Black Identities, White Therapies: Power, Practice and Possibility
23rd April 2026 7.30pm-9.45pm
with Professor Divine Charura and Colin Lago. £20 per place. Live Via zoom
This training session draws on the powerful themes explored in the book we co‑edited, *Black identity + White therapies: Race respect + diversity* (Charura and Lago, 2021), alongside our wider work and research, all of which challenge the counselling and psychotherapy profession to confront its longstanding gaps in preparing practitioners for work within a multi‑ethnic, multiracial and multicultural society. We draw on a diverse group of contributors whose personal and professional experiences illuminate the realities faced by clients from Black and other racialised backgrounds. Our collective aim is to foster dialogue that is essential for all therapists, enabling them to respond with cultural sensitivity, humility, authenticity and awareness to the complex identities and lived experiences of the diverse clients they serve.
Central to the book and to this continuing professional development session, is an invitation, for practitioners to reflect deeply on their own assumptions, biases and behaviours, recognising how unconscious privilege, othering, micro‑aggressions and unexamined projections can shape therapeutic encounters. We will explore and encourage therapists to engage with issues such as racism, discrimination, identity complexity, intersectionality, heritage, trauma and intergenerational trauma, emphasising the importance of explicitly anti‑racist and antidiscriminatory practice.
We also offer a critical examination of how therapy training has been shaped by Eurocentric norms, advocating for a decolonised curriculum grounded in social justice and better aligned with the realities of diverse communities. In this training, these themes are approached not as abstract ideas but as essential competencies for ethical, effective and socially responsible practice.
Through dialogue, participants will be encouraged to examine their own positionality, consider how power operates within the therapeutic relationship, and reflect on how they can contribute to more inclusive, responsive and socially aware models of therapy. Ultimately, the goal is to support practitioners in aligning their professional values with the needs of the clients they serve, ensuring that therapeutic spaces become places of genuine understanding, safety and cultural attunement for clients of all backgrounds.
Aims of the Session
- To strengthen practitioners’ capacity to work with cultural sensitivity, humility, authenticity and awareness when supporting Black and racialised clients.
- To promote anti‑racist, antidiscriminatory and social‑justice‑oriented approaches within therapeutic practice and training.
- To support practitioners in developing greater authenticity in their therapeutic presence, encouraging congruence between personal values, professional practice and culturally attuned engagement.
Objectives of the Session
We hope and trust that participants will gain from this CPD in ways that may be idiosyncratic and personal from being exposed to, and engaging deeply with, these important issues. Thus, we hope the participants will be able to inform their ongoing practice by:
- Applying learning to create more inclusive, culturally attuned and safe therapeutic spaces for clients of all backgrounds.
· Reflect critically on their own positionality, power, privilege, biases, othering, projections and the impact of micro‑aggressions on therapeutic encounters.
- Recognise how racism, discrimination, identity complexity, intersectionality,heritage, trauma and intergenerational trauma shape clients’ psychological wellbeing.
- Identify limitations of Eurocentric training models and articulate the value of decolonising the curriculum.
- Value and centre our shared humanity, grounding therapeutic practice in care, compassion and love, while embracing diversity and cultivating response‑ability in how we meet the needs and experiences of all clients.
The Trainers
Colin Lago was director of the counselling service at the University of Sheffield (UK) from 1987 to 2003. He now works as an independent therapist, trainer and supervisor. He is a fellow of the BACP, being an accredited counsellor/psychotherapist with that organisation. Deeply committed to transcultural concerns, he has had articles, videos and books published on the subject. He has been awarded a D.Litt for his contributions to the literature on multicultural therapy. Having experienced academic failure at school, Colin is sensitive to the challenges of learning. Profoundly inspired by the writing of Carl Rogers almost a decade before he trained as a therapist, Colin has had the good fortune to develop his own ‘person-centred practice’ in individual, small group and large international group work.
