Local Advice for Arcadia University

CCPE is an organisational member of UKCP. They offer training programmes that are experiential in nature and loosely based on the Sufi teachings. There is an administrative office in the building for the Sufi Order and the director and owner, Nigel Hamilton, is the UK representative for Sufi Order International. The building, whilst quite scruffy and austere in nature, enjoys great sweeping views over the nearby canal. What you need to know if thinking about studying at this place is that the diploma course contains almost 60 students this year. That means you are unlikely to get to know all students very well, experiential weekend groups are large and it can be a struggle to get a seat for lectures. However, the plus side is that you can get to know potentially a lot of people (although most students are white and middle class, in common with other training institutes). It needs to be said that the overall student experience at CCPE could be improved upon. For example, any additional tutorials incur extra charges. There is no WIFI coverage that the students can access at the College and the library essentially amounts to a locked cupboard containing a few books and journals. The lecture room has an old PA system that is very unstable and unless you are in the front row you will struggle to hear softly spoken presenters. There are some poor lecturers (some just read from a handout) and rarely is there a joined up approach to the teaching programme (each lecturer or weekend facilitator rarely knows what is next on the timetable apart from their particular piece). Front office staff, in common with most other places offering similar courses, tend to be lowly paid and lacking in basic customer skills. That aside there is a lot going for this place. There are some very skilled facilitators working on the teaching programme here too. Also, the ethos of the place is not to stipulate one particular way to practicing as a therapist and there is no one real prescribed route to qualification. There is an emphasis on the integrative approach. Indeed, students are largely left to draw upon the aspects of the training that especially appeals to them individually rather than adhering to a 'one cap fits all' approach. That approach will work if you want to think for yourself and develop in your own way.

I attended CCPE as a student on the diploma course between 2011 and 2014. I endorse the professional courses on offer at the Centre, which are integrative including psycho-spiritual. Most of the experiential aspects of the training programmes are of a decent standard.

The kindest, most professional and informative man who would put anyone immediately at ease with a worth of no nonsense, common sense advice. Highly recommend Mark to any age of gender of person.

I began counselling sessions with Catherine after suffering from extreme stress and anxiety at work and in my home life. The stress and anxiety had got to the stage where I did not even want to leave the house. Catherine helped me understand where my problems had originated from , why the problems were happening, and gave me the mental tools I needed to recover from my issues. I am now back at work and am better equipped to deal with work/life balance in general. I regard the counselling I received from Catherine to be the main reason that I am now able to do this.

Catherine helped me to work through a lot of traumatic experiences, which were causing me daily distress. Her sessions are longer than usually and her methods more intense, and as a result I felt much better even after just a couple of sessions.