Broaden your skills base

SIX WAYS TO BROADEN YOU R SKILLS AND KNO WLEDGE IN 2020 AND BEYON D

Heidi Hinton, the FHT’s Education Executive, shares some great ways to add to your skillset…

LEARNING something new has many benefits. As well as boosting mental performance and helping you to adapt to new situations, it builds on your existing skills and knowledge, ensuring that you continue to offer the best service possible to your clients. There are lots of different ways you can boost your therapy and business know-how, many of which can also gain you valuable CPD points and boost your bottom line.

REFLECTIVE PRACTICE Experience is a great teacher. Case studies are a useful way to look back and reflect on your work with an individual client. This allows you to break down your treatments and look at what you did well and what you can learn from, helping you to develop and improve your therapy service for that client, as well as future ones.

ONLINE OPPORTUNITIES

At FHT, we require hands-on training for hands-on treatments, but there are lots of subject areas that can be covered online, such as courses in anatomy and physiology, first aid, nutritional advice and business development. This is useful if you want training that you can fit round your business and life commitments. Webinars are also a great way to learn something new from industry experts.

QUALIFICATIONS AND POSTGRADUATE COURSES Businesses need to evolve to thrive. Adding a new treatment to your therapy toolkit or enhancing your existing skills is essential and could offer unique selling point over local competitors. Always check that the course is from a major awarding body or accredited by a professional association, so you can be confident it meets industry standards.

CONFERENCES AND CONGRESSES

Attending a conference or training congress has lots of benefits. You can gain CPD points as you learn from industry experts and the short seminars provide a great introduction to a new therapy or topic before undertaking more in-depth training. Many of these events also include networking opportunities and an exhibition, where you can talk face-to-face with other therapists, training providers and product suppliers.

TEACHER TRAINING Have you ever thought of going into teaching, so that you can pass on your skills to others? If so, it’s possible to gain a Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET) while you actually teach students in an FE college or private school, under the supervision of a fully trained tutor. This route into teaching would typically mean volunteering your time in return for the college or school funding your teaching qualification, but an added benefit is that you may be hired during or at the end of

the process, if a job vacancy becomes available. Find out more at www.fht.org.uk/article/teachertraining.

VOLUNTEERING

It’s a Marmite topic in our industry, but many therapists like to give something back to people in their local community. Volunteering in a hospice allows you the opportunity to learn what it’s like to work in a new environment, with a new client group, and all alongside other health professionals, as part of a multidisciplinary team. As well as gaining valuable experience, many hospices also provide training and supervision for their volunteers. n

HEIDI HINTON heads up FHT’s education programme and CPD. The FHT offers a range of membership benefits to holistic therapists and runs the largest independently Accredited Register for complementary healthcare therapists. For more information www.fht.org.uk or call 023 8062 4350. i