Divine Charura (Dr) is a Professor of Counselling Psychology. He is a counselling psychologist, registered and licensed as a practitioner psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council in England (UK). Divine is also a psychotherapist and Honorary Fellow of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and an adult psychotherapist. Divine’s research interests are on psychotraumatology and mental health diverse community systems across the lifespan. He has co-authored and edited numerous books. These include Black Identities + White therapies: Race respect and diversity, (2021) co-edited with Dr Colin Lago; Handbook of Social Justice in Psychological Therapies. Power, politics, change (co-edited with Dr Laura Winter in 2023) and Trauma Demystified co-edited with Dr Mark McFetridge and Dr Emma Bradshaw.
For Divine’s Publications please see https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/profile/2104
To book a place please contact Mary Jones on
mary@nationalcounsellingtraininginstitute.co.uk
CPD certificates are issued
Limited places so advisable to book early. £20 per place
Working with Goals in Counselling and Psychotherapy with Professor Mick Cooper
Wednesday 22nd July 7.30pm-9.45pm Live via zoom.
Abstract: This interactive session will provide participants with an opportunity to develop their understanding of goals in counselling and psychotherapy, and to develop their skills and knowledge in this area. The workshop starts by introducing the philosophical underpinnings of goals work and then explores what has been learnt from the psychological research about the nature of goals and goal processes. It then presents a practical exploration of working with goals and tips and guidance on how best to incorporate (or not incorporate) goals into your practice.
The Trainer
Mick Cooper is an internationally recognised author, trainer, and consultant in the field of humanistic, existential, and pluralistic therapies. Mick is a chartered psychologist and Professor of Counselling Psychology at the University of Roehampton. Mick's books include Existential Therapies (2nd ed., Sage, 2017), Working at Relational Depth in Counselling and Psychotherapy (2nd ed., Sage, 2018), and Integrating Counselling and Psychotherapy: Directionality, Synergy, and Social Change (Sage, 2019). Mick’s principal areas of research have been in shared decision-making/personalising therapy and counselling for young people in schools. In 2014, Mick received the Carmi Harari Mid-Career Award from Division 32 of the American Psychological Association. He is a Fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and the Academy of Social Sciences, and co-founder of the Pluralistic Practice Network. In recent work, Mick has been exploring the contribution that counselling theory and practice can make to wider social change and justice, co-founding the Therapy and Social Change network and authoring Psychology at the Heart of Social Change: Towards a Progressive Vision for Society (Bristol University, 2023).
To book a place please contact Mary Jones on
mary@nationalcounsellingtraininginstitute.co.uk
CPD certificates are issued
Limited places so advisable to book early. £20 per place
Thursday 24th September 2026 7.30pm-9.45pm
Working with Survivors of Narcissistic Abuse. Live via zoom
This training is designed to support therapists in developing greater confidence and clarity when working with individuals who have experienced narcissistic abuse. It offers a balanced, clinically grounded overview of how this form of relational trauma presents and how therapists can respond effectively in practice.
We will cover:
- What is meant by “narcissistic abuse” in a therapeutic context
- Common signs, patterns, and client presentations
- The impact of popular online narratives: benefits, limitations, and risks
- Evidence-informed therapeutic approaches and what supports recovery
- Survivor experiences and examples of therapeutic progress
The session will combine psychoeducation, reflective discussion, and practical insights that can be integrated into a range of therapeutic modalities.
The Trainer
Zoë Ross is a UK-based psychotherapist and counselling psychologist in training specialising in the treatment of complex relational trauma, including narcissistic abuse and attachment-related difficulties.
Zoë is trained in a range of evidence-based approaches and her clinical work focuses on helping clients understand and recover from the psychological impact of relational trauma, supporting them to reduce symptoms, rebuild a sense of self, and thrive in their lives moving forward.
Alongside her clinical practice, Zoë has contributed to BBC discussions on narcissism, where she shares evidence-informed perspectives to help challenge misinformation and improve understanding of this important topic.
To book a place please contact Mary Jones on
mary@nationalcounsellingtraininginstitute.co.uk
CPD certificates are issued
Limited places so advisable to book early. £20 per place