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Mental Health Seminars 2025



An in-depth Anthroposophic Training incorporating Personal and Professional Development with twelve modules spanning three years

Welcome to the Mental Health Seminar

Crises in mental health are of increasing contemporary relevance for society in general, manifesting in all areas of life and work.

This well established training is designed to address this complex theme in the context of the demands of modern life and changes in human consciousness. In addition to providing a broadly based content, it offers participants opportunities to deepen an experience-based and empathic understanding for individuals struggling with their mental health including addressing challenges of those closely involved in their support.

Confidential interpersonal sharing confers on the Seminar some characteristics of a retreat.

What does it offer?

The programme offers participants opportunities to explore these challenging themes in ways that are based on lived experience rather than only on abstract diagnosis. It also aims to enhance capacities to respond meaningfully to psychological challenges.

  • Understand Mental Health and illness.
  • Learn to pursue self-reflective practice
  • Develop appropriate personal and social competencies in the field of Mental Health

Skills in inter-disciplinary group work, self-refl ective practice and intervision are developed for peer and professional co-working. All presenters aim to model and encourage creative dialogue between anthroposophic and current psychotherapeutic paradigms and practice.

Methodologies

The Faculty comprises experienced and currently active practitioners and therapists, whose combined professional experience encompasses medicine, psychosomatics, child psychology, family counselling, psychotherapy, movement, drama and art therapy.

The Faculty collaborate, both in the presentation of thematic content and in guiding experiential learning as well as in facilitating participants’ refl ection on their own professional work and relevant personal experiences.

FREE ZOOM TASTER SESSIONS

If you are interested in the Mental Health Seminars course and would like the opportunity to meet the course leader, find out more about the course, ask questions and meet other potential participants, we will be holding the following FREE ZOOM TASTER sessions:

Please click the time/date link above for the session you are interested in.

SUPPORT WITH FUNDING

Bursaries are available. For further information, please contact Chiara Carones at registrar@emerson.org.uk

 A range of adult learning methods are used including:

  • Lectures and demonstrations
  • Experiential research through movement and somatic awareness encompassing eurythmy,
  • Spacial Dynamics® and drama, including creative mask work
  • Visual artistic activities using pastels, charcoal or clay, to deepen experience of themes – no previous experience necessary.
  • Facilitated inter-disciplinary group work, including: self-refl ective practice, personal biographical sharing, guided group learning processes and intervision
  • Guided observation exercises
  • Regular individual tutorials
  • Guidance for further study material and literature

Course Image: Painting: “We Stand Behind The Sky – Autumn” with kind permission of the artist, Richard Heys *

*To see more of Richards beautiful paintings we warmly invite you to visit his website https://richardianheys.co.uk

  • Programme
  • Course fees
  • Applications
  • CPD & Certificates

Professionals active in counselling, psychotherapy, social work and Health and Social Care are warmly invited to apply for a place on this Seminar as well as teachers, therapists, educators, administrators and other individuals committed to deepening their understanding for both adolescents and adults.

A basic interest in and wish to deepen an Anthroposophic understanding of human development and psychology will be assumed.

 

 

 

 

COURSE DATES:

Module 1 – 26 – 30 March 2025 Emerson College
Module 2 – 7 – 11 May 2025 Emerson College
Module 3 – 2 – 6 July 2025 Emerson College
Module 4 – 5 – 9 November 2025 Emerson College
Module 5 – Dates TBC
Module 6 – Dates TBC
Module 7 – Dates TBC
Module 8 – Dates TBC
Module 9 – Dates TBC
Module 10 – Dates TBC
Module 11 – Dates TBC
Module 12  – Dates TBC

Each module begins at 4pm on Wednesday and runs until 12.30 on Sunday.

THEMES Covered In The Twelve Modules Of The Programme

Whilst we encourage all participants to attend in person, we will be providing all modules both in person and virtually for those who are affected by Covid-related travel restrictions.

We expect all participants to attend a minimum of 5 modules in person and emphasise the importance for participants to attend modules 1, 2, 5, 9 and 12 in person (unless exceptional circumstances prevent them from doing so).

Module 1 Core Psychological Themes:

Psychology and related psychotherapeutic perspectives including anthroposophy and mainstream: Introducing general cosmology, psychology and morphology of the human being as body, soul and spirit as an expression of self consciousness: Comparative morphology contrasting distinctive gestures of the animal & human skeleton.

