Alexander Duffield

Starting in September 2024:

Professional & Personal Development Groups for qualified counsellors and talking therapists of all modalities.

These will take place on two Wednesdays in the month 10am to 12noon at a venue in central Hove or in a beautiful sheltered outdoor location in Stanmer park, accessible by bus, bike, train and car.

I am a counsellor with a MSc in psychodynamic counselling from Birkbeck College, University of London with over 15 years post-qualification experience in organisations and in private practice. 

I qualified with a diploma in ‘Using the Group as the Medium for Supervision’ from Institute of Group Analysis in 2020 and have been supervising groups of counsellors since 2018.

I have been running personal development groups on a diploma course in psychodynamic counselling since 2022.

I was an associate lecturer on the MSc in psychodynamic counselling & psychotherapy at Birkbeck for 2 years (2018/19 & 2020/21) and ran case discussion groups and an experiential group. 

I was a tutor and supervisor on a diploma course in psychodynamic counselling at the Counselling Centre between 2015 and 2020. 

I have experience and skills in developing and supporting groups, in particular, peer support and volunteer run groups in a volunteer centre and a local Mind association. 

I was trained in action learning when I was working at a volunteer centre (2011-2013). I ran a set over 6 months for volunteer managers. I was impressed by what the participants were able to achieve as well as how much all the members enjoyed and valued the group support. One went on to be promoted to replicate the learning from the project she delivered. Another was commended by her board of trustees.

In 2014 I attended a 3 day training in action learning facilitation and went on to become accredited with the Institute of Leadership & Management.

More information:

There is a great 2min video about action learning at:

https://www.actionlearningcentre.com/about-action-learning

The organisation I trained with has a website:

https://www.actionlearningassociates.co.uk/action-learning/

Action learning is widely used in the NHS and in higher education:

https://library.hee.nhs.uk/knowledge-mobilisation/knowledge-mobilisation-toolkit/action-learning-sets

https://graduates.nhs.uk/human-resources/action-learning-sets/

I run personal & professional development groups for qualified counsellors and psychotherapists of all modalities. These are peer coaching groups using 'action learning'. 

What is action learning?

- Action learning provide a straightforward and effective way to structure peer support. It enables the exploration of a difficulty which cannot be solved by simply providing information. It is a way of getting peer support and challenge to think through a problem and develop strategies for tackling it.

- Action learning can also be used to explore clinical dilemmas and as a way of structuring peer supervision.

- Imagine a number of individual explorers in different locations who have limited time to communicate by radio as a group. To make sure this time is used as effectively as possible they take it in turns to focus on one person’s situation at a time and nominate someone to act as an operator to coordinate the call.

How is it structured?

- Each ‘set’ (as the group is known) usually has 5-8 members and each member presents every 8-10 weeks. This gives them time to implement the action learning points they set for themselves.

- Each presentation and exploration is allocated a set amount of time e.g. 45 minutes.

- Members take it in turns and have equal time to present.

What happens in an action learning set?

- The ‘presenter’ talks through a difficulty, struggle or challenge they face. 

- The remaining ‘supporters’ help the presenter to explore the problem. 

- A coordinator helps make sure the presenter gets the type of support they are seeking and manages the time. 

- The presenter identifies ‘action learning points' to guide their next steps. 

- Everyone shares their key learning from the presentation and something they have appreciated. The presenter goes last. 

- There are periodic ‘process reviews’ when the group thinks together about what is going well, or not going so well, in terms of group functioning and structure.

When and where will the groups take place?

- Two Wednesdays of the month (e.g. second and fourth Wednesday of the month).

- 10am to 12noon.

- Central Hove near the town hall and station, or

-In a beautiful sheltered outdoor location in Stanmer park, accessible by bus, bike, train and car.

How much will it cost?

- £20 - £30 per person per session depending on the size of the group.

What are the next steps for anyone interested?

- There will be an introductory meetings about the history and structure of action learning and an opportunity to meet other potential set members.

- Attendees will then have the option of attending a facilitated trial set in which everyone will present on what they want to get from the group and then review the experience.

- Those who want to continue can meet for up to 12 months. Participants may then decide to end or start their own set(s).

- To express an interest please email me. Please give some information about why you are interested and when you qualify or qualified. 

My experience of action learning and peer support:

I was a project manager for a peer support service for a Mind association (2009-2011).

I was trained in action learning when I was working at a volunteer centre (2011-2013). I ran a set over 6 months for volunteer managers. I was impressed by what the participants were able to achieve as well as how much all the members enjoyed and valued the group support. One went on to be promoted to replicate the learning from the project she delivered. Another was commended by her board of trustees.

In 2014 I attended a 3 day training in action learning facilitation and went on to become accredited with the Institute of Leadership & Management.

I am a member of the International Foundation for Action Learning (https://ifal.org.uk/)

I have a diploma in ‘Using the Group as the Medium for Supervision’ from the Institute of Group Analysis and currently run a number of groups.

I am planning to set up one or more supervision groups for up to 4 qualified counsellors which will meet twice a month in a sheltered natural setting with a fire pit in beautiful woodland. Toilets are available close by and the site is accessible from Brighton by bus, train, bike and car. The times of the groups will be decided later in 2024. In the meantime, expressions of interest are welcome. 

The cost will be:

£50 per person for groups of 3 or 

£37.50 per person for groups of 4.  

I am a counsellor and supervisor with a MSc in Psychodynamic Counselling from Birkbeck College, University of London with over 15 years post-qualification experience in organisations and in private practice. I have a particular interest in working therapeutically in and with nature, in group work and peer support. 

I qualified with a diploma in ‘Using the Group as the Medium for Supervision’ from Institute of Group Analysis in 2020 and have supervised groups of counsellors in a training organisation (2018-2020) and in a hospice since 2022.

I was an associate lecturer on the MSc in psychodynamic counselling & psychotherapy at Birkbeck for 2 years (2018/19 & 2020/21) and ran case discussion groups and an experiential group. 

This supervision group is for qualified counsellors and therapists who want group supervision in a natural setting. My focus in supervision is to support group members to reflect on their clinical work and find their own way forward with the support and inspiration of the group and the natural setting. 

Members of the group might be working in and with nature or would just like to experience being part of a supervision group which meets in a sheltered outdoor setting throughout the year. 

Being in and with nature in itself offer dynamic support and inspiration for supervision and: 

- Prompts us to look after ourselves in a grounded and connected way,

- Shows us ways we can develop our physical and emotional resilience, and 

- Offers metaphors which inspire new and creative ways of thinking.

I offer free introductory telephone call of up to 30mins. This will be followed by an initial meeting with me which costs £60.  

If you are interested in joining the group please email me saying a bit about yourself and why you are thinking about joining the group. 

I look forward to hearing from you.