Professional Diploma in Psychosomatic Health & Mind-Body Approaches- (LIVE ONLINE)
60 CPD POINTS

Format: Live-online Lecturer Led Classes (Virtual-Classroom) via Zoom

Duration: 1 Evening Every Week 6pm to 9pm

Online Live Attendance: 30 Hours

Self-Directed Learning: 30 Hours

Total CPD Credits: 60 Credits

Assessment: Written Assignment +/- Viva Voca Assessment

Award: Accredited Professional Diploma

 

Course Accreditation:

- Professional Development Consortium

- Provider of Excellence

- CPD Standards Office

- Irish Counselling & Psychotherapy Association (ICPA)

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Course Description

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The Professional Diploma in Psychosomatic Health & Mind–Body Approaches is designed for practitioners who want to deepen their understanding of how psychological, emotional, and social factors influence the body, physical symptoms, and overall wellbeing. The course provides a comprehensive introduction to psychosomatic theory, stress physiology, and integrative models of health that view mind and body as inseparable rather than separate systems.

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You will explore how experiences such as chronic stress, trauma, unprocessed emotion, and relational difficulties can contribute to or exacerbate physical symptoms, including pain, fatigue, gastrointestinal issues, skin conditions, headaches, and medically unexplained symptoms. The course looks at the role of nervous system regulation, inflammation, and the stress response, alongside the impact of beliefs, personality patterns, attachment, and coping styles.

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A central focus of the programme is on practical, mind–body interventions that can be integrated into different professional settings. You will be introduced to approaches such as body-focused awareness, grounding and breathing practices, relaxation and regulation skills, psychoeducation, guided imagery, and gentle movement-based strategies. You will also consider how to have sensitive conversations about the mind–body connection without blaming or minimising a person’s physical experience.

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Teaching methods typically include lectures, experiential exercises, skills practice, case discussion, and reflective work. You will be encouraged to notice your own mind–body patterns and to develop a grounded, compassionate stance that models the kind of regulation and integration you are supporting in others.

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This diploma is suitable for counsellors, psychotherapists, psychologists, coaches, nurses, allied health professionals, complementary therapists, and those in wellbeing, education, and community roles. By the end of the course, you will have a richer understanding of psychosomatic health, a toolkit of practical mind–body strategies, and greater confidence in supporting clients who present with the complex interplay of physical symptoms, emotional distress, and life stressors.

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Learning Outcomes

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By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

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1. Explain core theories and concepts in psychosomatic health and mind–body approaches, including stress physiology, pain mechanisms, and the biopsychosocial model.

2. Critically compare biomedical, psychosomatic, and biopsychosocial frameworks, and justify the use of integrated mind–body approaches in clinical practice.

3. Conduct a systematic psychosomatic assessment, including history-taking, identification of red flags, and appropriate referral to medical or allied professionals.

4. Formulate client presentations using a biopsychosocial framework that links life events, cognitive–emotional processes, bodily sensations, behaviours, and contextual factors.

5. Apply a range of evidence-informed mind–body interventions (e.g., breathing retraining, relaxation, mindfulness, guided imagery, graded activity, pacing) adapted to individual client needs and capacities.

6. Incorporate basic somatic and body-focused techniques (e.g., grounding, orienting, body awareness, titration of sensation) in a safe, ethical, and trauma-informed manner.

7. Work therapeutically with the impact of attachment, trauma, and emotion regulation difficulties on bodily symptoms, including challenges such as health anxiety and alexithymia.

8. Communicate psychosomatic formulations and treatment rationales to clients and other professionals using clear, compassionate, non-stigmatising language.

9. Collaborate effectively within multidisciplinary and healthcare systems, demonstrating awareness of scope of practice, ethical considerations, and cultural perspectives on illness and the body.

10. Engage in ongoing reflective practice and implement a personal self-care and regulation plan to support resilience and sustainability when working with complex psychosomatic presentations.

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Course Outline

 

Week 1 – Foundations of Suicide Prevention

• Lecture: History, epidemiology, global and local data

• Workshop: Challenging myths and stigma

• Readings: WHO Live Life Strategy, SAMHSA Suicide Prevention Toolkit

• Assessment: Reflective journal on language and stigma (500 words)

 

Week 2 – The Psychology of Suicide

• Lecture: Theoretical frameworks (Interpesonal Theory, IMV Model, Psychache)

• Case study: Analyzing pathways from ideation to action

• Workshop: Understanding lived experience narratives

• Assessment: Short essay (1000 words) applying theory to case

 

Week 3 – Risk and Protective Factors

• Lecture: Epidemiological risk profiling

• Workshop: Creating biopsychosocial formulations

• Assessment: Risk formulation exercise (graded practical)

 

Week 4 – Assessment and Crisis Recognition

• Lecture: Tools and structured professional judgment

• Practical Workshop: Conducting simulated suicide assessments

• Guest Speaker: Clinical psychologist or crisis service professional

• Assessment: Recorded role-play (pass/fail competency)

 

Week 5 – Intervention & Safety Planning

• Lecture: Overview of intervention models

• Workshop: Safety plan development in triads

• Reading: Stanley & Brown (2012) Safety Planning Intervention

• Assessment: Safety plan submission & rationale (750 words)

 

Week 6 – Working with Special Populations

• Lecture: Culturally safe and inclusive approaches

• Panel Discussion: Voices from diverse communities

• Assessment: Group presentation – targeted prevention strategy

 

Week 7 – Ethics, Law, and Professional Practice

• Lecture: Legal duties, documentation, and ethical dilemmas

• Workshop: Scenario-based decision making

• Assessment: Case-based legal/ethical analysis (1000 words)

 

Week 8 – Postvention and Recovery

• Lecture: Bereavement care, trauma responses, organizational postvention

• Workshop: Designing a postvention protocol

• Assessment: Draft organizational postvention plan (graded)

 

Week 9 – Community & Systems Prevention

• Lecture: Population-level approaches, national strategies

• Workshop: Policy analysis and prevention campaign design

• Assessment: Capstone project proposal

 

Week 10 – Integration, Reflection & Capstone

• Lecture: Integration of learning and professional identity

• Workshop: Supervision, resilience, and self-care strategies

• Assessment​