Module 2 Childhood Development 0-7 years:

Physical embodiment, including neurological and immunological development; Laying the foundations for understanding sensory psychology and attachment theory in relation to lasting effects of trauma; related organ studies – organ observations – brain & spleen.

Module 3 Childhood Development 7-14 years:

Cultivating health and well-being in middle childhood, habits – rhythm vs ritual; related organ studies – heart, lung and rhythmic system; 9th year developmental “rubicon”; Introduction to the twelve senses and the seven life processes and their corresponding expression in terms of adult learning.

Module 4 Adolescence 14-21:

Challenges of soul development including crises of identity, idols & “ego-ideals” and the search for personal authenticity; related family and relationship dynamics; eating disorders (part I); acknowledging and expressing sexuality and gender; self harm; related organ observations – liver, kidney and adrenals; introducing different soul types.

Module 5 Anxiety & Trauma:

Phenomenology of anxiety, its expression, meaning and management; trauma and its relationship to the renal and adrenal system; exploring the interactions of sensory and metabolic processes via the seven life processes; psychospiritual manifestations of separation and loss; awakening the “I” in its higher function as a witness to soul.

Module 6 Depression & Bipolar Phenomena:

Exploring their somatic, psychological, spiritual and medical perspectives; grief and mourning; life processes and their correlates in the soul; working with depression and suicidal ideation; encountering psychotic phenomena in relation to inner and outer threshold experiences, sense organs and metabolic processes.

Module 7 Obsessive Disorders and Compulsive Behaviours:

Addictions and eating disorders (part 2); differentiating primitive and higher (rational) ego defenses; encountering mid-life crises of meaning and identity; spiritual emergence and spiritual emergency; Understanding how therapeutic care communities may support rehabilitation.

Module 8 Personality Structure 1:

Introducing the concept of personality structure and its relation to historic changes in human consciousness; exploring twelvefoldness of the zodiac, related zodiacal polarities and their expression through the three planes of space; experiencing planes of space through movement and drama and their corresponding personality structures including the use of mask; narcissism, avoidant, paranoid & histrionic personality types and their related therapeutic approaches.

Module 9 Personality Structure 2:

Content developing general themes as with 1, module 8, now addressing obsessive, antisocial, dissociative & borderline personality types and their related therapeutic approaches; Differentiating these personality disorder from psychotic precesses. Mentalisation as a therapeutic modality.

Module 10 Personality Structure 3:

Content developing general themes as with 1, module 8, now addressing schizoid, schizotypal, passive -aggressive and dependant personality types – Codependency and therapeutic approaches; differentiating schizoid, schizotypal and schizophrenic phenomena. Steiner’s twelve philosophical world views in relation to personality structure. The hero/heroine’s journey.

Module 11 Addressing the Question of Evil:

Recognising distortions in self and society – discernment exercise based on seven life processes; confronting the challenges of fear, hatred and doubt and their deeper origins; differentiating the Luciferic and Ahrimanic doubles.

Module 12 Conflict & Community Building:

Addressing forces underlying conflict within organisations and communities: mediation; biographic view exercise; exploring evolutionary changes as these relate to individual development and collective responsibility; working with loss and change; beginnings and endings within therapeutic practice and beyond.

Course fees:

Option1 – £5,300 if paid in full upon acceptance to the course.

Option 2 – £500 deposit to be paid at time of acceptance and £1,670 per year to be paid by 1st February 2025, 1st February 2026 and 1st February 2027.  Total £5,510

A small number of bursaries are available.  If you are seeking a bursary please complete the Bursary Application Form when submitting your application.

How To Apply

To complete your application you will need to prepare the following documents:

  • A copy or a scan of the information page of your passport (the one with your picture on it)
  • A concise personal statement to include information on your background and motivation to take part in the programme
  • A completed health statement available to download here: Health Statement

You will also need to provide contact details for someone you would chose to be your emergency contact, should you be accepted onto the course.

Please click here to ‘APPLY’,  fill out the online application form and upload the documents listed above in the ‘Supporting Documents’ section.

If you have any questions please contact Chiara Carones – registrar@emerson.org.uk

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