Training: 

I am a core tutor on several post-qualifying psychotherapy courses, also teaching other CPD courses. I am a Fellow of Advance HE / Higher Education Academy. I am also a retired Senior Lecturer, Lecturer & Education Officer.

I have been teaching for thirty years and have taught and led counselling and art psychotherapy courses at all levels, including: Doctoral, Master's degree, Undergraduate degree, Advanced Diploma, Post Qualifying Diploma, Diploma, Certificate, etc. 

Current teaching includes: 

• Core tutor on a Post Qualifying Diploma in Counselling & Psychotherapy with Children & Young People (CPCAB level 5), run in Belfast.

• Core tutor on a Post Qualifying Certificate in Creative Supervision (CPCAB level 6), run in Belfast.

• CPD courses on: eco-practice, fairy tales in psychotherapy, etc.

• Trauma Education Facilitator.

Past teaching included: Art Psychotherapy (masters & doctoral), Counselling (doctoral, masters, diploma, certificate), Postgraduate / Masters in Education, Postgraduate Medical Education. I offer significant experience in designing and teaching programmes.

Topics I offer training in include:

• art psychotherapy / art therapy

• counselling / psychotherapy

• supervision praxis & creative supervision

• working therapeutically with children & young people

• sand tray & creative approaches

• creative reflexive practice

• education, adult education

• healthcare education

• qualitative research approaches

• arts-based research approaches

• appraisal / performance development

• self-care for professionals

• bespoke workshops

• professional quality of life / resiliency for professionals

For examples, see:

• Courses

• CPD - continuing professional development.

I founded the first Master's level training in Art Therapy / Art Psychotherapy in Northern Ireland and led it since its establishment in 2002 at Queen's University where I was also a Lecturer in Education (Special Needs), also teaching education, counselling and art therapy. I further evolved the MSc and established it at the Centre for Psychotherapy, Belfast HSC Trust. In 2015 I redesigned my course as Pluralistic and Trauma Informed Art Psychotherapy.. I later established it at another university, leading this until l retired as Senior Lecturer and programme leader in Autumn 2019. I continued to teach small inputs on the training until resigning in Autumn 2023 - I and a number of other tutors stepped away for ethical reasons.

Teaching Counselling / Psychotherapy & Art Psychotherapy: a coherent approach

Practice in, and teaching of, counselling / psychotherapy and art therapy / art psychotherapy requires "a coherent approach" (HCPC, 2023, BACP, 2022, 2024). CPCAB () states that "tutors on integrative courses ... need to be very clear about the framework for integration that they are utilising". To ensure a coherent approach in teaching, I mapped the curriculum of the courses I teach on to relevant curricula, competence frameworks, standards, and ethical frameworks and codes, including e.g.:

• BACP (2022) Competence framework for work with children and young people (4-18 years). Lutterworth: BACP. https://www.bacp.co.uk/media/15873/bacp-cyp-competence-framework_2022.pdf

• BACP (2022) Counselling children and young people (4–18 years) training curriculum. Lutterworth: BACP. 

• BACP (2021) Supervision competence framework. Lutterworth: BACP.

• BACP (2021) Counselling and psychotherapy supervision training curriculum: a curriculum framework for counselling and psychotherapy supervisor training. Lutterworth: BACP. 

• BACP (2018) Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions. Lutterworth: BACP.

• HCPC (2023) Standards of Proficiency - Arts Therapists. London: HCPC.

• HCPC (2016 / 2024) Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics. London: Health & Care Professions Council.

• BAAT (2019) Code of Ethics and Principles of Professional Practice for Art Therapists. London: British Association of Art Therapists.

• BACP Good Practice literature.

• BAAT Practice guidelines.

• NICE guidelines.

• Evidence-based and common factors research.

• Other relevant literature.

My 'coherent approach' in teaching has a governance CORE of good governance, ethics, laws, and related standards and competences. This core supports and nourishes an integrative framework guiding the diverse ELEMENTS of evidence-based theories and associated practices. My teaching approach is consistent with, and informed by, my integrative pluralistic and trauma informed psychotherapy and art psychotherapy orientation. My integrative framework is 'trauma-informed pluralistic art psychotherapy & psychotherapy' (Sibbett, 2003, 2014, 2016, 2019) and trauma-informed pluralistic counselling / psychotherapy (Cooper & McLeod, 2011, 2015; McLeod, 2015, 2018; McLeod & Sundet, 2016; Cooper & Dryden, 2016) which I synthesised with trauma-informed care principles (SAMHSA, 2014; Sweeney et al, 2016). This is based on a relational integrative model of health, grounded in eco-biopsychosocial and systemic models, earth-caring values, and common factors research. It is a humanistic approach, informed by other evidence-based theories such as psychodynamic and attachment, developmental, systems, ecopsychology etc. It also encompasses eco-practice: promoting a reciprocal caring relationship with and for the rest of Nature. 

I mainly use a metaphor or symbol of a tree to represent coherent approach featuring a coherent whole with its governance CORE supporting and nourishing an integrative framework guiding the diverse ELEMENTS of evidence-based theories and associated practices. 

See Pluralistic Art Psychotherapy & Psychotherapy for more details.