This course takes you through five core learning modules, a knowledge check, and two live virtual sessions. Each section must be completed before the next unlocks — work at your own pace.
| # | Section | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Welcome & Overview | You are here |
| 2 | Self-Awareness | Study module |
| 3 | Basic Counselling | Study module |
| 4 | Interventions | Study module |
| 5 | Alternative to Violence | Study module |
| 6 | Spiritual Covering | Study module |
| 7 | Knowledge Check Quiz | Assessment |
| 8 | Book Your Seat | Registration |
- Understand and apply self-awareness principles in a professional counselling context
- Apply ethical professional standards in addiction counselling sessions
- Identify, plan, and conduct appropriate interventions for substance use disorders
- Use the Alternatives to Violence (AVP) framework in conflict situations
- Understand the biblical importance of spiritual covering and accountability
The more we tune in to our triggers and reactions, the better equipped we become to consciously choose the outcomes in our lives.
Self-awareness requires knowing where the line is drawn between our real self and our ego-driven self. A lot gets in the way of understanding our true self — our emotions, our tolerance of ambiguity, and the increasing number of influences around us.
Strong personalities can slip into bullying without awareness. The two root causes are insecurity and believing "I am right."
Signs of insecurity:
- Boasting — seeking external validation to mask inner inadequacy
- Controlling — controlling behaviour comes from fear; we control to feel safe
- People-pleasing — you are not responsible for other people's happiness
- Perfectionism — rooted in fear of failure; leads to paralysis and missed deadlines
Don't call the meeting if you have all the answers!
When feedback feels like an attack, that is a signal of low self-awareness. Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to areas where we need to practice self-awareness.
If someone says something that offends you — ask yourself: Why does this offend me? That insight is a gift.
Making excuses is a way of rejecting your flaws. Self-aware people are better at saying sorry and committing to try harder next time.
Five signs: silent treatment, subtle insults, procrastinating on purpose (a power move), sabotage, and keeping score to use as leverage later.
Journaling, affirmations, meditation, gratitude, talking to a counsellor. Start by noticing how you speak to yourself.
Being active, dancing, massage, rest. Even five minutes of morning stretching counts.
Podcasts, new hobbies, reading, writing, setting clear boundaries with others.
Connecting with God is the foundation. We can only give from a full cup.
Emotions like Angry, Happy, Fearful, Sad are results of deeper feelings — not the feelings themselves.
| Deeper Feeling | Resulting Emotion |
|---|---|
| Humiliated | Angry |
| Threatened | Fearful |
| Proud | Happy |
| Lonely | Sad |
When old reactions surface, say: "I AM NOT THAT PERSON ANYMORE." Your real self is always HERE and NOW.
The quicker you respond to something, the more that response deserves scrutiny. Awareness alone begins to de-condition the brain.
See yourself as a human inbox. When you shut someone out, you shut out reality.
When insecurity strikes, take a deep breath and relax. Let your mind ease in rather than contracting.
The journey of counselling is from the inside out. You cannot give that which you do not have.
Keeping information entrusted to you a secret. Confidentiality CAN be broken when: the client is a danger to themselves or others, elderly or child abuse is occurring, or the law requires reporting.
| Type | Meaning | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Empathy ✅ | Feeling with the person | Most effective — client feels understood |
| Sympathy ⚠️ | Feeling sorry for the person | You lose objectivity; doesn't help |
| Apathy ❌ | Not feeling anything at all | Harmful — client feels dismissed |
- Consent: Always obtain a signed agreement. Inform clients about limits to confidentiality upfront.
- CPD: Learning never ends. Research before sessions, learn from colleagues, supervisors, and clients.
- Autonomy: Respect the client's right to self-govern. Seek freely-given, informed consent.
- Beneficence: Act in the client's best interests. Stay within your competence.
- Justice: Fair, impartial treatment for all clients. Addicts still have rights regardless of their situation.
- Being Trustworthy: Honour the trust placed in you. Guard confidentiality. Keep your word.
- Non-Maleficence: Avoid exploitation and malpractice. Mitigate harm even when unintended.
- Cultural Sensitivity: Be aware of language barriers, eye contact norms, touch, and gender dynamics.
