We are currently in the process of upgrading our practitioner training course which we have been delivering for 15 year now! We are creating a one year diploma level practitioner training course in TWM through CPCAB. The expectation is that we can begin to deliver the course in October 2025 and we are taking provisional bookings in anticipation of this.
Register your interest so you can keep in the loop.
This course will run over 6 weekends with supported study between. You will:
Supervision (20 hours)
10 individual person-centred supervision sessions to guide and support you at your own pace through the year. (10 hours)
10 course-focussed supervision sessions to support your progress towards attainment of accredited practitioner status through supervised practice, research, reflections and the building of your log of evidence.
6 weekends (84 hours)
Course assignments and research (180 hours).
Personal reflexive journal (written or audio) (30 hours) evidencing a journey of increasing depth of presence, personal healing, understanding of The Walters Method and addressing the 7 processes .
Practice with peers and with clients under supervision (180 hours)
TWM uses a structured approach based on the phased model described by Babette Rothschild (Rothschild B. 2021 Revolutionising Trauma Treatment. Norton.)
It gives the client, should they need them, the means to return to a calm and present state after addressing traumatic and painful memories. Many clients will move through all the phases in a single session but the exercises are introduced by the practitioner in a flexible way depending on the current state and needs of the client.
Teaches the client techniques they can use to stabilise themselves, feel safe, be present and access a wiser perspective of their issues. Because the work is body based, they experience feelings of calmness, safety and trust rather than just having an intellectual understanding that this is possible. This affects their physiology, soothes and relaxes an over vigilant body and settles habitual fear responses.
The body scan, breath and other common mindfulness meditations will be shared with the client[i]. If they find them helpful they will be directed to Mindfulness apps and encouraged to practice daily throughout the course of TWM and ideally in the future.
The client is asked to write out their thoughts as they arise. They are encouraged to write fast and freely, not censoring or correcting what flows onto the page. They can continue this until they feel emptied out or write for a set period of time. They are then asked to read through what they have written, reflect on how a wise friend might comment on these thoughts and what advice they might give and write out these reflections.
The client talks (or writes) about an issue, first telling the story and then describing how it affects them emotionally and how it makes them feel in the body.
They then get up and move to another chair, pick someone they admire, whose wisdom they value and who they think has their best interests at heart and imagine how it feels to be them.
They are asked what advice this ‘wise guide’ would give the person in the chair they have just left.
They then return to their original chair and describe how it feels to receive this advice and what it means to them.
The client is asked to explore, often using role play, the body posture they adopt and how they feel when they are being a ‘capable adult’, ‘ loving parent’, ‘judge’, ‘unhappy child’, ‘playful friend’ and ‘wise guide’. They learn that they are composed of a full team of mutually supporting parts and with practice, it is possible to control which part they inhabit. Some parts may feel very unfamiliar and be difficult to accept with compassion to start with.
They gain an appreciation of how well resourced they are and, with practice, they can deal with previously challenging situations mindfully, compassionately, confidently and with integrity.
Here the client is guided to recognise how they negatively judge themselves and others and to appreciate that this is unhelpful, make them feel anxious, frustrated or resentful and impacts on their feelings and interactions. They are guided to experience how they feel when they are free of these thoughts and how this positively affects their resilience and their ability to communicate effectively.
The Questioning Thoughts exercise investigates unconscious and habitual responses that the client has to people or situations. It quickly and directly uncovers a fundamental belief that they have about themselves (for example: I am not safe, I am not worthy, I am unlovable, I can’t cope) which was often formed after an early trauma or other negative experience, and allows them to explore it consciously. Once they see that from an objective perspective the belief is not always true they are asked to imagine how they would feel and act without it. This allows them to open to a more mindful experience of themselves and recognise that they can be free from habitual unconscious thoughts that are affecting their emotional wellbeing. They are invited to practice the technique frequently at home and they quickly begin to respond to previously challenging situations more consciously and feel calmer and more confident.
The early experiences of some clients may have taught them that they are powerless, unsafe, unworthy and/or have no agency and creates a lasting default state of anger, fear, grief or shame. Others will still hold the shock early trauma in their bodies.
In stage 2 the client directly addresses the memories, conditioning and traumas that led to these emotions and reframes them, thus reducing the habitual emotional responses.
The client is guided through a phase 3 exercise after each phase 2 exercise.
The client is asked to talk about a recent event that affected their emotional equanimity and to notice how it made them feel. In a guided visualisation they are asked to locate this feeling in their body, focus on it, and ask themselves when they first felt it. This usually brings to their attention an unhappy or traumatic memory from childhood which has been driving emotional responses ever since. The client is then immediately, without any need to talk about the event, guided to feel into their mother archetype and soothe their inner traumatised child, noticing how it feels to receive the love and support they needed.
The client then visualises holding the child next to their heart so they will always feel safe, loved and supported in the future.
