Michael Soth has been running training events for counsellors and psychotherapists since the late 1980's, and has developed a unique integrative style - providing intense and inspirational and at the same time safe learning environments for practitioners through combining experiential and theoretical learning. Open to counsellors and psychotherapists from across the spectrum of therapeutic approaches and modalities, the courses are designed to build on your existing skills and ways of working and to deepen your involvement in the therapeutic process with your clients. A fluid integration of each participant's continuing professional development (according to their own pace and learning needs) with their own personal process (understood as a whole bodymind process) and the unfolding group process allows you to work at your own edge whilst benefitting both from the course input as well as the richness and diversity of the group. |
Continuing Professional Development for practising Counsellors and Psychotherapists
Feedback from previous participants (extracted from feedback forms and unsolicited emails) |
"Once more I want to thank you for your workshop last weekend - it was excellent and exactly what I have been looking for, for a while. I found your presence particularly a great support for my own process allowing for me to move on; I often feel stuck - that leads onto self-doubting and self-deprecation. Your particular style, your solidity, humour and humanity and the composition of the group that was particularly intimate and safe has allowed me to make use of the time in a different, fuller way. I continue being stirred up and more alive than usually." |
"I felt stretched to my emotional and mental limits, but the more I got involved, the more I gained, both personally and professionally." |
Based on an integrative stance that brings the full spectrum of the rich and diverse psychological field with its multitude of approaches to the therapeutic relationship and client-therapist communication, these events can offer profound learning experiences. Bringing an often neglected bodymind awareness to the traditionally predominantly verbal discipline of the 'talking cure', we can not only understand, but experience for ourselves the insights of the neuroscience revolution and right-brain to right-brain interaction.
Practitioners from diverse approaches learn to appreciate each others' perspectives, and I aim to make these events both safe and challenging, allowing participants to enjoy developing their skills and competencies as well as working at their growing edge.
How do people learn best ? How do therapists learn best ?
When we apply our therapeutic understanding to our own learning process - as 'reflective practitioners' - we can formulate some principles for our CPD training which characterise my approach to these events.
See the next page for some descriptions of the principles, learning styles, processes and methods which all these CPD events are based upon.
Who are these events and courses suitable for ?
Some of these events are advanced and designed for experienced practitioners only, but many of them are also appropriate for helping professionals generally, including - for example - doctors, nurses and health visitors, complementary therapists as well as people working in human resources, management, coaching. If you want to make sure a particular course is suitable for you, please do not hesitate to email me to discuss this.
CPD Events coming up soon
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CPD Workshops currently planned
For a complete list of workshops currently planned, see the calendar of events for the current year. For the next six events coming up, see column on the right ......
New series of CPD workshops on "Enactment"
Detailed information and Course Leaflet
As you will have gathered if you have looked at some of my writing on this site, in my opinion the notion of 'enactment' is central to any kind of relational therapy. I am convinced that the significance of this notion will gain increasing recognition over the next years, as we develop what a 21st century version of counselling and psychotherapy may become.
In this spirit I am preparing a series of workshops, introducing the notion of 'enactment' and helping practitioners become familiar with it and integrate it into their work and their thinking.
Each workshop in the series will build on the preceding ones, from introducing the concept of 'enactment' to beginners right through to experienced practitioners. 'Enactment' is a complex phenomenon, with many layers of increasing depth to be explored, and I will aim to make these as accessible and practically applicable as I can. The paradox is that 'enactment' is pervasive and omnipresent in all helping relationships, but that is has not really been recognised and been given the central importance and attention it deserves and requires. This series of workshops aims to provide a starting point for the helping professions, and especially counselling and psychotherapy practitioners, to begin to do 'enactment' justice.
I will offer these workshops in different regions, certainly throughout the South and Midlands.
If you want to help organise one in your area, please use the booking form to register your interest. Or, if you want to be notified when a workshop will be offered in your region, also please use the booking form to let me know.
To help you get a flavour of the topic and the learning material offered on these courses, I have uploaded my presentation to the BACP Conference 2008, on "Enactment as a central concept in relational therapy" which you can view online.
Master Classes
Feedback from previous participants (extracted from feedback forms and unsolicited emails) |
"I am aware how extremely important this time has been for me professionally and personally, and I have a sense of a breakthrough. I have experienced since a stream of realisations that led me to feel more grounded in myself and aware of what I do habitually and what else is possible. It is a fantastic feeling, difficult to describe in more detail than that." |
"I did not always find it easy or comfortable, but ultimately rewarding and it had a profound effect on my practice." |
"I found a whole new level of skills and capacities within myself - of perception, intuition and creativity." |
Occasionally I am invited by different organisations to give masterclasses (an evening or a day). These can be on a particular subject, or be focussed on examples drawn from participants' practice. They might also include supervision demonstrations, illustrating awareness of and working with parallel process or using roleplays or constellations. If you want to organise such an event for your group or organisation, please email me.
For masterclasses currently planned, see the calendar of events.
A special Body Psychotherapy masterclass weekend, called 'Embodied Relating, Relational Embodiment' is planned for Sat./Sun. May 2nd & 3rd 2009, to take place in Oxford. My friend and colleague Nick Totton and I will run this event together.
Presentations & Lectures
Over the last few years I have increasingly given presentations and lectures in different contexts, and I have collected quite a variety of presentations on different themes. Most of them are available to be delivered again (some of them in modified and updated form). Many of them are supported by PowerPoint slides and hand-outs. As they are prepared already, I can offer them at a reduced fee.
For a complete list of presentations available, see here.
If you want to arrange for me to come and give one of them at a conference or special event, please email me.
For presentations currently planned, see the calendar of events.
Monthly Clinical Seminar / Professional Development Group in Oxfordshire
Feedback from previous participants (extracted from feedback forms and unsolicited emails) |
"I learnt more about me and my practice in four hours than in four years of training." |
"My awareness of my countertransference as well as my understanding of the relational dynamic developed a lot more than I had expected, mainly due to the experiential learning format rather than through theoretical understanding." |
Monday afternoons 3pm - 8pm Venue: to be confirmed, probably West Oxford
This advanced group is open to experienced counsellors and psychotherapists of different trainings and orientations. Working with the general notion of the 'reflective practitioner', we will try to integrate individual and group process, experiential and theoretical learning and clinical reflection.
There are one or two more places available in this group, with three participants already confirmed who all have expressed an interest in a diversity of approaches. The idea is for the work of the group to be grounded in clinical experience and to have a solid supervision element, but to include additional reflections and theoretical input arising from the process - this will be from an integral-relational perspective.
Now the times are rather fixed (Monday afternoons), but apart from that the group is open to the needs of the two further participants.