http://www.susilodolacounselling.com/

Susi Lodola Counselling, Retail Centre, Wellington Bridge, Co. Wexford, Tallaght (2026)

30/08/2026

Update!

All of my 2027 Professional Certificate courses have now been approved by the IACP for CPD hours:

Research matters, but so does knowing what to do with it in the therapy room.

• Professional Certificate in Adolescent Psychotherapy
• Professional Certificate in Trauma-Focused Psychotherapy
• Professional Certificate in Child Psychotherapy

A great deal of thought, research and work goes into developing each course. The content is continually reviewed and updated to reflect current research and developments in psychotherapy, while also drawing on my own clinical and teaching experience.

Guest lecturers bring specialist knowledge from their own areas of practice, adding further perspectives and experience to the learning.

My aim is not simply to present research and theory, but to translate them into practical ways of working that therapists can use with their clients. The focus throughout is on practice that is ethical, developmentally appropriate and grounded in the realities of the therapy room.

Each course is designed to help therapists deepen their knowledge, build confidence and develop skills they can thoughtfully apply in their work with clients.

You can find the course details and 2027 dates on my website:

https://susilodolacounselling.com/professional-training/

19/08/2026

One of the main reasons I developed this course was to show that CBT does not have to be rigid or delivered as a set of techniques. It can be collaborative, relational and adapted to the person in front of us. I also wanted to show how Motivational Interviewing and mindfulness can sit naturally alongside CBT, rather than being treated as three separate approaches.

We start with MI because clients often come to therapy wanting something to change, but wanting change and feeling ready to make it are not always the same thing. They may feel unsure, have mixed feelings or begin to pull back when change becomes difficult. MI helps us explore that ambivalence without persuading or pushing, allowing clients to hear and strengthen their own reasons for change.

Once the client feels ready to take some steps, we move into CBT. We begin by making sense of how they got here and what may be keeping the difficulty going. From there, we can consider what might be most helpful. If avoidance is maintaining anxiety, that may involve exposure. If low mood has led to withdrawal and doing less, behavioural activation may be more appropriate. If catastrophising, mind-reading or other thinking patterns are contributing to the difficulty, we may use cognitive restructuring.

Socratic questioning and guided discovery are central to this. Rather than telling clients what they should think, we help them examine things from different perspectives and arrive at their own understanding.

Mindfulness is not taught as a separate add-on. It is integrated into the CBT work to help clients notice their thoughts, recognise how emotions are showing up in their body and pause before responding automatically. We can also return to MI whenever ambivalence reappears. The aim is to bring MI, CBT and mindfulness together in a way that feels coherent, practical and responsive to each individual client.

This course will not run next year and the next intake will be in 2028. This is your last chance to book , there are currently 4 places left.
Payment plan is available.
https://susilodolacounselling.com/product/professional-certificate-in-cbt-35-cpd/

17/08/2026

When I scheduled three intakes of the Professional Certificate in Adolescent Psychotherapy for 2026, I honestly didn’t expect every one of them to fill. The first course took place in February, and the upcoming August and October intakes are now also fully booked. I’m genuinely grateful for the level of interest in the course.

I’m still receiving so many calls and emails asking about August and October. I completely understand that it isn’t always easy to plan CPD several months in advance, and I’m sorry that I can’t add any further places this year.

There will be three intakes in 2027, and they are now open for booking. Payment-plan options are also available. If you are hoping to join the course next year, it may be worth looking at the dates sooner rather than later, as places have been filling much earlier than I expected.

You can find all the 2027 dates and course information here:

https://susilodolacounselling.com/professional-training/

15/08/2026

The August and October 2026 intakes of the Professional Certificate in Adolescent Psychotherapy are now both fully booked. A sincere thank you to everyone who has booked.

If you have been thinking about training in Adolescent Psychotherapy and you are not sure yet, here are some snippets from past participants.

