Inspire CPD For Therapists

Courses Winter 2023/24

In January we have....

15th January - ADULT ATTACHMENT: WHAT IT MEANS FOR THERAPY Looking at the latest understanding around attachment theory and the links with trauma, how do we utilise this in therapy to help our clients? Find out more below

22nd January - TRAUMA ESSENTIALS Part 1 in our 4 course trauma series. Giving the essential need to know's around working with trauma, looking at the latest understanding around this important topic and how we can effectively work with it.


For more information see full list of workshops and dates below. If you have a query or anything isn't clear please contact us via the email link.


How to book a place

Complete the online booking form on the bookings page. You'll receive an automatic email confirmation, which includes instructions on how to pay. Your place is not confirmed until we receive payment.
We send joining instructions about a week before each course.


CPD Courses. Special Offer Sml Green Anim

Cost of courses

All courses on zoom cost £85 from March 2023. Workshops in the room are £95. We are currently offering a discount of £25 if you book 3 of our Trauma series or £40 off if you book on all 4.


Workshop location - we remain online

We've decided due to the success of our delivery of workshops on zoom we will remain on that format for the time-being. Please be assured that they are just as interactive and practical as when we deliver in the room. We've really great feedback and 99.9% saying they'd do a zoom workshop with us again.

Although we can understand that some people would like in the room training, and in fact we like delivering it, there are great advantages to working online which mean that for now the majority of our training is delivered this way.

  • You don't have to travel is the number one reason for most people
  • It's more cost effective
  • People can access our training from anywhere in the country (and abroad!)
  • You're in the comfort of home or work

    We do everything we can to make our training as similar to being in the room as we can.... and we're pretty successful at doing that! We always get positive feedback and often it's something like "this was the best zoom training I've ever done!"

    If you'd like to attend our training but would prefer "in the room" then do email us to let us know as that's what will encourage us to consider doing so!


  • CPD Courses. handstouching

    Adult Attachment & Relationship: What does it mean for therapy?

    When: 15th January 2024
    Time: 9.30 - 3.30
    Where: zoom
    Cost: £85


    Moving on from Bowlby, we look at the latest in adult attachment theory and how it impacts on client, therapist and the therapy as a whole. We will look at the links between trauma and attachment and the latest neuroscience developments. As with all our workshops we'll take a practical look at how we can utilise current knowledge in our work with clients and what it adds to our understanding of how we work with our clients. Inevitably with this course we'll look at our own attachment styles and ways of being in relationship with others.

  • Polyvagal theory and right and left brain attunement
  • Attachment through a somatic lens
  • The theory of adult attachment, primary and secondary systems, and where does it ‘fit’ in terms of emotional resilience?
  • Polyvagal theory and right and left brain attunement
  • Attachment through a somatic lens
  • How does a client’s attachment history affect therapy?
  • Why is it important to have an understanding of attachment when working with traumatised clients?
  • How does therapist attachment style impact the therapeutic relationship?
  • What’s the latest neuroscience around attachment? What does it mean for therapy?



  • CPD Courses. greendew

    Safe & Effective Trauma Therapy Essentials

    DATE: 22nd January 2024
    9.30 am to 3.30 pm
    £85

    This is course 1 in a new series of 4 looking at Trauma. Each of the courses can be taken as a standalone but form part of this series on the essentials of trauma work. This first workshop is particularly helpful for therapists new to trauma work, whether in training, or because you haven't worked in this area.

    Sadly, if you work as a therapist you will inevitably work with traumatised people. Whether that be individuals who experienced childhood abuse and/or neglect, others who’ve experienced domestic or sexual violence in adulthood or maybe members of the armed forces, or others like police or ambulance workers who suffer trauma in the course of their working lives.

    It may have been taught on your initial therapy training, but often not in great depth or with an understanding of the frequency within which it appears in the therapy room. If you trained 10 or more years ago then it may not even have been covered at all as this is a fast developing area of research and understanding within the fields of mental health and neuroscience.

