Why is there no role-play on this course?

At a Glance

Role-play is deliberately not used on this course. This is an ethical decision — to reduce the risk of participants becoming overwhelmed or re-traumatised by enacting trauma scenarios. The course uses other methods instead — demonstrations, case discussions, breakout reflection — to teach the same skills more safely.

Why this matters

In most CPD training, role-play is the default way to practise skills. You take it in turns to play the counsellor and the client. It's an effective learning tool — when the material is safe to act out.

Trauma is not. When participants role-play trauma scenarios, two things can happen:

• The "client" may find themselves accessing their own trauma material — sometimes unexpectedly, often without the support a real therapy session would provide

• The "counsellor" may become overwhelmed by the responsibility of holding what feels like real trauma — and freeze, panic, or step out of role

Either way, the learning suffers, and the well-being of participants suffers more.

What the course uses instead

Plenty of effective methods that don't carry that risk:

• Tutor-led demonstrations — including an actor-led dissociation video so you can see what dissociation looks and feels like without anyone in the cohort having to embody it

• Polyvagal breathing demonstrations and other regulation techniques you can practise on yourself

• Case study discussions — bringing real-world scenarios into the room without enacting them

• Breakout group reflection — sharing how the material is landing for each of you, and what you'd do differently

• Reflective journalling — integration through writing rather than performance

What members say about this approach

The "safe space" language recurs throughout the reviews — and the no-role-play decision is one of the reasons that feels true to participants.

A note on what you can still expect to learn

Skipping role-play doesn't mean skipping skill development. You will leave the course able to:

• Recognise the signs of trauma and dissociation in your real clients

• Stabilise a client who is becoming overwhelmed

• Use breathwork and grounding techniques

• Apply multiple recovery models to your case work

• Reflect with confidence in supervision about trauma-related work

You learn it through observing, discussing, and applying — rather than through embodying. The skills land just as well, and the cohort stays well throughout.

Want to know more?

You can see full course details — including upcoming start dates and the course handbook — at the Trauma-Informed Practice Course page.

If you have a specific question we haven't answered here, email us at support@counsellingtutor.com — a real person will reply within 24 hours.