"This was by far the best CPD course I've done. The calibre of the lecturers and the quality of the course materials far exceeded my expectations." — Jennifer Flynn

"Genuinely one of the best training experiences I've had in years." — Graham Joseph Norton

"It's one of the best courses I've attended. Brilliantly put together." — Wesley Jacobs

"The legal side of adolescent therapy was my biggest worry before the course. Now I feel that area is well covered." — Michal Derlatka

"You provided information that others do in a much longer programme." — Eliane Ferreira

"As a newly qualified therapist it was exactly what I needed to give me the proper roadmap to begin taking clients in their teens." — Andrea Clarke

"I loved Susi's warm yet professional style of teaching, and her depth of experience was so enriching to the learning." — Liz Henson

"The best four days I have spent doing training in a long time." — Dave Saunders

"The standard of the course was a clear 10/10. The materials are incredible." — Sheila Giles

Here is the link to he course page for more information
https://susilodolacounselling.com/professional-training/

13/08/2026

The Professional Certificate in Trauma-Focused Psychotherapy was fully booked within one week of opening.

Due to the high level of interest, I have now added five additional places.

This live online course offers an evidence-informed, practical and clinically grounded approach to working with trauma and PTSD.

Professional Certificate in Trauma-Focused Psychotherapy
A Cognitive Behavioural Approach to Working with Trauma and PTSD

📅 Saturdays 6, 13 and 20 March 2027
💻 Live online via Zoom
🎓 15 CPD hours

If you had hoped to join the course, booking for these five places is now open:

https://susilodolacounselling.com/product/professional-certificate-in-trauma-focused-psychotherapy/

PsychotherapistCPD OnlineCPD

09/08/2026

When I’m developing training courses, I spend a lot of time looking at what the research actually says. I think we have a professional responsibility to understand the evidence behind the approaches we use.

I’m very open to newer approaches and I think many have something valuable to offer. But there is an important difference between an approach being popular, and having a strong research base for treating Trauma.

Here is a short overview of what research actually tells us:
For adult PTSD, trauma-focused approaches including Prolonged Exposure, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Trauma-Focused CBT and EMDR have the strongest research support.

Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) also has a meaningful evidence base, particularly among multiply traumatised and forcibly displaced adults, although comparative evidence across general adult PTSD populations is more limited.

The research supporting Compassion-Focused Therapy and Internal Family Systems as PTSD treatments is still developing.

Practices such as grounding, emotion-regulation strategies, compassion practices and body-based exercises can also be valuable additions to therapy — but that is different from demonstrating that they are effective stand-alone treatments for PTSD.

Evidence-based practice isn’t about blindly following research or suggesting that one treatment will suit everyone.

Strong evidence gives us a starting point, not a one-size-fits-all answer. Evidence-based practice brings together research evidence, clinical expertise and the individual client’s needs, preferences and context.

This is the approach that underpins my professional training: understanding what the research actually supports, being honest about where the evidence is still developing, and helping therapists translate that knowledge into thoughtful clinical practice.

08/08/2026

Update: The Professional Certificate in Trauma-Focused Psychotherapy for March 2027 is already fully booked.

A waitlist is now open, and if there is sufficient demand, I may add another Trauma-Focused Psychotherapy course later in 2027.

Each of my Professional Certificate courses is designed to support evidence-based practice.

Evidence-based practice does not mean rigidly following one model or applying the same intervention to every client. It involves bringing together:

• the best available research
• the therapist’s clinical knowledge and experience
• an individualised understanding and formulation of the client
• the client’s needs, preferences, circumstances and wider context

This is the approach that runs through all my courses.

Enrolment is also open for the 2027 Professional Certificate in Adolescent Psychotherapy and Professional Certificate in Child Psychotherapy programmes, and places are beginning to fill. Both courses are aligned with the IACP standards of working with under 18s and prepare you fully to work with adolescents.

If you are looking for substantial professional training that will deepen your clinical understanding and give you practical approaches you can bring directly into your work with clients, I would love to welcome you to one of the upcoming courses.

Payment plans are available, and early booking is advised.

View the courses and book your place:

https://susilodolacounselling.com/professional-training/

07/08/2026

Today I’m launching something that has been almost a year in the making.

I’ve wanted to create something that extends the "Professional Certificate in Adolescent Psychotherapy" beyond the training days — somewhere past participants can continue to access resources, keep up to date, connect with one another and feel supported in their work with young people.

