The human development team at St Mary’s College, namely Fr Paul Johnson and Pete Smallwood (both accredited counsellors) first launched the idea of delivering a bespoke counselling course with the second and third-year seminarian groups.
Their unique understanding of priestly vocation and the rigours of the counselling profession meant that they understood the need for the delivery of listening, responding and signposting skills. They also realised the need for the seminarians to develop both boundaried relationships and ethical practices, which would include self-care.
This bespoke counselling course ran for two years, delivered by three external counselling professionals. However, after discussions it was realised that this bespoke counselling course, could be formalised into a certificated course. The first quest was to find an awarding body who would be prepared to work with the college to develop the course content. The Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body (CPCAB) was chosen as the awarding body to be affiliated with as it is the awarding body that solely develops counselling courses.
During the early summer of 2019, negotiations began and the college was accredited to deliver the course.
In order to achieve the certificated award, each seminarian would need to produce a learning portfolio, which would include the weekly completion of a self-reflective journal, worksheets and counselling skills practice sheets.
Each portfolio is externally marked and verified by CPCAB verifiers. After successful completion, each seminarian is awarded a level two qualification in Counselling Skills, which is their first step in developing their counselling and listening skills and in becoming a qualified counsellor.
A further development to this course will be the delivery of specialist counselling skills, which will include suicide and homicide bereavement skills, working with addictions, working with families and working with gangs. It is further hoped that this course will envelop Mental Health First Aid skills, all of which will develop the skills and resilience of the seminarians and, therefore, the priests of our future.