Professional Diploma in Group Facilitation: Theory & Practice 

Course Leader: Deborah Blagden Tutor: Rosemary Langford-Bellaby

Offered as 8 two-day (Sat- Sun) workshops, delivered face-to-face in Nottingham City Centre

Training dates:

Working in groups is a powerful therapeutic medium that focusses on the relationship between the individual and the group, emphasising the essentially social nature of the human experience. Working in groups offers an approach that recognises how emotional, behavioural, and psychological phenomena emerge in the context of groups. Many therapists and allied professionals will from time to time consider running groups and yet leading a group involves very different skills from those used in one-to-one work. Consequently, facilitating groups can be like journeying without a map – often difficult, intense, challenging and stimulating. This course is designed to support anyone interested in running groups, such as therapeutic, supervisory, or managerial, which includes counsellors, psychotherapists, social workers, supervisors, nurses, and allied professionals who have undertaken core training in their profession and are interested in developing their knowledge and skills to work with groups.  

Who is the course for?

The course is designed for all those who are considering running a therapeutic group or those involved in facilitation of groups in training, supervision and organisations. The course will enhance awareness and skills of facilitation with a range of such groups and trainees can focus on the areas that interest them the most.

Learning outcomes:

• An increase in ability to work with both task and process and to review the areas for development.
• In depth understanding of the nature of facilitation, the role and scope.
• Increased awareness and understanding of strengths, style, impact and areas for development.
• Enhanced presence and confidence in facilitating your chosen group.
• Broader facilitator skill set including types and levels of interventions.
• Opportunity to practice facilitation skills and receive feedback.
• Working with themes and issues in practice: setting up groups, difference, diversity, inclusivity and many others.
• An understanding of theory and its application – different approaches to working in groups.
• Powerful experiential learning bringing in depth knowledge of group processes.
• To understand group processes and stages of development.
• Roles and dynamics within groups.
• To understand styles, roles and tasks of the group facilitator – supervision, therapeutic or training.

About our facilitators:

Course Leader Deborah Blagden is a UKCP registered Clinical Psychotherapist, Supervisor and Trainer. She holds a MSc in Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy and is a Certified Transactional Analyst, undertaking her Masters at the Metanoia Institute London in the mid 1990’s. She is endorsed by the European Association of Transactional Analysts as a (Provisional) Training and Supervising Transactional Analysis (P) and is passionate about training and supervising others wanting to develop their interest in this area. Deborah has extensive experience of running both therapeutic training and supervisory group. Her interest in working in groups began in the mid-1980s when she was recruited and trained to facilitate one of the Home Offices national sex offender community group work programmes, where she remained for 26 years. This passion for group work extended into private practice where she facilitated an ongoing regular therapy group (including group marathons) for the last 20 years. Her experience of working in groups has extended to supervisory and training groups, which she has undertaken for the last 15 years and which she recognises require both similar and different skill sets to therapeutic groups. 

Tutor Rosemary Langford-Bellaby has extensive training and experience as a psychotherapist, supervisor trainer and consultant. She is accredited with the UKCP and runs a private practice. Rosemary has trained in both Gestalt Psychotherapy and Integrative Psychotherapy and has completed additional elements of training in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Transactional Analysis, Behavioural Therapy and Client-Centred Counselling. Her interest in running groups began 35 years ago in the NHS when she began a group work programme for those experiencing depression and anxiety. This has led on to her working in other arenas running therapeutic groups, such as working for the Church providing a service to the congregation as well as clergy for those enduring Mental Health issues. This led onto developing and running groups for couples, a psycho-sexual group, and a long-term process group. Her current involvement in groups is working both as a trainer and supervisor as well as working with teams.

Entry Requirements:

To be currently registered with a professional body (e.g. UKCP, BACP NCS, HCPC, GTC, NMC – this is not an exhaustive list) hold a minimum of a level 4 qualification or equivalent and to be in clinical or professional practice and have the support of your supervisor or organisation. This will include those working in an allied professions such as nursing, social work, teaching, management and interested in running groups. Please contact Collette if you are unsure you meet the criteria. 

Prior experience of facilitating groups is not needed in order to attend.

Because of the experiential nature of this training, the course requires participants to be willing to take part in skills practice – either as a facilitator or as a group member – and discussions and to use one’s own experience as material to learn from. Self-reflective skills will be needed in order to look at the self in relation to groups. 

More information & to apply:

Reach out to our team via info@janus-cpd.co.uk with any queries or to book your place on this training.

Please note: A deposit of £300 is required at the time of booking. The full fee may then be paid by the deadline or as instalment payments. At least two weeks’ notice must be given prior to the course start date after which the deposit will be non-refundable.