All about correspondence courses

[sportstherapy]

I came across a booklet from the School of Natural Health Sciences today, and on closer look, saw that it said it was in association with Trinity College, part of the Educational Division of the UIC, Delaware, USA. It said the Principal was Dr A Peel-Bayley, and Director of Course Studies was Julia Vaughan Griffiths.

I have checked to see what this Trinity College was, and it appears to be a 'degree mill', where you can BUY a degree for £125.00
I googled Dr A Peel-Bayley, and came across some very interesting articles, (i will only post a couple but there are many if you google!)

SNHS are mentioned in this one, http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/ar...&in_page_id=19

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2003...ighereducation

Looking at the SNHS website, they are still operating from the same addresses as in the article, and the address is the very same one that is advertised on the Trinity College website!!!

Now I know many people on here have done SNHS courses, and I am not saying that they are in any way involved in any wrongdoing, however, looking at the standard of their 'course materials', and looking at their origins, I wouldnt waste any of my hard earned money 'training' with them!

Caveat emptor "Let the buyer beware"

[stroller]

HI
All this talk of homestudy courses is confusing to some one who is considering taking one. I did a couple with snhs, i found them to be ok, then read about them on here and felt maybe they werent due to a lot of negative posts. But then i checked other courses in the same subjects and found i had nothing to feel bad about as they are ok, i would say home study is fine as long as you are true to yourself about what your homestudy qualification allows you to do and what you can actually do.

[angelfriend]

Hi
I agree with stroller. I have taken and am still taking SNHS courses. They are absolutely fine. I had taken other courses with other establishments first and have my nirsing qualification so I had a good grounding to start with but I have had no problems with my SNHS courses. I have spoken on the phone to the staff there on several occasions and they have been extremely helpful. At the end of the day, there are always going to be some negative opinions on any courses, it's all a matter of personal choice.

[sportstherapy]

My point is, some of these companies offer training to 'practitioner' level, when the quality of training is blatantly nowhere near.

Take aromatherapy as an example. If you did this course, with the aim to be a practitioner, you would not be able to join any of the main CAM or aromatherapy professional associations. In my opinion you shouldnt practice if you 'solely' had this qualification.

I am a therapist and an educator, and of course I am fully supportive of anyone who wants to learn new skills or update old ones.

I have come across many many 'therapists' that have done home study courses and then gone out into practice (mainly in 'hands on' or 'talking' therapies, such as massage or counselling), with absolutely no practical, inclass or face to face training, and in my opinion, this shouldnt be allowed to happen.

[KinFed]

It is always worth checking if these courses meet the National Occupational Standards of the therapy you are interested in studying.

Having looked at the kinesiology syllabus from SNHS it certainly does not meet the Kinesiology National Occupational Standards.

As more of the National Occupational Standards are completed they will start to form part of the requirements for membership of any regulatory body.

[sportstherapy]

I agree with Kinfed, having worked on some of the new NOS in my industry, it is clear that standards are improving all the time, insurance companies are becoming more wary of insuring some of the courses that dont meet the standards, and membership bodies are not allowing people from these courses to join.

I am not saying that there isnt a place for these type of courses, they allow therapists to learn about new therapies, at a fraction (usually) of the price of a full course, they help to update skills (although having recently looked at one 'course', the information was vastly outdated), and some of them can give good theoretical knowledge, however, most of the main distance learning schools dont give enough training for them to claim it is to 'practitioner level'.

[Likelly]

Hi there, I have done a lot of hands on training as a holistic therapist over the last two years, I studied with Stonebridge also as I found they had a more detailed theory course, the practical experience definitely did help, but sometimes I think in some courses like this they tend to concentrate on showing you the practical movements which is important but dont go into enough of the theory, so like you say there are pros and cons for both. I am now looking to expand my knowledge so thougt I would ask if anyone knows of any good places offering home study advanced massages or oriental massages / facial (ps I already have shiatsu so anything else) thanks

[hesky]

Originally Posted by Hunnie

Hi Suzanne
I dont want to cause offense to anyone but having worked in the mental health field for a number of years I would like to point out that being diagnosed as having a mental illness / disorder does not necessarily mean that someone could not / should not be able to work as a psychotherapist / clinician of any kind. It really depends on what type of illness the person has been diagnosed with, what kind of treatment they have undergone and how they manage their illness.
There are many people working in the mental health field who came into the field as a result of direct contact with services and their unique experience is welcomed by many organisations.
I agree that background checks should be made on all people working as a clinician to ensure that any illnesses are well managed / in the past and that they are not using their job as therapy for themselves - this might not be the case with correspondance courses. I know that psychotherapists normally have to undergo a great deal of self analysis as part of the course (including group therapy, psychotherapy for their own issues and clinical supervision) - again I dont know if this is the case with a correspondance course.
Obviously I dont know what the guy you met was like but I think it is very brave and honest of him to be open with you - most people arent so open for fear of being judged.
Michelle

Hi, I am new to this forum, I also work in the field of mental health and could not agree with your comments more, I am passionate about the inclusion of our more vulnerable in society, and putting a label on people is simply not acceptable. There are many people working in various professions that have or had previously mental health issues, these could include post natal depression,breakdowns,stress related issues, Bipolar and many more. It is about time the stigma was removed and the ignorance in general removed and society educated. May I also say that life experience of a person dealing with these issues
will have a greater understanding and empathy with clients they may be working with.
Hesky.