    To work safely and effectively with trauma you will need to know about, and understand, how to work with:

  • The three-stage model of trauma therapy
  • The impact of trauma, both in the short-term and over time
  • The difference between trauma, PTSD, complex PTSD, and other psychological diagnosis and what that means for clients and us
  • The inherent challenges of working with this client group

    In this new course we’ll guide you through
  • Understanding the neurobiological impact of trauma and the latest concepts from neuroscience & psychotherapy including the concepts of latent vulnerability, stress susceptibility and social thinning
  • The brain’s systems of threat, reward, and memory
  • How trauma is stored in the body and implicit memory
  • The key concepts for successful therapy including psychoeducation, window of tolerance, the importance of pacing and understanding how boundaries are impacted because of trauma and how to help clients reinstate them

    This course is aimed at students/newly qualified therapists or any therapist who didn’t adequately cover trauma in their training. It will look at the impact and mechanisms of trauma, and will include up to date theory and neuroscience. As with all our courses it will also take a practical approach of how to work in this field.


  • CPD Courses. Grief

    Working with Grief & Loss

    5TH February 2024
    9.30am – 3.30pm
    £85


    Grief and loss are always common themes in client work. Many clients will be feeling intense emotions about their situation and not even recognise these stem from grief or the loss of their assumptive world. For others, the source of their grief will be as obvious as it is diverse – for example loss of loved ones, loss of livelihoods and jobs, loss of human contact, and loss of freedoms.
    Being able to identify and name life experiences as losses worthy of grief can be an important part of healing. Yet all too often we only identify death as being worthy of grief. And in our hectic world any loss can get quickly pushed aside as we force ourselves to 'get on with it’ - or ‘get over it'. But what if we can’t??

    In this newly updated workshop, we will cover:

  • An overview of loss/grief/bereavement theories and models including stage models, continuing bonds and assumptive world theory.
  • The need to understand that grieving is both lifelong and life changing
  • An exploration of the different ways that clients may choose to grieve
  • The multiple types of loss we may experience other than death, including losses experienced by survivors of childhood abuse
  • Death of a parent – this is a loss ultimately we expect to experience – but what if that loss brings up a whole host of unmet needs that can now never be met?
  • Death of a child – looking at the often-hidden grief of miscarriage or still birth. How do we grieve a child we may never have fully met?
  • Death through suicide – how do we support someone who has lost a loved one through what is still such a taboo subject?
  • A range of different tools and resources that you can utilise with your clients


  • Pre Trial Therapy Guidance - New Guidance published in 2022

    We waited a long time for this revision of the Pre Trial Therapy guidance and it's finally published! In this new and completely rewritten workshop we will consider what the impact is for therapy and therapists. As well as covering all the important and fundamental principles we will allow plenty of time for you to ask questions and we'll use case studies to bring it to life.

    Pre Trial Therapy Guidance - in depth

    19th February 2024
    Time: 9.30 to 3.45 pm
    Cost: £85
    Where: On zoom

    After attending delegates will be able to:

  • Understand the requirements of the new PTTG in relation to therapy work
  • Recognise the need to balance the principles of confidentiality of client data with the Attorney General’s guidelines on disclosure and understand why this matters for therapists
  • Recognise the components of current GDPR and Data Protection legislation in order to comply with the requirements of the law & current Ethical Frameworks
  • Revise and adapt current privacy notice, contracts and PTT guidance for clients and service users in order to comply with the new PTTG guidance and current legislation on data protection
  • Demonstrate increased knowledge & understanding of the legal system
  • Inform clients of the implications for therapeutic work and future therapy of reporting to the police
  • Describe to clients the importance of understanding the PTTG and of any contract changes which may result from the criminal proceedings
  • Handle requests from the police for disclosure of therapy records
  • Recognise general principles around good note keeping & additional requirements where a client reports SV to the police


  • CPD Courses. safetystones

    Achieving Safety & Stabilisation in Phase 1 Trauma Therapy

    Date: 26th February 2024
    Time: 9.30 am - 3.30 pm on Zoom
    Cost: £85

    Course 2 in our new Trauma series

    Feedback from SB 22.11.21 "I found it really interesting, inspirational and informative. Hope to be able to join you on another course soon".

