Student Testimonials

Samples are anonymous and in some instances details have been slightly changed or omitted by NICTT to protect client confidentiality. Contributors are former course participants in our short unaccredited PTSD course and our award winning accredited level 4 Certificate in Cognitive Therapy Methods [QCF].

While I believe there is no shortage of committed, dedicated counsellors and mental help professionals (from all sectors) in N. Ireland, there is a serious shortage of quality assured training and relevant continuing professional development courses for mental health practitioners in N Ireland.

I have however been fortunate enough to find such training at NICTT. I completed their Level 4 BTEC Professional Certificate in Cognitive Therapy Methods and just recently a 2 day Introduction to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Assessment and Basic Interventions‏ Course.

I chose the first course because I had begun a new job working as a counsellor with young people under 25 with alcohol and/or drug related problems. I soon realised that adolescents lived very much in the present, and given the often tumultuous nature of that development phase, coupled with the use of mood altering substances, I did not have the dubious “luxury” of six regular consecutive sessions to process their issues. I needed to “hit the ground” running so to speak in the first session, and find a way to work with the young person in that 50 minutes, always aware that I may not see them again!

I got that on the CCTM Course. The course gave me what I needed, in that I learned how to structure each session so that it is a complete session in and of its self. I learned to become a much more active participant in the client’s story, and how to work collaboratively with the person in front of me, vital when working with young people who are often told what to do, how to behave and even how to feel. I was amazed at how quickly young people grasped the “thinking, feeling, doing” model. They were often referred to me when a “crisis” had happened and, as one of the principles in cognitive therapy is to look at what is happening in the client’s life in the present, in the here-and-now, I learned how to use that “crisis” to build the 5 part model of that particular presenting crisis. The writing out of this model with the client gives both of us an insight into their assumptions and core beliefs, which when identified can then be examined à la Socratic Method which I also learned on the course! This is now an integral part of my work. And very often because the client can (literally) see what I am doing they come back for more!

A snapshot of the clients I am working with at the moment are presenting with trauma or intergenerational trauma, for example I am working with;

1[deleted to ensure anonymity]

How brilliant then it was for me to be able to tap into the trauma training from NICTT. Training that was for me, timely, relevant, professional, geographically nearby and affordable! I left those two days’ training with the ability to explain in simple language to my clients the affects such incidence can have on a person’s mind, mood and body. At the very least this helps to demystify what the person is going through, and aids the journey towards recovery.

Finally let me add I have been “in training” in Colleges, NGO’s and Universities, both here and abroad since 1990. But the manner, delivery and professionalism of the courses I received at NICTT are second to none. The facilitators have that unique gift of living what they teach (Rogers Core Conditions!) and this comes across in the training, so that we, the participants have an experiential or felt sense of what it like to receive meaningful therapy. This, in turn, we want to pass on to our clients. Without NICTT and their training and support, this will make a tough profession even tougher.

I attended the PTSD Assessment and Basic Interventions Training. I found the course very useful and particularly relevant to my work in the New Life Counselling. The training over two days was very good in that it was delivered in a clear concise manner with appropriate understandable examples to demonstrate theory. Time boundaries were kept and all that was expected to be delivered was achieved.

Due to my experience on this course I would attend further training with your agency.

I am very happy to write about the two courses provided by the NICTT that I attended. I attended the certificate in CBT skills 18 day course in 2007. I work as a community mental health nurse in a community mental health team assessing and providing psychological treatment to patients who suffer from depression and anxiety. The course allowed me to develop my skills, introduced me to new techniques and improved my competence, understanding and confidence in the treatment of patients. Some key things I learned were (1) the patient is an expert in their own illness and I was an expert in the theory and we both had to work together to achieve common goals (2) Collaboration, listening and understanding the patient are absolutely essential (3) Sharing responsibility with the patient to empower them to make changes (4) setting specific goals (5) there are many techniques / skills that can be used to help the patient to understand their illness and overcome it by simple changes to their behaviour and thinking (6) Summarizing and asking the person what they have learned is so helpful for the patient's understanding.

