Atlow Mill Centre - What We Do

Leadership in Emotional Education

This unique one year part-time modular course carries with it a Post Graduate qualification validated by the University of Derby.

This course, which carries a unique qualification, has been designed for the professional development of those who work in various capacities in the area of human relations. It is particularly relevant to people who facilitate groups or teams, managers and all those who wish to improve the effectiveness of communication in the workplace. It will benefit all professions and will be highly beneficial to those working within the public and voluntary sectors with ‘challenging’ clientele.

Although we receive education about many aspects of life generally and about our bodies, the link between mind and emotions remains a mystery to many of us. This ignorance of our own emotional and psychological processes costs us dear in the area of relationships, authenticity and the development of human potential.

If individuals are to become confident and socially competent people who can operate powerfully in society, then it is to their advantage to find the balance between emotions and reason. This need for balance emphasises the need for developing “a skill that involves understanding our own, and other people’s emotions as well as knowing how our emotions are best expressed for the maximum enhancement of ethical, personal power”. This skill has been termed “Emotional Literacy” (Steiner 1997).

Who would be suitable for the course?

The course is suitable for anyone who wishes to learn more about the developing field of Emotional Literacy. It is particularly relevant for people wishing to facilitate groups/teams and those who wish to improve the effectiveness of communication in their workplace. It is suitable for those working with young and old. Emotional Education can be applied to any group regardless of ethnicity, age, gender, sexuality or class. Previous course participants include training consultants, stress managers, teachers, lecturers, social workers, youth and community workers, probation officers, business managers, life coaches, nurses and civil servants.

Atlow Mill Centre currently administers courses and projects aimed at the general public, professionals from many different organisations and institutions, disadvantaged young people, including children in care and individuals who wish to gain a deeper understanding of their emotional processes and become more effective in their lives.

The course aims to enable participants to build confidence, enhance communication skills and so make a worthwhile contribution to their communities / work places. It benefits learners and their communities / client groups through the development of the learner’s intellectual and emotional intelligence.

The course is completed in one year, October to July. The three modules involve workshops, seminars and tutorials, together with private and directed study. As the modules develop, students are expected to take increased responsibility for their own learning. The first two modules constitute 150 hours of study each, the third module includes the summer term and the summer school and constitutes 300 hours of study. Assessment is carried out in partnership with the University of Derby Liaison Tutor and requires production of evidence of the ability to integrate theory with practice with a written assignment required for each module.

Learners are supported in an experiential learning environment that requires the exploration of their own experience. They study humanistic psychology theories, Attachment theory, various theories of personality e.g. psychosynthesis, personal construct theory, current literature on Emotional Intelligence and other areas such as the anatomy of emotion. Experiential individual and group work exercises are undertaken.

Relationships and Communication (15 CAT points)
This extends the learners’ awareness of group process and dynamics, learning through analysis of current literature and practice and their own experience in groups. Learners are encouraged to build on shared experience and research in order to identify issues of e.g. transference, counter transference, and re-enactment. Elements of co-dependency and power in relationships will be explored through group interaction and observation.

Through group work students examine the belief systems that restrict and facilitate human potential and development. Issues concerning the use and abuse of power are addressed through the use of literature and group experience. Value systems and ethics will be considered. Students in employment are encouraged to explore strategies to enable them to influence the ethos, philosophy and practices within their workplace. Those seeking a career change can utilise and develop skills which will enable them to design and deliver training programmes in private and public organisations or contribute their new skills to another organisation.

The course carries 60 CAT (Cumulative Accreditation Transfer) points at master’s degree level, CAT points can be carried forward to other courses including the MA Ed programme at the University of Derby.

Students are expected to attend all nine residential weekends and a five day Summer School all of which are held at Atlow Mill Centre. Each weekend starts on Friday evening at 8pm. Saturday and Sunday hours are 9.30am to late afternoon. Self-catering accommodation is available at Atlow Mill Centre (£10 / night) or there are a number of nearby B&B’s. Tuition fees are £2,430 plus a £450 Registration Fee.

A first degree is normally required for entry onto the course, but applicants without such a qualification will be considered on production of evidence of appropriate prior learning / experience. Please phone Atlow Mill Centre to discuss this. Final selection will be made in partnership with the University of Derby Liaison Tutor.