Who are the courses for?           

These courses have been designed to give back an education in Reading & Writing to adults who had traumatic experiences in life, and particularly during their education. The courses are run by Barry O’Donovan who is a qualified Psychotherapist with many years experience of working with the Survivors of Abuse and who also holds Qualified Teaching Status (QTS) for Modern Languages and a TEFL qualification.

The courses are run on a private tuition basis as often the original education experience was a source of life trauma and there is a high incidence of reliving some of that trauma through returning to learn. This requires specialist support and a personalised learning plan for the individual. In addition, most of the adults who require such support would not be comfortable in a group environment.

Entry Requirements:

There are no academic entry requirements. The benefit of private tuition is that the course can be tailored for each student to ensure progression and learning. TalkTherapyLondon.co.uk/education recommends that all students complete the Starting, Improving and Mastering courses as this allows a complete learning experience and the learning is tailored to the ability of the candidate.

Aim of the Course:

The aim of each course is to develop the confidence and skills of the candidate. In additional the specialist nature of the course will also help the candidate overcome any stigma or difficult experiences related to prior learning.  On the completion of the Mastering Level candidates will be given the choice to sit the National Test for a Certificate in Adult Literacy; Level 1 or Level 2 depending on ability. http://www.move-on.org.uk/ilr/resources/Guide_to_National_Certificates.pdf

About TalkTherapyLondon.co.uk/education:

This is a group practice of Psychotherapists that was founded in 2004. The common ground of many of the practitioners was working in a culturally sensitive manner with the Irish community and the Adult Survivors of Abuse. Through this work it became apparent that this group of people suffered terrible experiences in their childhood and frequently were left with no education or qualifications. The practitioners at TalkTherapyLondon have worked for many years with this client group in collaboration with the Irish Government through the HSE and also through the church funded support services. As a result of this significant experience we wanted to develop some further services to address some educational needs.

Many authorities have made significant moves to try and redress these issues and provide a process for Survivors to talk through experiences in therapy. TalkTherapyLondon sincerely hopes this has made a difference to the lives of the people involved, however also realises that some of these people were still left without the ability to Read and Write. The practice therefore developed an Adult Literacy Course for Individuals with Traumatic Experience.

Contact reception@talktherapylondon.co.uk for more details.