The two day course on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was also very helpful in helping me to recognise the effects of a traumatic event, how to explain this to a person and know when to refer on to other services. Both of these courses have extended my knowledge and understanding extensively. I am much more confident and competent in assessing and treating the patients I see and am much more open with them which definitely leads to better results. Since completing the course I also facilitate an anxiety management workshop and overcoming depression group on a regular basis using many of the skills taught on the course.

I was participating in the introduction course for PTSD, which was a two day workshop by Dr. Maria Kee and Brendan Armstrong.

Besides the high quality in respect of content I was impressed by the professional presentation-style, which was very interactive.

The training course was edited to suit the way of the practical work of the participants, implementing this through practical experimental exercises and interactive group works. I appreciated very much the balance they found between technical/professional input and guidelines for their own practice, in recognizing Symptoms of PTSD and to initiate further steps in the treatment for the client, respecting the fact of own competences and limits of these.

I hope my short testimonial is helpful for you and understandable, as I'm not a native English speaker...

I attended the Certificate in Cognitive Therapy Methods course offered by NICTT. It was one of the best short term courses I attended in my 30 years experience of working as a health care professional. The course content was excellent, well structured and directly applicable within my work setting and made all the more relevant by the experience and professionalism of the course tutors who had the direct hands on experience and expertise in using the taught material to be able to help participants apply it to their varied client groups and work settings. I feel we are very fortunate in Northern Ireland to have access to the quality of courses and tutors of NICTT.

Just to say that I would fully support your strive and efforts to secure additional funding for the two day training programme continuation. I found the training insightful and enjoyable, and was geared for a basic level of PTSD. Could I suggest a component to focus on more advanced techniques to apply to CBT interventions for PTSD which could be either stand alone or additional to the Training Programme. Good Luck with the Application.

I am a therapeutic Counselor with ----- in Belfast and I work with the adult project. Many of our clients have been impacted either directly or indirectly by the troubles and present with traumatic reactions. I attended a 2 day course which helped deepen my understanding of trauma and working with traumatic reactions. The administration of the course was good and staff were very helpful. The course tutors were excellent - they were obviously very knowledgeable, motivated and dedicated to supporting victims of trauma. They provided an environment which was very conducive to learning and helped to build on participant’s previous knowledge and experience. I would recommend their training without hesitation.

Working as a counselor with adults who have experienced sexual abuse, I find many clients demonstrate symptoms which indicate post traumatic stress. I found the two day course offered a very practical and accessible model for addressing this with clients, helping them to understand and begin to manage their stress. It is a valuable addition to the resources of anyone encountering people in psychological distress and certainly supports and assists me in my own particular area of work.

I wish to endorse the Certificate in Cognitive Skills Training course which I attended run by the NICTT. This course was very beneficial in my work with individuals bereaved by suicide and was core to ensuring a high quality service with evidence based therapeutic techniques was delivered to clients. I was so impressed with the level of teaching and knowledge that it motivated me to pursue my knowledge further and have completed the Post Graduate Diploma in Cognitive Therapy.

The training was carried out in a rigorous yet relaxed manner. We were taught how to recognise the symptoms of PTSD and how to screen clients for the disorder in a preliminary way. I found the role play of counselling situations particularly useful together with the group feedback sessions which shared and reinforced lessons learned. I certainly gained confidence from this approach while realising that learning some basics in this field should be supported by ongoing training in such a complex and developing professional area. What I learned will be of great benefit to me in dealing with young people who may present with emotional difficulties in educational situations. I will have a better template for assessing some of the problems that I find.

I recently attended a 2 day training programme - Introduction to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - Assessment and Basic Interventions. I found the training very well delivered by two skilled facilitators who knew the material they were introducing because it was a model that they used themselves and found to be effective. To that end it became very real, especially when demonstrated in their live role plays. The opportunity to partake in role play situations myself further enhanced the learning.

On return to my day to day counselling practice I have used the model quite often and have found it to be effective. In my practice as an agency manager I do a lot of assessment work and this has definitely been a useful tool in that role. I do not naturally work in a cognitive therapeutic way but I have been able to use the cognitive model within my own style without it seeming alien.

