” with Prof. Kirk Schneider and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 3 May “Character” with Prof. Robert Romanyshyn and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 21 June “Opening” with Dr. Yaqui Martinez and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 19 July “Meaning” with Dr. Jan Resnick and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 25 October “Invention” with Dr. Betty Cannon and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 15 November “Hallucination” with Prof. Simon du Plock and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 13 December “Hysteria” with Bárbara Godoy and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli Read the full programme here > Course Organised by:

I’ll share a case of visual hallucinations, showing how an existential-phenomenological approach helps understand their meaning and purpose. We aim to explore the lived experiences on irregular perceptions of reality with an open mind. Each Saturday includes: a live dialogue between Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and an International Existential Therapist; a moment to share your thoughts and feelings with the teachers; and a final integration facilitated by Bárbara Godoy. This series of ten dialogues set out to explore the multifaceted dimentions and complexities associated with Existential Therapies. It attempts to engage with various interpretations of insanity through the lens of patients often painful, confounding, and deeply unsettling life experiences. Hallucination- between Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and Prof. Simon du Ploc “The phenomenon of hallucination has been a subject of debate for centuries. It has been suggested that its function was one of revelation or prophesy, and those who hallucinated were often considered to have a ‘sacred’ affliction. In recent times, their function, at least in the West since the Age of Reason, has been often been reduced to primary indicators of schizophrenia and other forms of psychosis. Lumped into the ‘core phenomena’ of schizophrenia, the concern is not so much what they are, or what they mean to the client, or even their content, but their treatment and control. I will present an excerpt from my own clinical practice with a client who presented with distressing visual hallucinations. This piece of work illustrates how approaching such irregular perceptions of reality from an existential-phenomenological perspective can provide a way of understanding their meaning and purpose within a client’s lived experience. I will suggest that such an approach also enables us to take a creative position regarding wider notions of sanity and madness, a position which enables us to navigate a path between, on the one hand, the medical model which typically focusses on reduction and management of hallucinations, and on the other hand, a Laingian view of hallucination as a route to ‘hyper-sanity’. Adopting such a path may enable us to work more confidently with clients when they present with unusual or disturbing perceptions.” Prof. Simon du Ploc. Prof. Simon du Plock is Senior Research Fellow at the Metanoia Institute, London. He was Head of the Faculty of Post-Qualification and Professional Doctorates at the Institute from 2007 to 2020, in which role he directed counselling psychology and psychotherapy research doctorates jointly with Middlesex University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Medicine, a Foundation Member with Senior Practitioner Status of the BPS Register of Psychologists Specialising in Psychotherapy, and a Member of the BPS Register of Applied Psychology Practice Supervisors. He has been a BPS Chartered Counselling Psychologist and UKCP Registered Psychotherapist since 1994. He has authored nearly one hundred journal papers and book chapters on existential therapy, and he has co-edited Existential Analysis, the Journal of the British Society for Existential Analysis, since 1993. He was an editor of the 2019 Wiley World Handbook of Existential Therapy. He has lectured and trained internationally, and in 2006 he was made an Honorary Member of the East European Association for Existential Therapy in recognition of his contribution to cooperation between West and East Europe in the development of existential psychotherapy. His clinical and research interests include phenomenological research methodology, clinical and research supervision, existential pedagogy, and working with issues of addiction and dependency. Prof. Ernesto Spinelli was Chair of the Society for Existential Analysis between 1993 and 1999 and is a Life Member of the Society. His writings, lectures and seminars focus on the application of existential phenomenology to the arenas of therapy, supervision, psychology, and executive coaching. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS) as well as an APECS accredited executive coach and coaching supervisor. In 2000, he was the Recipient of BPS Division of Counselling Psychology Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession. And in 2019, Ernesto received the BPS Award for Distinguished Contribution to Practice. His most recent book, Practising Existential Therapy: The Relational World 2nd edition (Sage, 2015) has been widely praised as a major contribution to the advancement of existential theory and practice. Living up to the existential dictum that life is absurd, Ernesto is also the author of an on-going series of Private Eye novels. Date and Time: Saturday 15 November from 2 pm to 3 pm – (UK time) Individual Dialogue Fee: £70 Venue: Online Zoom FULL PROGRAMME 2025: 25 January “Knots” with Prof. Ernesto Spinelli and Bárbara Godoy 22 February “Healing” with Dr. Michael Guy Thompson and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 22 March “Difference” with Prof. Tod DuBose and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 12 April “Polarisation” with Prof. Kirk Schneider and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 3 May “Character” with Prof. Robert Romanyshyn and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 21 June “Opening” with Dr. Yaqui Martinez and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 19 July “Meaning” with Dr. Jan Resnick and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 25 October “Invention” with Dr. Betty Cannon and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 15 November “Hallucination” with Prof. Simon du Plock and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli 13 December “Hysteria” with Bárbara Godoy and Prof. Ernesto Spinelli Read the full programme here > Course Organised by: