Thanks to Azalia for this idea - a thread to be stickied to the top here with links to some of the most relevant discussions on correspondence courses.
Please - if you have attended any yourself, your comments and suggestions here about them would be very much appreciated to get the ball rolling!
I've not done any myself so can't comment I'm afraid.. but shall trawl the forums in a week or so and put together a good list of links in place for you..
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Justine Justicia Health & Complementary Therapies
The largest fences we need to climb are those we've built within our minds
Practitioner of EFT, Advanced Freeway CER, NO HANDS Massage
Since this topic comes up so many times, I thought it might be a good idea to have the info all in one place!
Who chooses distance learning?
Reasons for wanting to do a distance-learning course can vary- some of us may have families to look after and can’t make a regular commitment, some of us may be working around a ‘budget’, or some may just want to study a course for enjoyment. There’s also those who are already qualified practitioners, but wish to further their studies (continuous professional development, or CPD.)
What are the advantages of distance learning?
*less expense
* flexible study (can start, pause and finish whenever you like)
* no pressure or time limits
* you can learn about something without having to leave home and travel.
What are the disadvantages of distance learning?
*it can be very difficult to keep up motivation if studying alone
*you may end up wasting my money if you don't complete the course
*I won't gain a qualification if I don't complete
*you won't have the opportunity to meet anyone new
*you may not have as much confidence in your techniques and abilities if you don't have experience of working with/on other people
* the qualification or accreditation may not be nationally recognised.
What qualifications and accreditation do correspondence courses offer?
This really depends on what course you enrol on, but generally correspondence colleges seem to offer two types: a diploma or certificate (of completion). Certificates are usually offered for courses in the mantic arts -astrology, palmistry, psychometry etc or things like dream analysis, or shamanic healing, ‘creating a therapeutic environment’ or angelic guidance. Diplomas are offered for a wide range of courses from aromatherapy and Chinese medicine to counselling and beauty therapy. On successful completion you are entitled to use the name of the college or awarding body followed by the subject- for e.g. Azalia Aotearoa S.A.C dip. (Aromatherapy) However, impressive this might sound, most correspondence courses are not nationally recognised and don’t have any value with the exception of some counselling courses which are accredited by a national awarding body.
What about practical courses?
If your chosen course is a practical therapy, such as massage, aromatherapy, reflexology,yoga or even manicure, facials etc, then there is usually one or two days where you will visit a national location to either do some practical training or just to be assessed. You will need to be careful when checking whether this is for training or just assessment of your practical skills.
What media?
You can choose an online course or paper based with most colleges.
What do I get for my money?
This depends on the college you have enrolled with, and subject you have chosen, as this will determine the length of the course.
How am I assessed?
This will also vary from college to college, but most colleges issue a question paper with each lesson and then a final exam, testing you on all topics you’ve covered so far.
OK, so there are a few facts, but I’d like to share my experiences of correspondence courses….
Last year I read through all the information on correspondence courses and decided that it wouldn’t suit me to take a course in something practical such as aromatherapy or reflexology because firstly I think that these are practical therapies, therefore training should be “hands on”. I personally think this is vitally important- not just for ensuring that you are competent in the practical skills of the subject, but also to provide the student with ample opportunity to work on different bodies, and gain confidence in all aspects of client care- working with and on them.
So, having decided against a course in a particular therapy, I settled for ‘Energy Anatomy’ under Stonebridge Associated Colleges. This covered the subject of the subtle energy systems surrounding the physical human body. The course was distributed between 7 lessons and I chose the paper- based option as I wasn’t in a particular rush to receive each lesson, and I would be less likely to lose any of the course material. My first lesson arrived complete with free CD as a gift and a guidebook which outlined how to make the best use of the course. It briefly explained the different learning styles and reminded me that if any queries about the course arose, then I could contact my personal tutor (picture and description included!) on the following number.
My findings
Presentation: Each ‘lesson’ consists of an A4 booklet. I have to say that I wasn’t always particularly impressed with the layout, although it was usually logical, and generally the language used was accessible, although there was some repetition and grammatical errors! Assessment: My major disappointment in the course had to be the assessment papers that came with each lesson. The questions are often phrased badly and have a habit of not asking what they really mean, which is very confusing for the student and tends to make you think they want a very in-depth answer and then you have to do even more study to find the answers to what you think they’re asking. Tutor Support: My personal tutor, whom I’ve contacted on two occasions via phone was reasonably helpful, and phrased the question in a different way which made it easier to see what they actually wanted you to say. Once I got the idea that the questions that were asked in each assignment were intended to be basic, I just scoured the booklet until I found the relevant bit, made sure I understood the concept, and then re-wrote the answer. This has proved tedious and it’s totally unnecessary- the questions should be written properly in the first place. Conclusion: Overall I’m glad that I did the course, but really I could have just as easily learnt as much by simply browsing through books on the subject. Ironically, most of my learning has come from mistakenly thinking ‘Oh heck. How on earth do they want me to answer that? Do I get a PhD at the end of this???!’ and then studying really in-depth reading material until I had a very, very comprehensive and detailed answer. So I suppose in that way the badly written questions have turned me into a very learned student!
My advice from my experience
I would strongly advise you to think twice before deciding to study a “hands on therapy” as correspondence learning for the reasons I stated at the top of this post. I think that often the course material is fairly simplistic and the questions phrased rather badly which I think would be VERY disheartening if you had enrolled in something such as counselling which requires confident and knowledgeable answers (this might prove difficult if you read the question, read through the booklet about 6 times over and think- I still can’t find the answer!!!) I think also, in reality the qualification doesn’t always account for very much as it is unlikely to be nationally recognised, although check with your college as some courses, mainly IT and counselling, are accredited by the relevant recognised bodies.
The deciding factor
If you’re asking ‘are correspondence course for me?’ I would say ‘it depends why you want to do it’. If you want to study a practical hands on therapy course, I’d say forget it. (Would you trust a brain surgeon who did their training with a distance learning course?!!) If you’re already a Practioner and want something under your belt for CPD, such as a ‘holistic health consultant’ diploma, then I’d say ‘consider it’. If you’re doing a course such as astrology for personal enjoyment, I’d say ‘think about it, and probably go for it!’
So, there you go, I’ve tried to put in the facts as well as my opinions and experiences, so I hope you’ve found it helpful! I’d love to hear other people’s experiences of distance learning, so please do share….over to you
The two that I have done where with BSY - they where ontime and it ran smoothly - I would use them again. The only problem I had was one of the lessons not making gramatical sence.
I have also taken a life coaching course - which I regret as, however much I asked the second modual never got sent, and the woman who ran this course tried to make money from my own skills. All very unprofessional - so I have discontinued the course - without refund - my choice.
Its was interesting to see the different levels of professionalism towards pupils.
I am currently doing an aromatherapy correspondence course with Stonebridge and am almost half way through 24 lessons. There is a lot of A&P included in this course but I am finding it easy to follow and enjoy doing each assignment, although as someone mentioned previously, sometimes the questions aren't phrased in a clear way and you aren't sure what they are actually asking.
I agree with others with regards to studying practical hands-on subjects via correspondence courses. Apart from anything, I feel it would help you to feel more confident of your abilities if you were attending a class. Stonebridge do offer practical training where necessary at extra cost. I would definitely do more courses with them as I find the tutur support very good and they are always so encouraging.
As a lecturer (A&P and Reflexology) this is a topic that I feel quite strongly about. It's good to see that students also have similar concerns and cautions.
There are a couple of points that students really need to be aware of if they are intending to study a correspondance course:
1. Check out the awarding accreditation properly - for example, the college providing the course may well tell you that the course is complete and requires no further study. Depending on what you are studying, this may be true (or may not be). If it is a therapy you intend to use professionally, ensure your insurance company and / or professional body will revognise a correspondance course.
E.G. A correspondance course in Reflexology will give you a Cert / Dip in Reflexology.
2. Most correspondance courses DO NOT include practical or case study work, and therefore are of little use in hands on therapies. The Irish Reflexology Institute, and to my knowledge the AoR also, certainly WILL NOT accept a correspondance course without a certain amount of "bridge learning" being done (a few weekend study courses and submission of 60 minimum case studies). Therefore, what appealed to most students originally (reduced cost of training) are of little use as the cost to bridge the learning gap and make the qualification sufficient means you may as well have done a properly accredited and recognised course in the first place!
3. Correspondance courses, however, can have their good points. I have recently completed a correspondance course in the Australian Bush Flower Essences. I am already a Registered Bach Flower Practitioner, so already have the working method and insight into this aspect of vibrational medicine. The correspondance courses with ABFE enabled me to add a new set of flower essences into my practice with sufficient knowledge of them and confidence to start using them with clients. My insurance company had no problem with this correspondance course, as they considered it an add-on to an existing insurable therapy.
So, if you want to use a correspondance course for general knowledge, or to add on a slightly different slant to a therapy you already know, have insurance for and are confident using.....WHY NOT?
If, however, this is your first therapy to study for professional practice...it's probably, not the best way to do it!
I have been asked by azalia to place my opinions on correspondence courses from another thread on here so that others may gain a valuable insight.
