Lyla Smith-Abbas 2009

Qualified 2009

I was introduced to person centred theory by a work college who was undertaking LC&CTA’s HPD course, he swore it would change my perspective on life … and it has. I didn’t know what I was letting myself in for! It has NOT been easy to explore who I am - and why I am the way that I am; facing myself and exposing myself to others (metaphorically speaking!) has been hard. I have definitely been challenged and my growth has exceeded my expectations; I have grown much closer to understanding, knowing and really loving myself. The support of the LC&CTA Tutor Team has been invaluable - I have felt fully held throughout this course and felt safe knowing there was always someone willing to listen when things got tough. I have experienced a roller coaster of emotions I’ve laughed, cried, felt alone, felt love and expressed great anger! However, this has helped me develop an inner strength and gain an awareness of myself that I didn’t have before. I’ve also had the great privilege of working with a group of amazing peers who have made my journey incredibly special and unforgettable.

Mo Lishmoma

As a white woman, when Chris Brown spoke to a racially mixed group of students about her inherited racism, it was so healing for me to hear it openly acknowledged. It means a lot ... and also it means the white students don't just switch off defensively (as they might if a black person was speaking about racism). I've grown personally from taking the HPD course. I can communicate more honestly and openly and I can feel and express my anger much more appropriately. The growth continues. I'm also looking at my attitude towards and relationships with men and I am looking at my blackness, my whiteness and other things and issues raised by the course. Because I'm mixed race there's so much about race, identity, anger ... so much 'stuff' to explore. I just wanted to tell you and share my appreciation of the course. And for Chris' braveness in flagging up the issue of my whiteness (though I'm not visibly white it's still part of who and how I am). I fly the LC&CTA flag regarding diversity, multiculturalism and the mixedness of the course all over the place. I also share with people that it's not an easy process to study at LC&CTA and that Chris is charismatic and volatile woman!!! But I also want to share my love and appreciation for all that I experienced, the good the bad and the fucking horrible; in all its dimensions!!! Another thank-you and blessings is due to Linda Hafez as a Supervisor she is good at what she does and is a very good woman.

Siobhan McCalla

Doing the Diploma in Person Centred Counselling at LC&CTA has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. This course is tough, it's life changing and I can not recommend it highly enough.

Carey Buchannan 2010

Qualified 2010

I found that at LC&CTA I was helped to experience the person-centred approach in practice and not kust in theory through the way that the tutors interacted with me. I was also encouraged to explore my potential to relate to others fully. I am just at the beginning of my journey as a qualified counsellor but my experience at LC&CTA has helped to give me confidence to pursue my dreams more and more in the future.

Winsome Pryce

HPD in Counselling Student

I didn't quite know what I was letting myself in for when I decided to study again and become a mature student at LC&CTA, I was fearful and lacked confidence. I soon learned that my fears were something of the past and my Course Tutors were helping me to develop my confidence. I have had to work hard at putting in what I want to get out of the Course and this has definitely not been an easy thing for me to do, in fact, quite difficult at times. LC&CTA have always encouraged me to do more than I thought I was capable of in both my personal and professional life and supported me in times of difficulty.

Wesley Freeman Smith

Put simply, it has been an incredible journey. The Diploma course under leadership of Juanita and Chris was deeply involving, challenging, and enriching. I look back in awe at where I was when I began in comparison with where I am now. Change is not always easy, and change is not always fun; throughout the course I have come up against things which are difficult. But in a reflection of the theory that underpins the whole experience, even at it's most challenging there is an eventual understanding that the direction all along has been toward personal growth and higher awareness. The tutors possess great insight into people - insight that at critical moments on the course has proved invaluable. In my experience person-centred counselling is the opposite of the caricatured 'nodding dog therapist'; it is a deeply relational process that requires the therapist to extend his/her whole being in response to the client, and is far from passive in this pursuit. The real learning for me as been here, in fostering a trust in and rapport with my own visceral, emotional, and organismic experiencing to the service of the therapeutic work. Needless to say I am now on wider journey that I am only just beginning, but LC&CTA has helped lay the foundations - by showing me all I can achieve and facilitating the confidence in me that I can do it.

Selina Jane Brown

I chose to study at LC&CTA to complete my professional training as a Person-Centred practitioner. For me the journey of in-depth self reflection has been a process that has changed and enhanced my lived experience. During my study one of the most important decisions I made was to opt to work as a Study Supporter; to have the chance to work directly alongside LC&CTA's highly experienced teaching team was not only valuable in terms of my own academic learning, but it enhanced my personal and professional development. However, more importantly for me I have felt humbled to be included in the journeys of self-exploration and discovery that other students went through; whether their journey was one of pure self-development to support an existing professional role, or whether their journey was being taken with the intention of pursuing the qualifications needed to practice as a professional counsellor. My journey of self-development at LC&CTA has been one that has filled my life with many potentials and continues to do so. I have decided to take my teacher training on LC&CTA's new Teacher training Programme that starts in January 2013 so that I may continue to be part of the courageous journeys LC&CTA's students undertake.

Carol Gordon

As a former student of LC&CTA I have found that the material provided i.e. tutorial information, guidance and support quite dynamic, structured, informative and concise. It has enabled me to recognise and understand in terms of theory and skills the importance of re-evaluating my beliefs, values, morality, sex, religion, race, gender, motives, barriers and my conditionings; which has facilitated me in gaining new insights of self as well as being able to work more effectively and ethically with my clients. My initial thoughts when reflecting back on my experience on the course is just how surprised I am by the depth of information and learning of the theories and concepts covered; and in being congruent, many of these issues would have never occurred to me at all in advance of the course, hence I am very grateful to have been able to grow within the diverse dynamics of LC&CTA. Thank you LC&CTA.

Joy Blake

Making the decision to join an LC&CTA counselling course was a life changing experience for me. I cannot imagine my life now without the additional knowledge I have gained since starting from Introductory level to Diploma level. I have experienced a long and challenging journey towards finding myself and at times I struggled against my being, but I was able to receive the support to meet my needs from the LC&CTA Team. I know I am in a place today where I feel good about myself and how I interact with others, through the process of self awareness and reflection on self.

Lorraine Marie Forrest

HPD Class of 2012

Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, I have embarked on a new life and will never be the same again! Over the past four years as a student at LC&CTA I have learnt so much about myself and other people. The change in how I perceive myself and relate with other people has been noted by colleagues, friends and family. I am far more self-aware now, with healthier self-esteem, personal boundaries and a stronger internal locus of evaluation. It wasn’t easy though; some self-revelations were very painful. Although committed to qualifying as a person-centred counsellor, I was primarily focused on my personal growth and found that the experiential learning at LC&CTA in research and community groups was invaluable!