Gemma and Jacqui accept the cup

This year the entire HPD in Counselling Class of 2009 were presented with our Outstanding Development Award. This group of 20 students acheived a great deal both as individuals and as a group. Their many successes included:

• Winning acceptance to present 2 Group Research Projects at the BACP National Research Conference held in Portsmouth during May 2009; one of these projects was rated by the attending delegates to be in the top three presentations at the conference.
• 14 students passed the course with an overall Distinction Grade and 6 students passed the course with an overall Merit Grade; phenomenial results.
• 2 students decided to continue with their studies as newly qualified counsellors and were directly accepted by the same University to proceed onto an MA in Counselling & Psychotherapy course of study.
• 4 students were offered part-time/sessional employment at their training placements as they qualified which demonstrates the extremely high levels of professionalism and skill these students had attained during the training process.
• With her Professional Counsellor Qualification under her belt, another student applied for a managerial position in Youth Work (her area of expertese), successfully winning the post. She considerably increased her salary and sphere of responsibilty and will be providing an exciting new multi-disipline service for young people who are experiencing difficulties in their lives.

All 20 students received an LC&CTA Award Certificate which, along with their publicly presented research work can be added to their CVs, thus greatly enhancing their achievement dossier.

Winner 2008 – Martin Williams

For his dedicated move toward excellence and for commitment to his studies, dyslexic student Martin Williams won the award in 2008.

Martin’s achievements included:

• Obtaining an overall Merit Grade for his final assessment in the Higher Professional Diploma in Counselling.
• Co-authoring the research paper: ‘Is spirituality an aid to recovery from addiction?’
• Winning a place to present the above mentioned research paper at the BACP National Research Conference in 2008.

Martin now works as a sessional counsellor for the Enrichment Team at Lewisham College.