I have done three courses with the British School of Yoga and this is my observation:
I found the courses to be average, they were good for the theory aspect but as it was a home study course and not in a class room, then there was no class interaction and you could not get any opinions and feed back from the tutor to see if you were doing it correctly (although BSY has a good tutor on the end of the phone line, they can not see you practically).
If you were deciding on doing a BSY course then I would check to see if there are similar courses locally as these will offer more practical training in a class room (some of the BSY courses do offer a 2 day practical course either in Bath or Devon for indemnity insurance)
If your chosen subject does not require any practical work, then doing a BSY course would be good, but then I would check and see if the BSY qualification is recognised in your chosen field, and more importantly whether insurance companies recognise it.
I have enjoyed all the courses I have done with BSY, but if I could find a course offered locally, and then I would opt for that, purely for the practical side of things.
So to sum up, if you only want the theory or just a passing interest or a grounding knowledge in a particular subject then by all means do a BSY course, but if you need the practical to go with it then you are better off attending a local college or work shop.
Here's some more info about Correspondance courses:
Some colleges that offer online courses (as opposed to paper based) have a student forum, where students are able to register and log on to the message boards and 'talk' to other people doing the same course. I haven't checked out all the colleges, but I know that Stonebridge (E-Learn UK), Kevala and BSY have this feature.
PS- If you're a paper based student, but would rather study online and take advantage of this feature, then you should be able to so this fairly easily.
I recently had a meeting with a potential business partner who has a diploma in psychotherapy from the BSY. I was shocked to find that he has a mental disorder, and my life partner who attended with me came to the same conclusion. I then made enquiries and found that it's only a Mickey-Mouse diploma. However, this guy is on the loose treating vulnerable people, which I find very worrying.
All BSY courses have been accredited by O.D.L.Q.C (Open and Distant Learning Quality Council), and the A.B.C.C (Association of British Correspondence Colleges)
BSY do not as far as I am aware check a candidate’s background and mental stability before allowing them on the course, some of the courses that are offered by BSY such as Psychotherapy should IMO request a background check in to the candidates stability and suitability for the course.
I do not know anything about governing bodies for Psychotherapists but these are the ones that are accredited/affiliated to the BSY
The diploma is awarded by the A.S.C (Associated Stress Consultants)which used to be a seperate school from the BSY but is now part of the BSY and successful candidates are eligible to register with the C.C.C (Counselling Code of Conduct) http://www.counselling.ltd.uk/
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
Thanks for all the interesting comments about distance learning courses.
Some home study organisations have a very trite and simplistic one word answers to questions which I think insults the intelligence of the student. Written assignments at the end of a period of study are more challenging and rewarding to the student.
Counselling courses which are studied by distance learning need interaction between students or some practical work.
I am studying with SNHS school of natural health sciences you can contact other members and ask them how they got on with on the course as well before trying it & the members list shows the members companies and what they have done with their qualifications...They have days where you can go & study with them long distance for me...But I am getting practical training alongside it. They have a lot of offers on but it depends on what you want to do.
I have done a lot of hands on previously in a VTEC but had to leave last week due to illness.
The SNHS course you are better off if you are doing the courses have had prior training due to some of the indepth content in A&P you can do self study or self tutoring....
the one thing is answers to questions have to be 75 words and no more.
hope it helps somewhat.
good luck on your quest it's great to hear of people who want to study & I have great respect and admiration for it!
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 Michelle,
I have just seen this. The guy did not know of his mental illness and regularly got entrusted with treating very vulnerable women for "hysteria". Neither myself nor my partner felt safe to discuss this with him further. Someone at his course should have talked to his doctor and agreed at least on the appropriate treatment for him or declined him his certificate. Sadly, he has one of the more serious mental illnesses.
I have been enrolled onto LOTS of distance learning courses, as part of my role within the health industry, to assess their value, and I have to say I have rarely been satisfied.
Hands on therapies should never be done distance learning, as they cannot give you the practical skills that you NEED.
There are also lots of counselling type courses and their content is so sketchy that its worthless.
Im not saying that all distance learning is useless, just look at the Open University, they are classed as one of the leading universities in the UK, and are well recommended.
But then, when you receive a booklet with 8 pages, and that is classed as one lesson, and you only have 8 of these, and at the end of it you are qualified in counselling or psychotherapy, or nutrition, then you have to think.."come on this has to be a scam!"
Unfortunately there are lots of therapists out there with paper qualifications, and in my opinion they undermine those therapists that have been to college/training to get their qualifications.
by the way, just re-reading my last post it may look at though im saying that OU gives you a booklet with 8 pages, believe me they dont! If you book onto an OU course be prepared for some gruelling but extremely worthwhile training!
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