Bespoke Members
Introduction
Creating inclusive therapeutic spaces is essential but inclusion alone does not remove complexity.
Counsellors working in NHS Talking Therapies are often required to hold relational values, neurodiversity, cultural difference, safeguarding responsibilities, organisational protocols and performance pressures all at once. When these come into tension, practitioners can experience uncertainty, anxiety and moral strain.
This one-day online workshop follows directly from the 2025, ‘Building Inclusive Therapeutic Spaces’ training day and offers a space to slow down and explore how ethical decisions are made in practice, particularly when there is no clear or comfortable answer.
The event will be equivalent to 5.1/2hrs of CPD.
Content
Grounded in Person-Centred Experiential Counselling for Depression (PCE-CfD), this workshop focuses on ethical judgement rather than procedural compliance.
Together we will explore:
• How inclusive, relational practice meets risk, power and policy
• Why ethical and moral tension is an inherent part of NHS Talking Therapies work
• Risk as a relational and ethical process, not just a protocol
• How anxiety (personal and organisational) shapes clinical decisions
• Staying present, relational and ethically grounded under pressure
• Using reflection, dialogue and supervision to support ethical practice
The day will include teaching input, case material, reflective exercises and facilitated group discussion.
Learning Objectives
• By the end of the workshop, participants will:
• Feel more confident naming and working with ethical and moral complexity
• Develop a relational, PCE-CfD-informed approach to ethical decision-making
• Understand how power, policy and fear influence practice
• Strengthen their capacity to work inclusively while holding risk
• Gain tools for reflective and supervisory dialogue about difficult decisions
Training Modalities
• Interactive and reflective
• Includes case examples and practical tools
• Q&A
Key References
BACP (2018). Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions
BACP (2023). Working ethically with risk – Module 3: Suicide and self harm (BACP Good Practice in Action CPD resource)
Reeves, A. (2015). Working with Risk in Counselling and Psychotherapy. Sage Publishing (book)
About the presenter
Dr Peter Pearce, DPsych Prof., PFHEA, Director of Clinical Training, Metanoia Institute
Senior counsellor, psychotherapist, researcher and trainer
Member of the NHS Talking Therapies National Expert Advisory Group
Lead author of the National Curriculum for Counselling for Depression (PCE-CfD)
Who should attend
• PCE-CfD practitioners working in NHS Talking Therapies
• Counsellors and psychotherapists working with complexity and risk
• Practitioners seeking CPD that acknowledges real-world constraints
No prior attendance at the previous workshop is required.