THE PSYCHOLOGY SCHOOL

We open up for the next cohort in Spring 2025.

Doors will open for registration in April, and will be first opened up for priority enrolment to those on the waitlist.

If you’d like to be the first to find out about the next course opening, then please sign up to the mailing list below, that way you will be the first to find out and also the first to be offered any bonuses or pre-course sale discounts.

Behaviour change for healthcare practitioners and coaches…what is it?

Following a very successful programme of in-person behaviour change courses with a spectrum of healthcare professionals across the globe, I’m proud to present this 5 week online course for the only time it will run in 2024.

This 5 week on-line course is designed to address the fundamentals needed to help your patients/clients engage in their own programme of change…and stick to it!

In this 5 week course you will learn:

• How change is perceived and achieved in humans - and why we need to understand this before we try and help our patients/clients.

• How to unlock your patient/client WHY and why this is crucial to their success.

• The role of motivation in change, and how we can impact this as practitioners and coaches.

• Nudge Theory - what a nudge is (and isn’t!) and how you can implement basic nudges to help your clients make decisions.

• How to effectively set goals - that your patients/clients actually want to stick to.

• Motivational interviewing techniques to help you feel more confident in eliciting true change.

• How we can utilise what we know about Neuroplasticity to aide change and success.

• Boundaries and leadership in your practice - and why these ultimately help your patients/clients achieve the results they desire.

what will i get by doing the course?

I’ve attended courses where the trainer has been interesting, knowledgable, and even entertaining at times; but I’ve often been left wondering how I can turn what they have told me into anything useful I can actually use in my practice?

Therefore I’ve worked really hard to make this course not only interesting, vital and important in terms of theory, but very, very practical.

In other words by the end of the course you will be able to:

• Feel more confident in knowing where to start on someone’s change journey.

• Be able to help your patient/client clearly identify the aspects they wish to work on and why?

• Have a clear set of interventions, tools and strategies that you can practically implement to help you to elicit change in the individual.

• Be able to problem solve in collaboration with your patient/client when they feel stuck and identify why, thus helping them to move forward.

• Feel better equipped to handle those clients who don’t seem motivated, struggle to make decisions and ultimately disengage.

Course structure

The course consists of both re-recorded material and live components. This means you can join us from anywhere in the world and access the material in your own time, and complete the course at your own pace.

All session material is pre-recorded and broken down into smaller chunks which make it easier to take breaks and come back to components, or indeed, take extra time to digest what has been said. It also means you have it to hand when you want to re-visit the material, as you will have access for one whole year post course start.

The course itself starts on Monday 12th May, 2025. On this day you will get access to a folder full of introductory material, as well as the Session 1 material.

After this, each session is drip fed every Monday (see schedule below).

Further to this every following week you will also get access to a Live 1 hour Q&A session based on the previous weeks’ material.

These are designed to help you embed the material, get your questions and queries answered and also share your wins and best practice (my favourite part as your stories blow me away!). It’s also really nice to see other practitioners.

Do note that Q&As are not compulsory and are also not necessary for you to still get what you need from the course. Arguably everything you need is in the material. The Q&As are a bonus.

Below is the course outline for this JUNE intake:

Session Material release Live Q&A

Session 1 Monday 12th May Tuesday 20th May 7pm (GMT)

Session 2 Monday 19th May Tuesday 27th May 7pm (GMT)

Session 3 Monday 26th May Tuesday 3rd June 7pm (GMT)

Session 4 Monday 2nd June Tuesday 10th June 7pm (GMT)

Session 5 Monday 9th June Tuesday 17th June 7pm (GMT)

Bonus check-in* Monday x 2 weeks after the main course ends | Monday 1st July 7pm(GMT)

What does the course include?

Everyone that signs up will get:

• Full access to the course which includes 5 online sessions of between 1.5-2.15 hours of material.

• 5 hours of Live Q&A.

• Downloadable resources paired with each session including reading lists, checklists and other relevant notes needed to aide you in your practice.

• Access to a private course members area where all your sessions are stored.

You will also get a bonus 1 hour drop-in Live Q&A 2 weeks after the course ends.

Having taught this content for a long time I know that the true test of any practical information is in the practice itself. This gap will allow you to try out some of the strategies we will cover over a longer period of time and then come back for any further help, feedback and suggestions from me.

You might also want to come back and share your best practice!…not only do I love hearing how you have been implementing my interventions but others can and will benefit from your knowledge too.

It’s a win-win.

THe investment

The investment for this course is £347.00 per practitioner.

This will give you full unlimited access to all of the above for a duration of 12 months. This is helpful for anyone who feels they would like to come back and revisit material, or indeed who wishes to do it in their own time at their own pace.

There is also a payment plan, where you can choose to pay in x 3 instalments for your convenience.

You can just click on the button below to be taken through to the payment page.

The investment for the course is £379.00

ABOUT YOUR TUTOR

You can be assured that this course is underpinned by the most up-to-date and evidence-based research. It’s also all taught by me, Serena Simmons.

For anyone new to my work, I am Chartered member of the British Psychological Society and have over 30 years of experience working in the field of psychology, including as founder of The Psychology School, Senior Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University and Lead Psychologist for Joint Approach Rehab.   

My speciality is in behaviour change and peak performance and my work in these fields has spanned a continuum of people and applications, ranging from the New Zealand Treasury, Department of Constitutional Affairs (UK) to CEOs MPs and healthcare professionals both in the UK and abroad.  

