Kate Anthony

OTI Europe Ltd | Consultancy, Personal Training and Research for Online Therapeutic Services

   

Online Learning – throw in your own buffet and it’s just like being there!

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I recently co-wrote an article with John Wilson of OnlinEvents in TILT Magazine (see page 13) about the subtleties of attending online conferences and how, if you ignore the lack of a decent buffet, the learning experience can be just as rich and fulfilling as being actually at the conference centre.  A big part of this is the delegate chat room being fully functional to allow like-minded people to connect, network, have fun, and discuss the learning points as they are taught. I’ve been to countless online webinars and other events, and rarely come away disappointed. I’ve even remotely been at a stable in Chesterfield to learn and discuss Equine Therapy!Cover TinyTake

Our students attend many online events as part of their learning, and so I am really pleased to blog about the upcoming interview with Jane Fahy, who is not only a graduate of our Certified Cyber Facilitator Course but who is also now an OTI Tutor, having written our course about using blended technologies (i.e online and offline sources) to help those with a gambling addiction.

Having got bored with world of finance seven years ago, Jane retrained as a counsellor and has been specialising in working with problem gamblers ever since as Clinical Services Manager for GamblingTherapy.org, heading up the online support services. As her initial work with the organisation was as a face-to-face counsellor in their residential services, she has seen both sides of the treatment coin!

I put Jane in touch with John at OnlinEvents and now I can share details of the upcoming FREE webinar on the 17th April at 7.30pm UK time. So if you have an interest in learning more about online support and counselling – and how that works on the global stage – make sure you sign up for the event here!

And why not treat yourself and put on a complete buffet selection? That way you’ll have the full conference experience!

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Our new Resource Guides!

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DeeAnna and I took a bit of a leap this week after a brainstorming session!  As we’ve blogged over at Online Therapy Institute, we get a lot of emails from people worldwide who  haven’t got the time right now or the funds to take that all important CPD training, yet do have a burning question they need an answer to as they think about developing their online services.  Or perhaps the idea of offering a blended service of using their traditional skills and newer technological tools is just a faint idea, and they need to have the pertinent information within their grasp in order to make an informed decision about going down that road before committing to it.e learning

So we wanted to do something new to meet those needs!

Those of you who are aware of our work at the Institute know that it is our mission to ensure as many practitioners are armed with what we know about working online before embarking upon doing so with those often vulnerable clients.  One of my prouder moments was a graduate of mine who was able to say to me after investing in training that it was the best money she ever spent, as it told her that she was totally unsuited to the work and was so glad to have found that out beforehand.  This is something we trainers should pay more attention to, I feel – knowing that sometimes when a training doesn’t work out for an individual, it isn’t a failure on our part or theirs – simply that not all tools and methods are suited to everybody.  I remember during my core training being told I should sit with my wrist upwards and exposed as this indicated openness to the client.  I just felt I was offering up my wrists to be slit, and the congruent me quickly abandoned that nugget of expert advice…

So we asked ourselves “how can we reach more people unprepared for using their skills in a digital environment, but who don’t want a full credential or can’t find the time and money to invest in this field as part of their continuing professional development? We can’t give it away – we’re not a charity, a library or a government entity. But we do have a mission that has been burning within us for well over 15 years now to help counsellors and coaches keep skills up to date in light of technological development and the changes in society that the Internet has brought, and TILT Magazine can only go part of the way in doing that.”

(To be honest, the discussion wasn’t as neatly put as that, and I may be paraphrasing somewhat…)

Anyway, what we have come up with is consolidating the knowledge and expertise we offer through our introductory courses into neat little resource guides!  If you choose these, you’ll still be part of our community at our forum and Facebook groups for co-learning with our current and past students – and as an added bonus, if you decide that the time is right for you to take the course itself and be fully mentored by me or DeeAnna as you learn, you can simply upgrade! Woot!  All this for under 50 quid!

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Courses offered as both a credential and a resource guide: 

Certified Cyber Therapist

Certified Cyber Coach

Certified Aroma Coach

Certified Intuitive Practitioner

New Year, New OTI Tutor!

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It’s a total pleasure for us to be starting the new year with a new appointment to the OTI Tutor Team!

Jane Fahy graduated from the Online Therapy Institute in 2013 with her Certified Cyber Facilitator qualification, and since then has been hard at work with GamblingTherapy.org as their Clinical Services Manager, a global online service for those affected by problem gambling. She also undertakes face-to-face work with problem gamblers in a residential setting for the Gordon Moody Association, and has been working with this client group for six years.  She is a registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

At OTI, we are always looking to expand our suite of online training courses – this is why our course offerings encompass topics as diverse as cognitive behavioural coaching, handling emotions at work, domestic violence, working with essential oils, and success motivation, alongside our core topics of transferring therapeutic skills to an online practice environment as a coach or therapist.  Inviting Jane to join the tutor team, with her experience as both an online counsellor and a gambling addiction specialist was an obvious choice!

Jane and I look forward to officially launching the course in the coming week or two – it is ten hours of online study over eight modules, self-paced and designed to fit around other commitments, and will teach you how to blend offline and online technologies to reach those affected adversely by gambling and help them on the road to recovery!  Jane will be giving personal one-to-one tutoring to each student in our unique OTI way!

Modules include:Cover TinyTake

  • How do you know if someone has a gambling problem?
  • The theory of problem gambling
  • Working with problem gamblers
  • Working with friends and family
  • Online support for problem gamblers
  • Gaming and internet use for problem gamblers
  • Managing suicide and risk online
  • Using blended technology in a face to face and residential setting

Watch this space for updates, or email jane.fahy@hushmail.com to register your interest!

 

First Steps to Training!

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OK, the decorations are down, the fireworks are burnt out, and the new year resolutions are under way for the forseeable future at least. But have you thought of your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) needs as we charge into 2015? Do those needs include a feeling of how you really (really) ought to take your skills into the digital world that your clients inhabit but that you just haven’t been able to get around to yet? Would you like some guidance as to how easy this is even at an introductory level?

We’ve revisited our small courses about the world of Cyberspace and Online Therapy, and now offer them at a two-tier price level depending on just how much mentoring you desire from the experts in the field! We don’t pretend these are full trainings (see our wealth of that sort of thing here!), but they are there in case you want to know more about a specific technology, more about an area of Cyberspace you are unsure of, or even in case you want to dip your toes into our teaching methods and see how we roll!

These short courses can be taken with full lesson-by-lesson mentoring for just £150, or with no mentoring at all for just £75! You get full access to our resources and your CPD Certificate either way – we just want to be sure we meet all needs and all budgets!

And if you are ready to take your learning a step further at some point down the line, you can deduct the cost of these courses from our full CCF or PGCert trainings once completed if paying in full!

Start by checking out the list of small courses here, give Kate a shout if you have any questions at kate@onlinetherapyinstitute.com, and start 2015 by taking that first step into the world of online therapy!