The client is guided to focus on a sensation, discomfort or other feeling in the body, invited to feel and express it fully. This may be facilitated by asking them to imagine being completely private and not overheard, such as alone on a wild moor with a strong wind blowing. They will be encouraged to internally express their feelings fully until they are all spent and then to explore what feeling lies deeper. This may bring to their attention an image, sensation or memory normally harboured in the unconscious which they are again encouraged to express and discharge fully. Rather than dwelling on this the client is then directed back to the physical feeling to explore what is beneath or deeper. The cycle is continued, often going rapidly through a range of powerful emotions, until they are emptied out and they experience a state of calm, expansiveness, peace, stillness, safety or boundless love. Once in this state of one-ness they naturally have a mindful perspective on their suffering. They gain insight into their habitual emotional responses and what they need to do for themselves in order to achieve a healthier state of being.
This process can begin with any emotional or physical pain held in the body. The client is supported to take their awareness into the feeling and allow it to be fully felt, they then explore deeper, fully feeling all the emotions that arise until they reach a state of surrender, peace and connectedness. This gives them a more mindful perspective on their suffering. It frequently brings lasting relief from physical pain as the root casue is recognised and addressed.
The client is asked to visualise a safe place and bring in a wise guide, mentor or other presence that helps them to feel supported. They are then asked to imagine a video screen and to watch at double speed an incident from the past that traumatised them or remains unresolved in some way, they are told that they hold the remote controls and can stop and start the video at will. They are then asked to think about the resources they needed to be safe at that time (these could be fanciful or practical such as having a strong friend with them, a shield or ability to teleport out of the situation). They then replay the memory as it would have gone if they were already in possession of these resources and to notice how it feels to remember the incident without being retraumatised by it.
In a guided visualisation the client imagines sitting at a campfire and inviting in a younger version of themselves who suffered emotional pain or trauma. This younger version is given whatever resources they needed to feel safe and then invites in the ‘perpetrator’. They are helped to convey to this person how they were affected by them and what impact it had on them. The ‘perpetrator’ responds and a dialogue continues until the younger version feels heard and is able to gain a more mindful understanding of what happened. They then cut ties with the past, and if necessary the person, and release any unhealthy learning that took place because of it.
Here the client envisages a future where they are free of emotional pain, feel intrinsically safe and have all the resources and parts within them to cope with life. It is pointed out to them that they are already feeling this in the here and now and they are reminded that they have the tools to return to this state at will.
Once the client is feeling more empowered and mindful these techniques are introduced to them. They can then practice communicating in an empowered and authentic way even in situations that they habitually feel challenged by.
Clients are guided through a Neurolinguistic Programming meditation to notice how they feel a day, week, month and year ahead and how this is affecting their posture and how they are behaving and communicating now they are free of the issue they have been working with. They usually feel light and empowered and memories of the past are no longer emotionally charged.
We are currently working towards creating a year long diploma level course in The Walters Method. This will give you an experiential understanding of the toolkit plus the theory behind it, and knowldege of the ethics, regulation and legal aspects of becoming a practitioner. Over the year you will be supported by a person-centred supervisor and will develop a reflexive approach to your practice.
Once you are ready you can begin working with clients under supervision. You will be supported during this phase of your training to continue your learning; work according to our code of ethics and continue developing your reflexive practice.
As you continue to grow in confidence and depth you can work towards accredited status. You will have monthly individual sessions and attend bi-monthly practitioner development workshops. You will also be encouraged to re-sit any of the practitioner course workshops to gain a deeper understanding of the toolkit.
You will need your own public liability insurance, a DBS check and be registered with ICO before you begin to practice under supervision.
Moving into practice is a gradual process as you gain confidence. You may achieve this within a year or need longer. The support of your supervisor is always there for challenges along the way.
Many practitioners wish to work towards accreditation and be listed as a practitioner on the Walters Method website. They may then wish to apply to work with us.
Accreditation is awarded to trainee practitioners when they have a deep understanding of TWM, can practice intuitively and with compassion, flexibility and confidence.
They will have committed to abide by the Walters Method Code of Ethics and agreed to an individual plan of continuing professional and personal development with their supervisor.
Options for continuing personal and professional development offered by TWM are: individual sessions with a supervisor; practitioner development days; retreats and workshops and supporting the trainer on the foundation course. Practitioners sometimes choose to broaden their skills by training in specialist areas and in related therapies.
The minimum expectation is 6 individual supervision sessions with a recognised supervisor and attendance at our annual retreat.
Accredited status is reviewed annually. There is a process of appeal for anyone who wants to challenge a decision not to renew their accreditation.
Support is in place for practitioners as they begin to develop their own practices, form local hubs in their community and build their client lists. We have topics for discussion on practitioner development days where we share knowledge on building websites, creating newsletters, finding premises to work from and training in specialist areas.
There wil be opportunies to train as a supervisor and trainer in TWM once you gain experience.
Please contact us using the form, or alternatively you can get in touch using the details below.