    Safe trauma therapy needs to be paced and the trauma left unexplored until the client has sufficient skills to feel more in control of trauma symptoms. This enables clients to manage primary symptoms such as hyper-arousal, flashbacks and dissociation and learn vital skills to reduce negative coping strategies such as self-harm and self-medication. However, this is often easier said than done as clients can find this incredibly hard.

    Research (Herman 1992, Rothschild 2010) has shown that safe and effective trauma therapy is best conducted in 3 stages and that this can be successfully adapted whatever the therapist’s primary modality. This course looks at the first stage of phased trauma treatment where the primary aims are to establish safety and stabilisation.
    There is no one method that works for all clients so in our practical workshop the learning (including experiential activities) will include:

  • The importance of assessment – including trauma history, current symptoms and looking at current lifestyle
  • How a client’s ability to stabilise is impacted by lack of sleep, poor diet, and other ‘inflammatory’ factors
  • Assessing a client’s level of arousal to better pace therapy
  • Management of panic attacks & flashbacks
  • Creation of safety plans
  • A variety of grounding and stabilisation methods
  • Creating and utilising a ‘felt sense’
  • Relaxation techniques
  • Different ways to use Journaling

    This is course 2 in our new series of 4 workshops looking at the essentials of Trauma work. It is a revised version of a course we delivered previously.


  • CPD Courses. handdrowning

    Working with suicidality

    *** NEW COURSE ***

    4th March
    9.30 - 3.30
    £85


    Clients who have suicidal thoughts and managing the risk of that are two things that therapists can find most challenging in their client work. The fear of a client killing themselves can invade the therapeutic space, interfering with the relationship. What interventions should you use? If you are working privately it can feel scary and lonely to carry the weight of suicidal clients. Therapists may feel compelled to break confidentiality rather than risk censure. So how do we manage the balance? In this new workshop we will look at this subject from both an experiential and practical perspective.

    In particular we will:

  • Investigate and give space to our thoughts and understanding of suicide and its impact on us as individuals,
  • Look at how to assess and manage risk – particularly from the viewpoint of someone working in private practice without organisational support,
  • Explore how our own attitudes to suicide may impact the therapeutic relationship,
  • Discuss the purpose of suicidal ideation as a creative coping strategy,
  • Suggest a range of clinical interventions to help you work with suicidal ideation,
  • Look at ways to build on your current self-care practice.


  • CPD Courses. mother

    Exploring the Mother Wound

    Feedback from JJ from 1.11.21 - "Thank you for such a fantastic training. One of the best I think for me not only with you but in my whole entire life of counselling. Thank you."

    Date: 18th March 2024
    Time: 9.30 - 3.30
    Where: Zoom £85


    Mothers seem to occupy a special place in the therapy room. There is seldom a client whose story is not impacted in some way by their relationship with their mother. For so many clients the ‘good enough mother’ was not a concept they experienced - often leading to a profound ‘mother wound’. In this workshop we look at the impact of mothers who are:

  • Narcissistic
  • Emotionally unavailable/Abandoning
  • Controlling or smothering
  • Abusive

    We will explore ways of working with clients that can both help to identify the mother wound and take steps towards its healing.


  • CPD Courses. orangewhirl

    Creating Transformative Relationships in Supervision - a course for Supervisors

    8th April 2024 ON ZOOM
    9.30 am to 3.30 pm
    £85


    We ran our first workshop for supervisors in July 2021 and we loved it and so did the delegates.... so we want to keep on doing at least one per year.

    It will provide a space for supervisors to think and reflect on their relationships with supervisees and the process of supervision. This will be an experiential course but based on well understood & researched theories of supervision. We'll utilise theories of integrative & person-centred supervision as well as other models such as Appreciative Inquiry and the 7 Eyed Model of Supervision devised by Robin Shohet & Peter Hawkins.

    We don't see many courses for supervisors so we wanted to offer something which we'd want to attend! Something that gives you time and space with other supervisors to think & reflect on the work.

