About the course

The first Knuston Hall Diabetes Counselling Course was held in 1987. The goal of the course is to help health care professionals working in the field of diabetes to learn how to work in collaboration with people with diabetes, taking into account their emotional and psychological needs.

 

Please read participants comments for the residential and virtual courses.

Feedback from residential course:

  • “The course was fantastic. I really did have reservations and resistance to attending but by golly I am so glad I did. It has made such a difference to me and how I feel about using counselling skills. Thank you so much.”

  • “Empowering and life-changing; new skills learnt to facilitate more effective and patient centred diabetes care based on patient needs and not my wish to ‘fix the problem’.”

  • “Really found this course thought provoking. The facilitators were excellent and really did their best to make me feel at ease.”

  • “When I applied for the course I had some idea about what I wanted to learn. The course was as I hoped it would be and more. I learnt a bit about counselling and a lot about me.”

  • “I found the course excellent/very useful. Vital for health care practitioners caring for people with diabetes. Should be part of the Diabetes Specialist Nurse competencies.”

  • “Very enjoyable and interesting course. Life-changing from my perspective both personally and professionally.”

  • “Very warm welcoming atmosphere. Thoroughly enjoyed the course which surpassed my expectations. Thank you all”

  • “Fabulous course, absolutely loved it. I really hope this has given me enough tools and self-awareness to change my practice.”

Feedback from virtual course:

  • "Really enjoyed the course. Allowed time to reflect on my own practices. Reaffirmed value of listening and empowerment with person-centred care"

  • "My experience of Knuston was a very positive one. It gave me a great insight into how we should perhaps approach things differently during a consultation."

  • "Very informative and lots of practicing the skills I found really helpful and a great insight into how one can feel overwhelmed as the client."

  • "I believe this course is so highly invaluable that it should be compulsory for all health care professionals caring for individuals with diabetes."

  • "I cannot recommend the course enough."

  • "I was worried that the online experience would not be as good as the face to face, but actually I think it worked really well, especially the real play scenarios."

  • "To be able to practice in all the roles was really valuable but it was particularly insightful to be the client and realise how hard it is to open up about our feelings. I think it made me realise that “Empowerment is everything!”

  • "I liked the fact it was virtual and this brings many benefits but overall think face to face would be invaluable."

  • "Triads and feedback was very valuable"

Why run a Diabetes Counselling Course?

 

The Knuston Diabetes Counselling and Empowerment Course was set up more than 30 years ago by Chris Gillespie and Charles Fox to help professionals working in diabetes develop skills and apply a philosophy which encourages people to take control of their own long-term condition. The course has evolved over the years and in 2006, guided by Bob Anderson, guru of diabetes patient empowerment, we made the major change of introducing the principles of empowerment and a person-centred philosophy to the course.

In 2015, a parallel course was set up in Ireland, (Knuston Ireland) led by Florence Findlay White, Sean Dineen, diabetologist in Galway and Mark Davies, clinical psychologist, working in Belfast.

The most recent innovation, prompted by the pandemic, is the introduction of a virtual course developed in collaboration with Professor Cathy Lloyd at the Open University.

Participants learn a range of communication skills with the focus on working with people with diabetes and other long term conditions. We devote time in the programme to thinking how we can utilise these new skills in the reality of our own working environment.

 

Who is the course for?

 

The course is suitable for health care professionals from a wide range of disciplines, working with people who have long term conditions. Past participants have included diabetes specialist nurses working in secondary, community and primary care; paediatric diabetes specialist nurses, consultants in diabetes care in adult and paediatric diabetes; general practitioners with an interest in diabetes; doctors in specialist training; dietitians; podiatrists; psychologists. The course is approved by the Royal College of Physicians for 22 CPD credits.

 

How does the course work?

 

The course is run by a team of facilitators who develop and deliver the programme. Faculty members guide large and small group discussions. We use video real play in small groups with three participants and one facilitator. Each participant takes their turn in the roles of client, counsellor and observer. 'The client brings a real issue - something that concerns them about a situation at home or at work - which they feel comfortable discussing in a small group. The counsellor explores the situation and works with the client to identify what they would like to do about it. The real play is followed by a review session, controlled by the counsellor, which is structured to provide insights into the interaction with the client. This process encourages learning and discussion in a secure, unthreatening environment. On the last day of the residential course, trained actors play client roles and this gives each participant the opportunity to practice their skills in a more realistic setting.

The virtual course follows the same format, with participants interacting in triads online. A reliable internet connection and a private space away from the working environment are essential. Participants in the virtual course must commit to attending every session as the nature of the course means that failure to attend will disrupt the continuity and ruin the course for other participants. We are unable to integrate an actor consultation into the virtual course but this can be arranged individually after the course.

 

What will I learn if I come to the Course?

 

  • The philosophy of person-centred collaborative care and its context in diabetes care

  • The principles and models underlying the person-centred philosophy

  • Communication skills which can be applied in everyday practice

  • How the skills and philosophy might influence your professional work

  • How to create a personal action plan for using these skills in your own workplace

 

Cost of the Course

 

The total cost of the residential course, including accommodation and food, is £750.

The cost of the virtual course is £300.

If you are struggling to obtain funding, please complete our Contact form and, when you receive a response, enquire about the limited number of bursaries we may be able to offer.

 

How do I apply for the Course?

 

Please register your interest in the Contact section of the website. This allows us to keep you informed of future courses but does not commit you to enrolling on a course.

The full programme and the course handbook will be made available to you once you book a course.

 

Who runs the Diabetes Counselling Course?

 

The course is run by a committed group of health care professionals, all with experience of working in diabetes. The following facilitators are actively involved in course development:

  • Alan Archer, humanistic person-centred psychotherapist and retired diabetes consultant

  • Florence Findlay White, independent nurse consultant in healthcare research and retired diabetes specialist nurse

  • Charles Fox, retired diabetes physician, Northampton

  • Anne Kilvert, retired diabetes physician, Northampton

  • Heather Daly, independent nurse specialist  and retired diabetes consultant nurse

  • Clare Makepeace, specialist epilepsy nurse, Leicester

  • Hassan Kahal, diabetes physician, Bristol

  • Helen Hopkinson, diabetes physician, Glasgow

  • Ian Spiby, actor and retired lecturer in applied drama  

  • Mark Davies consultant clinical psychologist, Belfast

  • Jackie Crook is our course administrator

  • Simon Price is the technician for the virtual course

For more information go to: Course Leaders

 

Why is the course now held at Sedgebrook Hall?

 

Knuston Hall, an adult educational centre in Northamptonshire, was the venue for the course for more than 30 years and it became widely known as the Knuston course. Sadly, during the covid-19 pandemic, Knuston Hall closed and has not re-opened. We moved the venue to Sedgebrook Hall, also in rural Northamptonshire, but have retained the Knuston name so people know it is the same course.

More information on Sedgebrook Hall can be found here.

 

Recommended reading and viewing

 

  • The Art of Empowerment. Bob Anderson, Martha Funnell 2nd edition. ADA — ISBN 1-58040-235-6 - This is no longer available in print but a pdf copy will be provided to registered course participants

  • Counselling for Toads. Robert de Board. Routledge — ISBN 0415-17429-5.

  • Carl Rogers with Gloria:  The work of Carl Rogers underpins the person-centred philosophy of the course. This is an opportunity to see him in action.