Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is central to ethical, effective and resilient practice. As the mental health landscape continues to evolve, practitioners are expected to deepen their skills, remain evidence informed and respond confidently to increasingly complex client needs. High quality counselling CPD workshops provide the structure, reflection and peer learning that make this possible.
At The Eaves Counselling and Psychology, we support practitioner development through a year round programme of CPD events delivered by experienced clinicians. Our professional body of counsellors, psychotherapists and psychologists provides high quality psychological care across Guildford, Godalming, Farnham, Haslemere and online, 12 hours a day, six days a week. We work with adults, children, couples and families and we understand first hand the importance of relevant, practical and ethically grounded CPD.
Below, we explore the top five CPD workshops every counsellor should attend in 2026, keeping the focus broad so these recommendations remain relevant well beyond the year ahead. Each category reflects the kinds of CPD events we run annually and the areas practitioners consistently tell us matter most.
Trauma-informed working is increasingly integral across almost all therapeutic settings. Clients may present with developmental trauma, single incident trauma, attachment wounds or intergenerational patterns that require sensitive and well informed intervention. Trauma workshops offer counsellors a deeper understanding of how trauma affects the nervous system, memory, relationships and sense of self.
Effective workshops in this area typically combine theory with practical tools, helping practitioners recognise trauma responses, maintain emotional regulation in sessions and avoid re-traumatisation. They also provide valuable space for reflection and supervision style discussion, which is vital when working with emotionally demanding material. Our trauma focused counselling workshops are designed to support safe, ethical and sustainable practice.
Ethical dilemmas are rarely clear cut. Boundary issues, confidentiality concerns, dual relationships and safeguarding decisions can all create uncertainty, especially in complex or high risk cases. Workshops focused on ethical counselling help practitioners sharpen their professional judgement and align their work with both ethical frameworks and real world practice.
These sessions are particularly valuable when they encourage discussion of case examples, current professional standards and the emotional impact of ethical decision making. Ethical CPD also supports re-accreditation requirements and demonstrates a clear commitment to best practice, an important marker of trust for clients and referrers. Our CPD events in this area reflect the realities of modern therapeutic work, including online practice and multi agency collaboration.
Demand for skilled practitioners working with children, young people and families continues to grow. Mental health training in this area supports counsellors to understand developmental stages, systemic influences and the role of attachment within family dynamics.
Workshops may explore themes such as working creatively with children, supporting adolescents with anxiety or low mood, or engaging parents and carers in therapeutic change. For practitioners primarily trained in adult work, this type of CPD can open new referral pathways and enhance confidence when families present with complex needs. These CPD workshops are grounded in clinical experience and designed to be accessible to practitioners at different stages of their careers.
Sustainable practice requires more than clinical skill alone. Workshops focused on practitioner development address the personal and professional challenges of therapeutic work, including burnout, vicarious trauma and maintaining reflective capacity over time.
These sessions often explore topics such as self care, use of self in therapy, managing workload and developing a long term career path. They are particularly valuable for counsellors balancing private practice with organisational work or those returning to practice after a break.
We recognise that high quality client care depends on well supported practitioners. Our CPD programme includes events that prioritise therapist wellbeing alongside clinical excellence, reinforcing our commitment to ethical and sustainable psychological care.
The therapeutic field continues to evolve, with ongoing research influencing how counsellors understand mental health and change processes. CPD workshops that introduce or refresh evidence based approaches help practitioners remain current while integrating new ideas thoughtfully into existing frameworks.
Rather than focusing on fleeting trends, the most effective CPD events emphasise critical thinking, ethical integration and clinical relevance. This might include workshops on working with anxiety and depression, integrating somatic awareness or adapting practice for online therapy.
As a professional body with a strong emphasis on quality and accountability, we ensures that all counselling CPD workshops are delivered by experienced practitioners and grounded in recognised psychological theory and practice.
Choosing the right CPD provider is an important part of professional responsibility. Our workshops reflect the same standards we apply to our clinical services: depth, integrity and care. Clients can self refer to our practitioners or be referred through GPs, private healthcare insurers, hospitals, schools, psychiatrists and employers and our CPD programme mirrors this breadth of clinical experience.
Our events are:
• Delivered by qualified, experienced practitioners
• Relevant to real world clinical practice
• Designed to meet ongoing CPD requirements
Attending The Eaves CPD workshops supports both individual growth and the wider professional community. It also demonstrates a clear commitment to ethical, reflective and evidence informed practice, key indicators of trust and professionalism for clients and referrers.
Investing in high quality CPD is one of the most effective ways counsellors can strengthen their practice and confidence. Whether your focus is trauma work, ethical decision making, family therapy or long term practitioner development, choosing the right workshops matters.
We encourage practitioners to explore our ongoing programme of mental health training and CPD events and to add our events calendar to your calendarso you can stay informed as new workshops are announced and updated for 2026 and beyond.
By engaging with thoughtful and well-designed training, counsellors not only enhance their own skills but also contribute to higher standards of care across the profession.
Most professional bodies expect counsellors to engage in CPD throughout the year rather than as a one-off activity. Attending several counselling CPD workshops annually helps practitioners maintain clinical competence, reflect on practice and respond to evolving mental health needs.
Yes, online counselling workshops are widely recognised when they are delivered by qualified professionals and include clear learning outcomes. Online CPD can be particularly valuable for reflective learning, specialist topics and practitioners balancing clinical work across multiple settings.
The most effective CPD workshops are those that align with your client group, therapeutic approach and professional responsibilities. Practitioners should consider workshops that support ethical counselling, trauma-informed practice and ongoing practitioner development relevant to their current work.
CPD workshops at The Eaves are delivered by experienced counsellors, psychotherapists and psychologists who are actively engaged in clinical practice. This ensures training is grounded in real-world experience and reflects the complexities of modern therapeutic work.