Who uses PICT?

The NHS; Social Services; Relate; MIND and private counselling agencies are among the many services that utilise Parks Inner Child Therapy training for their workers. Many self-employed counsellors and therapists working in private practice have taken the PICT Trauma & Abuse Specialist Skills Diploma training as an addition to their portfolio of therapy skills.

Parks Inner Child Therapy Training Recognition

The PICT Trauma & Abuse Specialist Skills Diploma Training course is recognised as an Advanced Specialist training course by the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society.

Why PICT?

The advantages of using this powerful and versatile therapy model are shorter waiting lists, a chance to reduce the ‘revolving door’ syndrome with clients and to be able to offer a service that is gentle (without taking clients through details of traumatic experiences).

The 20-day training course offers unique tools and skills to enable therapists to work rapidly, efficiently, professionally and gently. The PICT Trauma & Abuse Specialist Skills Training manual contains handouts for clients and has every exercise scripted for ease of use.

PICT students gain knowledge and techniques to deal with the damaging results of childhood abuse, as well as a wide range of other emotional problems.

What to Expect from the PICT Trauma & Abuse Specialist Skills Training

Throughout the course, participants can expect to laugh, cry, learn and develop. The training format follows “explanation, demonstration and practice”. Participants will leave the course with a full therapeutic ‘tool kit’ and the confidence to use it comfortably and effectively with childhood abuse, emotional problems and any issue found to be connected with the belief system.

PICT is an experiential course; there is no role-play utilised. Students will be expected to use their own personal experiences as material in all of the exercises. N.B. ‘personal experiences’ can refer to current problem behaviours and past negative experiences – experience of childhood abuse and/or trauma is not a mandatory requirement for attending this course.

Individual students may be given specific tasks or assignments during the course should the trainer feel it would be of benefit in their development towards becoming a PICT Practitioner.

Who Can Apply?

Prospective students will be fully qualified counsellors, therapists, coaches or professional practitioners with a minimum of one year of practical experience since their qualification. Copies of relevant qualifications and current indemnity insurance must be submitted with the application form.

What are the Requirements?

A PICT Practitioner certification involves more than a person’s ability to learn and use techniques. The personal qualities each therapist needs to fully engage with clients and make the best of the PICT method are also assessed. Those personal qualities are:

• flexibility and adaptability
• self awareness
• a willingness to embrace change
• and of course, a high level of self-respect and integrity.

A PICT therapist needs to be secure and comfortable with his or her own material so that he or she can readily step into the often fearful and traumatic world of their client’s inner child. From this position they are more likely to enhance the quality of the work done. The course format is based on experiential learning – providing each student with a thorough ‘client’ experience to fully understand the client’s perspective, as well as clearing the students’ personal material that could be a possible restriction when facilitating clients.

Who are the Trainers?

PICT Trainers teach the course locally to their home and can also present the course at alternative venues if required, such as for specific organisations – please contact us for further information.

N.B. All training is provided through Penny Parks Training Ltd.

PICT Training - Why has it taken so long to move it to an online format?

There has been an increasing trend for training courses to be delivered online in recent years, and particularly so since Covid. At PPT we have given a great deal of thought to moving the PICT course to an online model, and even invested in professional studio cameras, equipment and technology required to enable us to present and manage courses online as effectively as possible. However, there have been many other considerations to take into account, such as:

1. The PICT course is an advanced specialist skills course - and it is challenging. It is not just a “tick box” training exercise.
2. There is NO role play used within the course – it is a fully immersive experiential course using your own material. This in turn requires:
1. A fully supportive environment.
2. A deep level of trust between students as well as with the trainer.
3. Open interaction between students – even in break times.
4. A full view of all participants in order to read and interpret body language.
5. 100% focus and concentration.

We believe that with the new hybrid format, only requiring in-person attendance for the first and final modules only, with the remaining modules taught online, we are able to maintain the integrity of the course.