Verbal — SOLER
- Sit squarely facing the client
- Open posture — no crossed arms
- Lean slightly forward
- Eye contact maintained
- Relax — stay calm and present
Reflecting
- Repeat what the client said in your own words
- Use: "You feel… because…"
- Reflect content, feeling, and meaning
- Be brief — don't speak too soon or too long
| Type | Starts with | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Open ✅ | Who, What, How, When | "How are you feeling today?" |
| Closed | Are you, Did you, Is there | "Are you sad?" |
| Avoid ❌ | Leading / loaded / multiple at once | "You do love your husband, don't you?" |
An intervention is purposeful — not about blame or pointing fingers, but about helping a loved one access the treatment they need.
The harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol and illicit drugs — characterised by daily intoxication, inability to reduce consumption, and impairment in social or occupational functioning.
Why people use substances:
- To fit in culturally or socially
- To escape, relax, or gain courage
- To relieve boredom or seem grown-up
- To enhance perceived talent or creativity
- As a coping mechanism for depression, stress, or anxiety
Heart attack, seizures, respiratory failure, weakened immune system, organ damage (kidney, liver, lungs).
Hallucinations, panic attacks, psychosis, intense depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, permanent brain damage.
Family dysfunction, isolation, divorce, violent behaviour, crime, child abuse.
On average R500/day on drugs, job loss, bad debt, pawning property, repossession.
Family-led, requires irrefutable evidence. Most effective in parent-to-child dynamics. Power plays a pivotal role.
- Meeting 1: Therapist assesses which loved ones to involve
- Meetings 2–3: Discuss enabling dangers, strategy, goals, potential problems
- Final: Network confronts the person, therapist present
Respectful, coercion-free, coming from a place of love. Best for spousal, sibling, or adult-child relationships. Influence over power.
| Level | What happens | Success |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Phone coaching; first Intervention Network meeting | 56% |
| Level 2 | Network acts as one; consistent boundaries; 2–5 meetings | 80% |
| Level 3 | Formal intervention with serious enforced consequences | 83% |
Targets the entire family, not just the person with SUD. No external counsellor — the family's own strengths are the tool. Uses shared positive memories to reconnect.
- Involves parents, siblings, partners, children, grandparents
- Eco-system approach — the family is the healing environment
- Success depends on the family's internal strength and commitment
At the heart of AVP is Transforming Power — the power we all have to transform ourselves and our situations, choosing cooperation over coercion.
The Alternatives to Violence Project is a conflict transformation programme. Teams of trained facilitators conduct experiential workshops to develop participants' abilities to resolve conflicts without manipulation, coercion, or violence.
When we rely on Transforming Power — power-with (cooperation, transformation), possibilities open up.
Be committed to nonviolence. Use power based on cooperation and transformation — not coercion. This is the core from which all other principles flow.
Believe you deserve to be treated with respect and care. A commitment to nonviolence means you do not deserve violence and you are not responsible for the violence of others.
Balance respect for self with genuine care for others. Use I messages (your own needs) and active listening (others' needs) to maintain this balance.
Violence is often an immediate, unconsidered response. Nonviolence requires a thoughtful, problem-solving approach — and it takes practice.
New possibilities emerge when we ask. Ask others: "I don't want to fight — I want to work this out with you."
If you look for the worst in people, you will find it. If you look for the best and respond to that part of them — new possibilities emerge.
A covering is the mechanism of spiritual shielding, protecting, and providing true fathering and mentorship — established in the biblical order of Father-Relationships to Sons.
A covering is a process and mechanism of spiritual shielding, protecting, and providing true fathering and mentorship to individuals, leaders, churches, ministries, or groups in the Body of Christ.
Being "under a covering" means you are submitted, accountable, and have a shepherd watching over your soul who can correct you if you go wrong.
"Those whom you have given me; I have lost none of them." Under true covering, spiritual power flows because of the Anointing of Jesus Christ in that place.
"I heard thy voice in the garden and was afraid, because I was naked (Uncovered)." Adam was the covering for the entire human race — when he fell, we all fell. Broken covering has consequences for all under it.
- The covering of Christ is vested in specific individuals — God has always operated this way, with many scriptural examples
- Everything God does is orderly, structural, intentional, and organised
- Under true covering, spiritual power flows and is at work in the lives of those who are covered
- Our lives are impacted by those who are over us in the Lord, whether we like the concept or not
- To receive the full measure of the blessings of Christ, we need the relationships He has appointed to cover us
Answer all six questions. You must get each one correct before you can continue. Take your time — review the modules if needed.
Complete the form below to register for the Bereshith Annual Seminar 2026. Your registration will be sent directly to our team.
09:00–13:00 SAST
Self-Awareness, Self-Care & Basic Counselling
09:00–13:00 SAST
Interventions, AVP & Spiritual Covering