    We will offer:

  • Time & space to think, reflect & simply be present

    This time we'll consider:
  • Supervisees who don’t seem to value supervision. How can we work with them & help them to get more from supervision?
  • When your supervisees process is impacting the therapy, or supervision, and how we can help them. Thinking about strategies, techniques or activities we can explore.
  • Fitness to practice? What does it mean? What does it look like? What should we be doing?


  • CPD Courses. butterflyblossom

    Trauma: Working with complex PTSD & Dissociation

    22nd April 2024
    9.30 am - 3.30 pm on zoom
    Cost £85


    Course 3 in our new series on working with Trauma. Discounts available if you book 3 or 4 of the series.

    The impact of childhood abuse or neglect and of living in dysfunctional environments has long lasting effects on our clients. We need to understand the impact of long-term abuse, the role of shame and how dissociation presents in the therapy room to work effectively and safely with this client group. In this new workshop we’ll consider

  • The role of dissociation in CSA
  • Complex PTSD and dissociative disorders
  • Parts of self
  • Understanding why shame is so important to appreciate when working with traumatised clients
  • Treatment strategies based on body therapies, internal family systems parts work, mindfulness techniques, and polyvagal theory
  • The challenges of working with this client group and understanding your own limits

    This course was full of so many little gems - I can't possibly pick out one thing - thank you!


  • CPD Courses. handstouching

    USING COUPLE'S COUNSELLING SKILLS FOR INDIVIDUAL CLIENTS

    13th May 2024
    9.30 – 3.30
    Where: on zoom
    Cost: £85


  • Is the focus of your client’s work often their struggle with their romantic or sexual relationships?
  • Do you feel frustrated that you’re working with one half of the couple?

    When we work with individuals the focus will often be their personal relationships, and the interpersonal dynamic with their partner that we’ve never met. If you’ve not had any couples training, then sometimes it can feel like you’re not sure where to focus? How best to encourage better communication? You can feel a bit out of your depth, or in the dark, uncertain of how to aid the client in making significant & lasting change.

    In this brand new workshop we’re going to look at some of the ways you can help clients – even when you’re only working with one half of the couple.

    We will look at:
  • How people get their needs met in relationships, and how to ask for what you need
  • Consider how individuals communicate in relationship and how this can be improved
  • Developmental stages and couple dynamics
  • Lack of sex or intimacy & what this means?
  • Explored the links between our earliest relationships & our significant other
  • Considered why conflicts occur in relationships

    This workshop will give you confidence when working with individuals around relationships and introduce you to some of the concepts & theories utilised in couples therapy that you can put to excellent use when just working with a single client.
    As with all our courses there will be both experiential elements and direct links to practical ways of working with clients. We will provide practical examples and there will be lots of opportunity for you to explore, ask questions and discuss issues with other therapists.


  • CPD Courses. Animals

    Working Creatively with Nesting Dolls, Shells & other objects

    20th May 2024
    9.30 am TO 3.30 pm
    On ZOOM
    COST: £85


    Would you like to work creatively with clients using nesting dolls or other objects?

    Do you worry about how to introduce these methods?

    Have you used them yourself and found it enlightening but lack confidence to do it with your clients?

    If so this workshop will help to give you the confidence you need to expand your therapeutic repertoire in a way that will help clients to explore the different aspects of self, or relationship dynamics

    On this practical AND experiential workshop we will cover:

  • General principles when working creatively
  • What, when & how
  • Safety considerations
  • Practical examples of how to use these methods
  • Demonstrations using nesting dolls
  • Using dolls to unpack layers of life/aspects of self/parts work
  • Using dolls to work with shame, anger or grief
  • Opportunities for experiential practice
  • Using creative methods remotely
  • Questions & Answers

    This course is suitable for anyone who would like to bring more creativity into their therapy or supervision practice. It’s suitable for qualified counsellors, psychotherapists, supervisors, coaches as well as therapists in training.


  • Working with Trauma: What about Us?

