Applied Psychology

Deepening Your Counselling Skills

Further develop your counselling knowledge and enhance your helping conversations.

R6,470.00

Lady in blue dress making notes during a therapy session with client

Structure

Set start & end date

Duration

8 weeks

Commitment

10 hours weekly study

Total Hours

80 hours

Start Date

8 June 2026

End Date

2 August 2026

Mode

Weekly content & tasks

Course Overview

Do you have basic counselling knowledge and skills? Develop your knowledge and application further with this specialised short course.

The Deepening Your Counselling Skills micro-credential builds on the core conditions of counselling as well as the phases and associated counselling skills of the Relational Skills Model.

In this 8-week course, you will be introduced to Egan’s Skilled Helper Model, which is used as a framework and practical structure to apply and deepen your helping conversations with others.

Gain a deeper understanding of how to work with clients who are resistant, challenging, or diverse, while exploring the ethical considerations and the role of responsibility and accountability in the helping relationship.

Learn how to integrate and apply your current counselling skills with the Skilled Helper Framework.

Note: Given that the purpose of this course is to deepen your understanding and application of basic counselling skills, you will need to possess prior knowledge in this area.

What You’ll Learn

Over the course of eight (8) weeks, through videos, readings and discussions, you will explore the following topics:

Week 1: Skilled Helper Model and its integration with the Relational Skills Model.

Week 2: First stage of the Skilled Helper Model: The Current Picture

Week 3: Second stage of the Skilled Helper Model: Preferred Picture

Week 4: Third stage of the Skilled Helper Model: The Way Forward

Week 5: Working with diverse clients, testing clients, responsibility and accountability.

Week 6: Ethical decision-making and working ethically and within your skillset.

Week 7: Review and application.

Week 8: Conclusion and summative project.

Course Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

Demonstrate self-reflective evaluation of creating an environment conducive to holding a conversation.
Applied skills within Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3 of the Skilled Helper Model.
Identify areas of challenge when working with diverse clients and how to overcome those barriers.
Incorporate ethical considerations into your helping conversations.
Apply the Skilled Helper Model and associated stages, tasks and skills.
Create a development plan for self-improvement in the application of your counselling skills.

Learner Experience

Michelle Scott

"I have learned that trauma can have profound and lasting effects on individuals' well-being and functioning."

Teneil Kersop

''The online course was very easy to follow. I enjoyed the visual material and the range of resources made available to us.''

Zandile Zulu

"I have gained a lot of practical knowledge from the Deepening Your Counselling Skills course. I've completed two other online micro-credential courses, and the knowledge and skills learned are so valuable."

Certification

Upon completion, you will receive a digital certificate of competence and badge. Your certificate and badge can be shared on 100+ social media platforms, allowing you to share your achievement with a single click.

Credential Type

The OpenLearning team has reviewed this course to ensure quality academic learning within the Malaysian and Australian credentialing framework.

An OpenLearning OpenCred is a type of credential that can stand-alone or interact with a formal qualification. OpenCred courses are market-leading online courses aimed at preparing learners for the future of work.

This course has been designed and developed by experts in the field of psychology. The Deepening Your Counselling Skills micro-credential is for anyone needing to upskill in this area and offers 80 hours of learning and assessment.

Learners study online with peers and receive robust academic content while acquiring practical industry-relevant skills.

OpenCreds

Completing this course leads to obtaining an OpenCred.

80 hours of learning
OpenCred classification: Pathway

Stackable Credentials

Stack specified combinations of micro-credentials and they can be recognised as equivalent to a module within the Bachelor of Applied Social Science Degree at SACAP. Fundamental Counselling Skills can be stacked with Deepening Your Counselling Skills, and if you meet the minimum entrance criteria, you can enrol for the Bachelor of Applied Social Science Degree and apply for module exemption.

Dates

Class of 2026 June: 8 June – 2 August
Class of 2026 August: 10 August – 4 October
Class of 2026 September: 7 September – 1 November
Class of 2026 October: 12 October – 6 December

There are no online classes. Course content is released on a weekly basis. This will allow you to work through the course material at a time that is most convenient for you, while still meeting the weekly targets on time.

Course highlights

Beautiful young girl listening to her therapist during a counselling session

Deepen your counselling skills and strengthen your frameworks to conduct effective helping conversations.
Improve your ability to work with diverse and challenging clients.
Learn how to apply ethical decision-making.

FAQs

What are the entry requirements?

Anyone 18 years of age or older can sign up for this micro-credential course. There are no academic entry requirements or conditions.

Who is this course for?

This course is for anyone interested in enhancing their existing counselling skills and learners need to possess prior knowledge in this area. The course is also relevant to those working in the teaching profession given its focus on applying helping conversations within your work role.

What is the time commitment?

A total of 80 hours is required to complete the micro-credential course. An average of 10 hours weekly over 8 weeks.

What do you need to do the course?

Access to Microsoft Word
Google Chrome (recommended)
Stable internet connection

Is the course accredited?

The micro-credential course is not accredited and non-credit bearing.

What is counselling?

Counselling is a talking therapy that involves a trained counsellor listening to an individual, couple or family and helping them find ways to deal with emotional issues and trauma. Counselling allows people to discuss their problems and feelings in a safe and confidential environment. Read more here.

The Team

The SACAP Global team brings a wealth of knowledge and practical experience across various disciplines. Our expert short course developers and dedicated support team are passionate about sharing their insights to help you get the most out of your online learning journey.