The Counselling Skills
Introduction to Basic Counselling Skills
Description
Course Overview
Building Competence, Compassion and Confidence in Helping Others
Introduction to Counselling Skills is a comprehensive foundational training programme designed to help participants develop the knowledge, attitudes, and practical skills needed to provide meaningful emotional and psychological support to others.
Developed and facilitated by Dr. Chiadi Ndu, PhD, a Chartered Psychologist and Trauma Specialist, this course offers a structured introduction to the principles and practice of counselling. It is designed for people serving in professional, community, educational, healthcare, leadership, and faith-based helping roles, as well as anyone who desires to support others with greater wisdom, empathy, and confidence.
The course explores the foundations of counselling, including the nature and purpose of counselling, the qualities of an effective counsellor, the importance of emotional maturity, and the role of self-awareness in helping relationships. Participants will learn how to build trust, listen actively, respond appropriately, ask helpful questions, and create a safe environment where people feel heard, respected, and supported.
A key focus of this programme is the understanding that the counsellor is the primary tool in the helping relationship. For this reason, learners will engage in guided reflection exercises that encourage personal growth, emotional awareness, resilience, and professional development. The course also addresses important realities of counselling practice, including ethical boundaries, confidentiality, compassion fatigue, burnout, counsellor frustrations, and common mistakes that can weaken the helping process.
Participants will also be introduced to practical counselling frameworks such as the Egan Skilled Helper Model and basic principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Through video lessons, workbook exercises, demonstrations, case studies, role plays, and practical applications, learners will gain both theoretical understanding and practical tools they can apply immediately in ministry, healthcare, education, community work, human resources, leadership, and everyday helping conversations.
No prior counselling experience is required. This course is suitable for beginners, aspiring counsellors, and professionals who want to strengthen their foundational counselling skills.
This course covers the following topics:
Part One: Foundations of Counselling
Module 1: Introduction to Counselling
Module 2: Becoming Competent to Counsel
Module 3: Developing Self-Awareness
Module 4: Developing Emotional Stability
Module 5: The Three Core Conditions of Counselling
Module 6: Basic Counselling Skills
Module 7: Ethical Considerations in Counselling
Module 8: Confidentiality
Module 9: Two Counselling Approaches
Part Two: The Shadow Side of Counselling
Module 10: The Shadow Side of Counselling
Module 11: The Fly in the Ointment
Module 12: Some Mistakes Counsellors Make
Module 13: Counsellor’s Frustrations
Module 14: The Counsellor’s Flickering Flame
What Will You Learn In This Course?
By the end of this course, you will have a strong foundational understanding of what counselling is, how helping relationships work, and how to support others with greater competence, compassion, and confidence.
You will learn how to listen more effectively, respond with empathy, ask thoughtful questions, and create a safe space for people to share their thoughts, emotions, and challenges. You will also understand how to apply key counselling values such as empathy, congruence, respect, and unconditional positive regard in everyday helping conversations.
This course will help you develop greater self-awareness as a helper, recognise the importance of emotional maturity, and understand how your own attitudes, experiences, and responses can influence the counselling relationship. You will also learn how to maintain healthy boundaries, protect confidentiality, practise ethically, and recognise when additional or specialist support may be needed.
In addition, you will be introduced to practical counselling frameworks, including the Egan Skilled Helper Model and basic CBT principles, giving you simple tools to structure helping conversations and support people more effectively.
After taking this course, you should feel more prepared to support individuals in a caring, ethical, and professional way, whether in ministry and christain faith-based community, education, healthcare, community work, leadership, human resources, volunteering, or everyday life.
About the Author
Dr. Chiadi Ndu, PhD is a Chartered Psychologist and Trauma expert with a deep commitment to helping individuals, families, communities, and organisations build emotional resilience and healthier support systems.
Through her work in counselling, trauma support, teaching, and professional development, Dr. Ndu brings a compassionate and practical approach to equipping others with the skills needed to support people through emotional and psychological challenges. Her teaching combines professional counselling knowledge with real-life application, making complex concepts accessible, relatable, and useful for learners from different backgrounds.
Her work is especially focused on developing helpers who are not only skilled, but also self-aware, emotionally stable, ethical, and compassionate in their approach to supporting others.