    Vicarious trauma, Compassion Fatigue or Burnout

    3rd June
    9.30 am - 3.30 pm on zoom
    Cost: £85


    Course 4 in our new series on working with Trauma. Discounts available if you book 3 or 4 of the series.

    What if we’re not just tired?

    What if we’re not just tired?
    What if it’s our souls that are exhausted?
    The kind of tired that sleep won’t remedy.
    You see, when the world is in crisis (and it is),
    your soul becomes weary with the weight of collective grief….

    Donna Ashworth
    From History Will Remember


    This is one of a number of poems by Donna Ashworth on themes around the pandemic, from her book “History Will Remember”. These words really capture some of the exhaustion that many therapists, frontline workers, and those who support others are feeling. We hear it every day in the therapy room and with our supervisees. Many are exhausted.

    Plus, it’s not just that our jobs are demanding and tiring because we’re supporting others who are finding life and the world difficult, but we’re expected to do this whilst we also deal with the same issues ourselves. Add into that the ever-growing number of people needing support, working from home and working remotely for 18 months or more and you’ve a recipe for exhaustion!

    If you work with trauma, and who doesn’t as a therapist, then you’ll recognise “burnout”, “vicarious trauma”, “compassion fatigue” as key concepts…. You might even be wondering if that’s the path you’re on?

    How can we protect ourselves, or the people that we employ or who volunteer, from what are very real challenges when working with trauma, and traumatised individuals? We’re constantly told to practice self-care…but do we walk the walk? And what if we are and it’s still not enough?

    In this new course we’ll take a practical look at the difficulties and what we can do to help keep ourselves healthy and functioning, so that we enjoy our work more! It will cover:
  • Burnout, compassion fatigue & vicarious trauma
  • Why self-care often isn’t enough
  • The impact of the pandemic and remote working
  • The neurophysiology of empathy
  • Assess your needs and devise your own well-being plan


  • CPD Courses. colouredpencils

    Working with neurodiversity

    ***COMING SOON**

    Date TBC
    9.30 - 3.30
    £85

    Details to follow


    CPD Courses. father

    Exploring the Father Wound

    Date: 17th June 2024
    Time: 9.30 - 3.30
    Where: zoom
    Cost: £85


    Our Mother Wound course has been so popular we thought we would take a look at Fathers too!

    Fathers are so often absent in our lives – through divorce/separation, work, or most often simply emotionally absent. We explore the personal impact and ways of working with clients to address their wounds.

    This workshop combines some didactic theoretical learning with experiential exercises to help you explore your own relationship with your father, and ways of exploring this with clients.

    In particular we will explore:

  • The many ways that a father can be absent from our lives
  • The historical development and societal impact that has led to Father’s having an emotional disconnect
  • The ‘rules’ men live by to avoid emotional intimacy and the impact of these
  • The myths around the importance of Fatherhood – for example that girls need Mothers more than fathers during adolescence
  • The different wounds experienced by girls and boys
  • The impact of a loss of relational needs
  • How your relationship with your father has impacted your relationships
  • How understanding neural plasticity and attachment is improving the way we look at a father’s relationship with his children


  • Pricing & Cancellation policy

    Just a word on pricing....
    From 1st March 2023 we will charge £85 for Zoom courses, and £95 for any "in the room".

    Fees are non-refundable. However, if you cancel 4 weeks or more prior to a course you can transfer your booking to another of our courses. Whilst we fully appreciate that life often happens last minute, we need time to be able to try and sell your space to another delegate, so we cannot simply transfer you to another course. If you cancel late we do offer you the option to re-book another course within the next 12 months at half price.

    Running training courses is administratively hard work. We know that for most training organisations if you cancel you simply lose your fee completely, and many also charge a fee for amending bookings. We take the view that our policy is the fairest way of doing things, and whilst we realise not everyone will agree with us we have to have a plan & policy in place, which we hope people will understand and accept.


    Booking Information

    To book onto any of our courses please complete the online booking form on the bookings page.
    You'll be sent confirmation of your booking once you've made payment.

    If you have any specific needs around accessibility, suitability of courses or questions regarding this please do email us.

    We look forward to seeing you on one of our courses!


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