Dip CAFE

Post Qualifying Diploma in Creative Application of the Five Elements

After 30+ years of abiding interest in the Five Elements model from Traditional Chinese Medicine, experiencing the wonderful benefits of using creative methods during my counselling training and hundreds of hours refining creative application of this ancient wisdom tradition with my clients, I'm offering my holistic fusion of this as a four month CPD course from September 2025.

If you've not used creative methods before in a professional capacity, the Dip CAFE will give you a solid grounding in how to do this as a genuinely integrated part of your offer. If you already appreciate the therapeutic value of creative exploration and play, the course is designed to add some Five Elemental oomph to your practice. 

Practicalities

Cost: 2025: £500. This will probably increase to £650 in 2026 but please see 'Who quality assures the course?' below for more information about this

Face to face dates: 2025: September to December. 2026: March to July. September to December. Meet one weekend about one month apart. Workshops are outside school holidays.

Location: Bitterne, Southampton.

Eligibility: To do this course, you need to have completed your professional training in counselling or psychotherapy, clinical or counselling psychology and have an active caseload.

Technical: To view the supporting online resources, you'll need 1) A computer (laptop, PC, Mac, Chromebook etc) or tablet and 2) To use an existing, or create a new, Google account.

Additional resources: You get what you need to make the pompom metaphors for the course. Depending on what creative materials you use in your current practice, you may need to source a sketchbook, felt tips, colouring pencils, extra LEGO, sand and sand tray for work with your clients. There's also a 'details to be provided when needed creative activity' which would require an outlay of around £15 if you've not got the mystery resource already.

‘What’s involved?’

About 120 hours of activities made up of:

• 52 hours of collaborative learning during four weekend workshops: 46 hours of experiential learning (practice and discussion) and six hours of formative peer group supervision.

• At least 20 hours of clinical practice involving Five Elements and supporting creative interventions with at least three clients.

• Around 50 hours of self-directed study that involve reading and reflecting on online content before each weekend, completing other workshop-specific preparation and compiling evidence for your CAFE portfolio.

Your CAFE portfolio will include:

• Client creative intervention summaries and reflections.

• Your peer group supervision learning journal.

• Creative formulations for two clients.

• A presentation that explores i) How your understanding of the Five Elements has evolved during the course, ii) A CAFE intervention that supported a significant therapeutic shift for a client iii) Your relationship with creativity, iv) How you integrate the CAFE process within your guiding therapeutic model and v) A personal learning highlight from the course.

‘Any other course highlights?’

Small groups: Six (Bitterne) or up to eight (larger venue and online) people in each cohort enables focused personal support and debriefing as you experience and facilitate creative interventions.

Trauma informed: Learn practical ways to help your clients understand, map and work constructively with their underlying autonomic arousal states.

Energy psychology: Explore how self-acutouch and acu-tapping practices can help to cultivate moments of mindful, embodied, balancing inquiry.

Personal development: Experience the impact of these approaches on your own issues.

Online resources: As well as support from your tutor and peers, you'll have lifetime access to comprehensive online resources to help and guide you through every step.

'Why are you smiling?'

I'm smiling because on the first day you'll be given the resources to make your own pompoms to use during the workshops and with your clients as creative therapeutic metaphors. Therapy is a serious business in many ways but it's also possible to balance this with a creative and playful attitude. As well as fully engaging your inner adult / therapist, you'll also be given opportunities to bring your inner child out to play. 

‘Who quality assures the course?’

I regularly use the methods in the Dip CAFE (and CAFE intro) in my practice, have run workshops since 2017 that involve most parts of this course and have been generously supported by experienced academic colleagues during the design process. 

I'm exploring quality standards. For example, I've designed the Dip CAFE to meet the Advanced Specialist requirements of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society. While I'll probably apply for this, or a similar quality mark, after the first two or three cohorts, my driving intention is to offer a high quality and enjoyable CPD experience. In light of this, I think it's right to charge lower fees for the first two or three cohorts while I iron out any wrinkles through integrating participant feedback into the final design.

‘What are the learning outcomes?’

The Dip CAFE aims to enable you to creatively apply the Five Elements model to support your clinical work. It does this by giving you opportunities to:

• Learn how to use Five Element metaphors to support exploration of complex client processes.

• Integrate creative Five Element interventions into your core model of practice.

• Practise creative formulation supported by Five Element dynamics.

• Use accessible and flexible creative methods to resource your clinical practice.

• Explore the use of acu-touch and acu-tapping methods to promote mindful, embodied, balancing inquiry.

• Explore developing relational depth while applying these therapeutic interventions.

• Fine-tune your skills through ongoing client and peer work, reflection and peer group supervision.

‘What's my next step?’

Please complete the form below. I'll then get back to you and we'll arrange a time to have a phone or video chat so that you can find out more about the course and how it could help you.