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Working Ethically with Risk (Facilitator: Katherine Caffrey)

Date:

Saturday 25th April 2026 (9:30am - 3pm)

Venue:

Willows Counselling & Training, 11 Prospect Place, Swindon SN1 3LQ

Delivery format:

In person

Course fees:

From £45

Overview

Risk is a difficult and uncomfortable topic.

When we are working with risk, we may have fears around getting things wrong or making things worse. We may struggle with the impact on our own mental health of managing clients with levels of self-harm or suicidal ideation. We may ourselves have experienced loss by suicide or our own risk in this area.

This training is designed to support counsellors and therapists in this difficult work, through presentation, discussion and some experiential work that should inform your practice, whether you are new to the profession or are an experienced practitioner, or if you encounter risk in other types of work.

The day will include the opportunity to:

  • Explore our own beliefs around suicide and self-harm
  • Examine risk assessment – the importance of asking the right questions in the right way
  • Discuss breaking confidentiality and how to be more confident in when and how
  • Review Willows’ risk protocols and how to use them for best practice
  • Look at the benefits and potential pitfalls of safety planning
  • Emphasise self-care of the therapist when working with risk

 

About the speaker:

Katherine Caffrey is an experienced counsellor and clinical supervisor with special interests in children and young people, neurodivergence and working with risk. She has worked in a range of settings and now has a busy private practice where she supervises a number of therapists and supports clients with a range of presentations often including suicidal ideation and self-harm. She provides training for well-being, working with suicide and risk, and specialised training for counsellors who want to work with children.

Katherine has worked with the BACP to provide risk CPD for several years and has also recently worked to update some of the Good Practice in Action resources. She has written a module for the Open University about working with risk in therapy and is currently in the process of co-authoring a book in the Relational Ethics series on relational ethics in education settings.

Practicalities:

Breaks - There will be two short refreshment breaks and a lunch break. Free tea & coffee will be available on site, and there are a number of shops and cafes locally that delegates may wish to use during lunch.

Parking - Limited free parking is available on site on a first come first served basis. There are a number of pay as you go car parks locally. The closest is on 51 Prospect Place, SN1 3LJ, which is just 1 minute walk away.

Train/Bus - Willows Training is accessible by local bus routes. The main Swindon bus and rail stations are approx 20 minutes walk away.

Who is this workshop suitable for?

This workshop has been designed as a source of Continued Professional Development (CPD) for Counsellors, Psychotherapists, other mental health professionals, and students undertaking counsellor/psychotherapy training. It may also be helpful for anyone working in a caring, helping or pastoral profession, including Teachers, Teaching Assistants, Youth Workers and Social Workers.

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As a qualified counsellor the trauma course is giving me the opportunity to hone my trauma counselling skills…. I have gained knowledge, experience, and valuable insights into Herman's 3 stage model. With great support and guidance from the tutors my overall confidence and ways of working with trauma have expanded 3-fold.

Level 6 Student

Training on Level 2 and 3 has been absolutely fantastic. I started level 2 unsure if I would continue and each level has totally exceeded my expectations. The course is delivered in a sensitive, empathetic way and has felt a really safe space to explore and challenge.

Level 3 Student

I just want to endorse how much (although being apprehensive) I felt at ease due to my counsellor's welcome and understanding nature.

Anon - Former Willows Client

Willows is a special place, every tutor is fully committed to the growth, success and personal development of each and every student. We all have a common goal: to train competent, ethical and resilient counsellors. This requires more than just staff support, it requires tutors to teach from their hearts, to bring their own experience, values and sometimes vulnerabilities into the training room to offer students a truly honest experience. Consequently, students gain a richness of learning from this which is why I teach at Willows; we really care about what we do and the impact it has.

Willows Tutor

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