“A great opportunity to learn from gifted and experienced practitioners.

They embody the very principles that they seek to teach.” Bill​​​

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The Heart Wood Certificate Level Training Course is an in-person residential course, being offered as a modular six-weekend experience in 2026 and 2027, totalling 100 hours of CPD.

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The course looks at working with groups and one-to-one in nature, and the many ways of being, philosophy, ethics and structures necessary for practitioners wanting to work outside the counselling room.  
 

With a focus on working in a way which does not assume psychological contact and with clients who struggle to make meaningful connections with self, other and the shared reality. This may be as a result of: 

• Trauma/PTSD including developmental trauma and Dissociative Process

• Fragile Process

• Brain injury

• Autism

• Severe depression and anxiety

 

​​“The Heart Wood Training Certificate trusts in our innate

ability to learn & grow through experiencing” Pauline

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​The 100 hours of training includes a minimum of five days of input in ‘Contact’ work by including the Extended Certificate in Pre-Therapy (contact reflections) certified by the Pre-Therapy International Network. 

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This course is not a qualification as such, but a rich experiential training opportunity, in line with person-centred training values, which recognises practitioners as responsible for their own learning. ​​More information can be downloaded here.​

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"This group has started me on my nature based and pre-therapy journeys.

I feel confident now to work with individuals one-on-one in nature,

and much more prepared to start working with woodland groups." Holly

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Heart Wood have been running person-centred, contact-orientated, nature-based groups since 2018 with men who experience complex and enduring poor mental health.  Rab and Chip have separately been offering one-to-one nature-based therapy for over 15 years. They started running in-person CPD training weekends in 2021 and ran our first Certificate Level Training CPD Course in 2024.​

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