Today, I’m opening the Adolescent Psychotherapy Alumni Resource Library and The Circle.

The Alumni Resource Library brings everything together in one place — lecture slides, handbooks, client worksheets, assessment tools, research studies, readings and additional clinical resources.

And it will keep growing. I’ll continue adding new research, updated resources and practical materials to help past participants keep their knowledge current and support their clinical practice.

Alongside the Library is The Circle, a private community exclusively for past participants of the Professional Certificate.

It’s a place to ask questions, share resources and research, support one another, learn from each other and stay connected.

I’m particularly excited about building a referral network. We now have past participants working across Ireland and outside Ireland, and "The Circle" gives us a way to find and recommend trusted colleagues when a young person or family needs support in another area or with a particular difficulty.

Working therapeutically with adolescents can be challenging, and none of us has all the answers. Having a network of colleagues with a shared interest in this work gives us another way to keep learning, support one another and ultimately provide the best service we can to the young people and families we work with.

The Alumni Library and The Circle are completely free and exclusively for past participants of the Professional Certificate in Adolescent Psychotherapy.

📩 Invitations are going out today.

If you’re a past participant, keep an eye on your inbox for your invitation to join the Alumni library and The Circle.

After almost a year working on this behind the scenes, I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can build together ☺️

01/08/2026

I know it is only August, but I have been planning ahead—and I am genuinely excited about what is coming in 2027.

Next year, for the first time, my CPD course schedule will include:
✅ Professional Certificate in Trauma-Focused Psychotherapy
and
✅ Professional Certificate in Child Psychotherapy

Both courses reflect a real demand for practical, evidence-informed training that therapists can bring directly into their work. I am very pleased to finally bring them into the programme.

Making space for something new also means making choices about what I can realistically offer and maintain the quality of the courses.

The Professional Certificate in CBT, MI and Mindfulness will not run again until 2028. Therefore, the upcoming October/November 2026 course will be the final opportunity to attend until 2028.

I am certainly not stepping away from this course.
CBT, Motivational Interviewing and mindfulness remain central to my clinical work and teaching. But I cannot offer everything every year and still give each course the attention it deserves.

So, if you have been considering the CBT, MI and mindfulness course, this autumn is the opportunity to join me before it takes a break for 2027.

Bookings for 2027 are now open for the January Professional Certificate in Adolescent Psychotherapy.
The remaining courses will open soon for enrolment.
Link to CBT/MI course
https://lnkd.in/etAmrbtc

23/07/2026

“What would Susi say to that?”

Over the years, a number of clients have told me that, when they notice themselves getting caught up in anxious feelings and thoughts between sessions, they sometimes pause and wonder:
“What would Susi say to that?”

The first few times this was said to me in sessions I felt a little uneasy because my role as a therapist in not to provide clients with the right answers or encourage them to think as I do. My role is to help clients understand their thoughts, feelings and patterns, explore different perspectives and make choices that feel right for them..

I wondered whether clients were relying too much on my opinion rather than learning to trust their own judgement. Yet the important part was not really what I might say. It was that another perspective had become available to them. It was that they had begun to pause.

Instead of immediately believing the first thought that appeared, such as “They must be judging me”, “I should not have said that, now everyone will think badly of me”, or imagining everything that might go wrong in the future, they were beginning to step back and look at their thinking differently.

They were able to challenge that inner voice. When they said to themselves “What would Susi say to that” what their really meant was what have I learned during my therapy sessions about how to manage my mental health.

They may begin to notice when their mind jumps to the worst conclusion. They may become a little less certain that every thought is true. They may allow themselves to consider another explanation, wait before reacting, or decide how they want to respond rather than acting from fear or anxiety.

They may also begin to speak to themselves with more understanding, compassion and less criticism.

Helping clients develop that voice is at the heart of how I bring CBT, Motivational Interviewing and mindfulness together in my work.

These are also some of the skills I explore in my Professional Certificate in CBT & Motivational Interviewing, integrating Mindfulness. Here is the link if you are interested to learn more:
https://susilodolacounselling.com/product/professional-certificate-in-cbt-35-cpd/

Susi Lodola Counselling

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