The 2 DAY Course was extremely well put together and offered a thorough description along with applied exercises in how to identify PTSD; and how to apply CBT as a therapeutic model. The large group allowed for a diverse discussion in how therapists coming from a range of modalities could implement this as part of their existing approaches

As a person-centred Rogerian counsellor I was initially sceptical about the course and the model used, however I found the course gave me a completely new insight into Cognitive Therapy.

I can now see clearly how the model can be used to diagnose and treat a person with PTSD. Even to recognise the diagnosis is valuable to those who are suffering.

Some of my clients have PTSD and I am trying to put some of the methods I have learned through the course into practice. I find the model useful in that clients can understand it and see the benefits and logic of this treatment.

The presenters were excellent, engaging with us and prompting our own responses through thought provoking questions. They also imbued a sense of good natured humour into what was a pretty heavy topic. Moving us around and into groups helped as well.

I found the course very useful and it has changed my perception of CBT. I came away feeling much better informed and aware of what therapy can help those with PTSD.

I have attended 2 programmes offered through the centre for trauma and transformation. The first was a certificate programme in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy methods and the second was a short course on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Working as a psychiatric nurse and as a counselor I have found both of these programmes very useful in my work with clients, providing me with new methods and skills that I have found really beneficial. I also found the facilitators very knowledgeable and helpful as in addition to being CBT therapists they were also Mental Health Professionals.

I attended the PTSD training course on 15th and 15th march in Belfast and Omagh and I found it to be an excellent course. I had a little previous knowledge but the course really expanded my knowledge and gave me opportunities to learn new skills to use in my practice. I have been using what I learned since the course with my young people. The knowledge and skills of both trainers was high and the sessions were informative, enjoyable and challenging. There was a diverse range of participants on the course but everyone seemed to find relevance in the training and I learned a lot.

This was one of the most enjoyable and most useful courses I have attended. I called NICTT after the course to ask for advice about a client's situation and to check I was correctly applying the leaning from the course and I spoke with Brendan who was more than helpful and supportive in my query.

I feel NICTT provides an invaluable service.

My involvement with the NICTT has been hugely positive and beneficial. I took part in the training course aimed at raising knowledge and awareness of PTSD. As a psychology assistant I have limited opportunity to apply what I have learnt through this course but never the less I found it very interesting and it has helped me to understand what is quite a complex condition. I found the group experience very welcoming and friendly, I felt comfortable to share my opinions and ideas and left with a very positive opinion of both the NICTT and the course leaders in particular. The course content was of an appropriate level with excellent examples, activities and group work. I also really valued the opportunity to meet so many other professionals from a huge range of services from right across Northern Ireland. I would highly recommend this course to anyone who has an interest, whether they currently work with PTSD or not! And I will be keeping an eye out for any new courses becoming available.

Thank you!

NICTT – experience of training

I attended training courses in the Certificate in Cognitive Therapy Methods (Belfast, 2009) and PTSD (Belfast and Omagh, 2010)

I had very positive experiences of both courses and would recommend them to colleagues. The knowledge was well paced, expertly delivered and of sufficient depth to be useful across many organisations. The lecturers were knowledgeable in their subject and used several teaching methods to ensure the information was understood. It was exciting to attend each day and leave feeling both more knowledgeable but keen to return to work and put the theory to practice. I found having a range of participants was useful to hear of different, and similar, problems across the disciplines.

Both courses have benefited me in my work as a Community Mental Health Nurse in a generic team. I am more confident about using the methods taught and more informed about what I cannot do. If I refer a patient for specialised treatment I can offer more detailed referrals, which is time effective. I am able to inform patients about their symptoms and patterns of behaviours, which enable us to plan care. I am able to understand patients’ behaviours which previously I would have found difficult to manage and treat.

The courses have helped me in my practice as I feel in now have tools to use in practice and theory to understand many more symptoms. While I was always confident about assessing a depressive or anxiety type presentation I am now more succinct in my documentation and more focused during appointments, and realise I still have much to learn.

I found the training I undertook with the NI Centre for Trauma and Transformation in CBT and PTSD to be extremely beneficial. The training informed my practice and helped me structure my sessions with clients.

I would be extremely interested in signing up for other courses with NICTT should they become available.