My area of academic work is in serial violent crime (murder) and positive psychology; two ends of motivational spectrum. 

I currently teach psychology at University and previously worked in a therapeutic capacity at Rampton -a maximum secure hospital for mentally disordered offenders. I’m frequently interviewed for and featured in major media including ITV news, Sky News, BBC Radio 4, The Guardian, The Times The Independent and the Conversation. Recently I’ve featured in BBC Sounds most downloaded podcast: Bodies In The Garden and served as the resident psychologist and profiler for Cops Who Kill, & Cops Gone Bad, both were documentary series’ filmed for ITN Productions (click here to see more if you’re interested).

For more information about me you can click here to be taken to my ABOUT page.

If I’m interested what do I do next?

Well, great news that you’re interested.

If you’d like to sign up to the course then you can register immediately by clicking on the REGISTER NOW button below.

If you still have questions then please take a look at the FAQs below where you may find your question answered. If it’s not, then by all means please get in touch with your question at serena@thepsychologyschool.co

online course FAQs

Do we get CPD for this?

You will get a certificate on completion for 20 hours of CPD from The Psychology School. This is based on pre-recorded materials, live Q&As and time taken to visit and work through the resources made available to you.

There is also a ‘quiz’ at the end, and your CPD certificate is only released to you when this is complete.

Who is this course for exactly?

This course is not a train the trainer course, and is not for anyone who teaches or wishes to incorporate Behaviour Change into their teaching (see terms & conditions HERE).

This is strictly for, and is taught in a manner that is designed to help practitioners integrate this material into their current practice. In light of this, it’s typical for the following professionals to partake in the course:

• Physiotherapists - at all stages of their career; students through to, let’s say the more ‘mature’ and experienced professionals. These have also been in NHS, private practice and all the hybrids in-between.

• Osteopaths

• Personal Trainers

• Doctors and Surgeons - NHS and private

• Coaches - all industries*

The common theme is these practitioners are usually required to figure out exactly what someone needs to focus on the make a difference in their health/life, and they need to stick to this programme to get the results they desire.

This can include any of, but is not exclusive to, the following:

• Doing their homework/tasks - or doing what needs to be done to get them to where they ‘say’ they want to be.

• Sticking to an exercise or rehab programme - to help/rehab a condition | Get ready for surgery | Rehab after a surgery | Stick to exercise/diet to lose weight etc.

• Taking responsibility for their own change.

• Tapping into motivation that may have lagged.

Do you offer a student offer/discount?

No, there are no discounts for this course. If you are struggling to pay, do be mindful that there are many employers pay for their staff to do this course, so it may be worth asking if this can be a part of your cpd?

I am happy to send individual invoices for your workplace, but all monies must be paid before starting your course. As a heads up, if you are in the NHS I’d get this process started with immediate effect as these things can take months : )

Can I do this with a friend/colleague and only purchase one place?

No is the short answer.

Only 1 person will be given on-line access via 1 e-mail address and only one person will be awarded CPD for completion.

If however you are a business owner and wish to discuss either a group-work set-up or indeed bespoke training for your practice, then please be in touch with me at serena@thepsychologyschool.co where I can discuss your individual needs.

Do I have to attend the course LIVE, or can I do it at my own pace/are sessions recorded?

Great question. Completion of the course doesn’t require your Live attendance to any Q&A session.

As this course will naturally be attended by people from all over the world (with with practitioners from across Europe, Australia, New Zealand & Singapore for example) means you can self-pace and study in your own time.

If you have questions as you go, you can always email me with these and I will answer them by email.

*You also get access for a full 12 months, so you have time.

How do I know if this is the right course for me?

Ultimately this is your individual decision. If you feel you have enough tools and interventions to help your clients change, then this probably isn’t the right course for you.

I’d suggest taking a look at the Learning Outcomes above and if you feel you already achieve all of these things, and that you can’t really learn any more then yay…this course may be too basic for you?

What I can say is that I’ve taught aspects of this course to practitioners at all different stages of their career and everyone who is engaged and open learns something and can take something away to implement.

Is there homework during the course?

I will give you tasks to focus on for between sessions, as well as some preliminary tasks before the course starts, none of this however is compulsory as you get to decide as/when you engage. Obviously you’ll get the most out of the programme if you do these things, but I’m sure that doesn’t need explaining.

You will also have 12 months of access to the material you can also really dip in when you need to.

I’m also aware that as practitioners and people with busy lives, things happen and stuff gets in the way. You get to self manage this.

What I would say is that if you can, it will be helpful to try and do the course ‘to-time’, attending the Live Q&As as these will help you keep momentum, and you may feel you get more from having tat accountability (if you know you’re the kind of person that benefits from this/that structure).

From experience i can also say that Live aspects have an energy that draws you in, so you mind that particularly enjoyable.

What if I don’t like it, can I get a refund?

You can get a 100% refund up to, and not including, the second week of the programme, which means you must request your refund before the second session drops to be able to get this.

I only want you to engage if you are happy and willing to do this, and I genuinely want you to get the most out of it. It is reasonable to expect then that if you don’t feel it’s for you, you can make your decision by this stage. Any refund requests should come directly to me at serenasimmons@icloud.com

You will however get all this information prior to starting the course should you wish to join us.

If you have any other questions or queries please direct to me at serena@thepsychologyschool.co where I will be happy to help.

You can also contact margot@thepsychologyschool for any administrative queries.