Frequently Asked Questions

 

Q. What makes the Lakeland College special?

There are many aspects of the Lakeland College experience which come together to provide students with a unique and very special training in homeopathy. The core team collectively hold the vision and energy of the college.

The students we attract are resonating with the energy created by the core team and the existing students and we facilitate the realisation that they are actually very special and amazing people themselves. 

We provide an excellent level of individual support to students and provide the opportunity for energy work and personal development.

Our core team are dedicated, enthusiastic and experienced teachers, teaching from their strengths and passions. All teachers are experienced and busy practitioners. The core team meet on a regular basis including a three day staff residential training every year.

Q. What is the application process?

Prospective students are invited to visit us at either the London or Lakes Campus, sit in on lectures and have an informal chat with a member of the student support team. Once all their questions are answered they complete an application form and pay a non-refundable £300 deposit to secure their place on the course.  The whole Lakeland experience is a journey of personal development and nobody finishes three years without achieving significant learning and consequently we can not predict at the start of the course who is suitable, in other words, you choose us.  We have a very low drop out rate suggesting people don’t get it wrong.

Q. How long is the course?

The Lakeland College homeopathic training is a three year part-time course.  Students attend college one weekend a month, with the academic year starting in October and ending in July. Between college weekends students attend a monthly tutorial group which lasts for two hours.  Clinical training commences in year two and is 4-6 hours per month. 

Q. How much home study do you recommend?

This varies enormously from one individual to another depending on their learning style, which we help to identify.  As a general guide we suggest that students spend about two hours a week on their Learning Journals.  In year one there is guided home study in anatomy and physiology. Additionally to this we would expect a minimum of 5 hours a week on reading and home study. By year two we usually find that students are living and breathing their homeopathy and that all their reading is related to the course in one way or another.  The writing of the five written cases in year three take approximately four hours each.

Q. What support systems do you have for students?

At every college weekend a member of the core teaching team is identified as the College Guardian for the weekend, their role is to ensure the smooth running of the weekend and make sure that every student has access to whatever they need from the college.

There is a Student Supporter present at every college weekend.  Their role is to be available to support any student who is experiencing difficulty or whose external circumstances are interfering with their study.

A Learning Journal Co-ordinator is available to support students with their learning journals.  She is contactable between college weekends as well as at college weekends.

All students have an individual feedback session twice a year, and three times in Year 3.

A Casework Supporter/Assessor is available to all third year students at every college weekend to give feedback and guidance on their written cases. 

Clinical placements and tutor group placements are co-ordinated by a designated member of staff who is available to students with a weekly phone in time.

All students are allocated a Personal Tutor and from second year a Clinical Tutor.

Once a month a day is set aside giving students the opportunity to phone the office for case support. 

College graduates run a mentoring scheme for students.

At the Lakeland College we are very proud at the level of individual support offered to our students, it allows us to get to know them well and it allows them to get to know us.  This is one of the main reasons for our course being three years instead of four.

Q. How do you assess students' progress?

Our evaluation is very individually based and depends on us knowing our students well. Throughout the course students have to maintain a Learning Journal. The end products are very individual, creative, and quite inspiring. Students have to do a formal presentation of this journal to a member of the teaching team annually. They attend monthly small tutorial groups where they have to talk through cases and explore their own thinking and learning. The tutors give us a brief monthly report and a comprehensive annual report. That allows us to continually monitor the students developing case taking and case management skills.   The same applies to the clinical training. Students have to be observed with a patient, have to contribute to evaluation, and eventually lead case management, (under supervision). The clinical training is done in small groups, with real cases.

Twice a year we have a formal individual feedback session with every student, where we discuss their progress, their strengths, and areas for development. All students have to be seeing a homeopathic practitioner throughout the duration of the course. Students have to write up cases in their final year. Cases are submitted one at a time and after we have appraised them, the student has an individual discussion and coaching session with the case reader, and also gets written feedback.

Our curriculum includes personal development and practitioner development and we have a member of staff available every weekend to give individual support to students for who these sessions bring up concerns. We talk practice ethics, and we role play.

It is all very intensive, but very individual. It allows us to really get to know students, and for them there is not so much pressure to perform, but encouragement to be themselves, and to develop their own individual style and skills from a firm foundation of knowledge.

Q. What are the fees?

London        £2780 including VAT per annum

Lakes           £2490 including VAT per annum 

Fees can be paid annually, quarterly or monthly.

Q. What qualification do you get at the end of the course?

At the end of three years students get a certificate of completion if their attendance at college and at tutor group is 80% or more.  If the student has attended student clinic, completed their Learning Journal and has good reports from their tutors they receive a Licentiate of the Lakeland College. (LLC)

Students who have completed their clinical training (minimum 150 hours), completed their Learning Journal, completed their five cases, and have satisfactory reports from their tutors are awarded Membership of the Lakeland College (MLCHom).

Most students complete MLCHom at the end of three years.

Q. Is there any advantage to attending a college that offers a degree course in homeopathy?

We have thought long and hard about this question. Obviously, we don't think that there is any advantage, but we wanted to give a comprehensive answer. The best answer we have seen is expressed by Christopher Hammond, Principal of the Homeopathy College in the Midlands and so instead of regurgitating what Chris has said, we recommend you visit www.homeopathytraining.co.uk, which is the website for the Homeopathy College, Birmingham and have a look at their section on Choosing a Course. This whole section is worth reading.

Q. Can I join the National Single Register for Homeopaths after graduation?

At the moment graduates from homeopathic colleges can register on one of several national registers.  The Lakeland College currently recommends the register of the Alliance of Registered Homeopaths (ARH) or the Homeopathic Medical Association (HMA).

see links page

The government have asked the homeopathic profession for a single register.  A Council consisting of all current registering bodies worked towards this aim for several years (CORH). The intention was that students graduating from accredited colleges would go straight on to the new single register. This Council disbanded in summer 2007 when the current registers failed to reach agreement and were unable to raise finances to launch a single register.

In 2007, a Homeopathic Course Providers Forum was formed (HCPF). This replaced and expanded an already existing group of college principals of which Lakeland College was an active member. The HCPF adopted the work of CORH council in connection with the new system for the accreditation for colleges. As yet this accreditation system is not in place but the Lakeland College is working very closely with the new body and it is our intention that accreditation for the College is in place as soon as possible. Meanwhile, it is important to point out that The Society of Homeopaths recognition system is being closed in December 2009, after which point there will be no such thing as a recognised college. Only after HCPF puts a new system into effect will colleges become accredited.

The new process for accreditation will be new to every college in the country. When choosing a place to study, you should check that the course you are considering is an active member of HCPF and that the college principal is actively engaged in pursuing accreditation as outlined in the Accreditation Handbook. (As well as Lakeland College's involvement in the above, our Principal, Anne Waters is also an active member of the working groups rewriting the European Guidelines for Homeopathic Education).

Q. What support systems do you have for graduates?

Graduates in the Lakes have formed their own graduate circle study group that meet four times a year, at a college weekend with a speaker of their own choosing, this is organised by graduate Mary Halls. Lakeland College organises Continuing Professional Development seminars in London, four times a year. Additionally, the Lakeland College runs an Advanced Diploma in Homeopathy, based in the Lake District, which is a five weekend post-graduate course involving a research element. Graduates run a mentoring scheme for students and have full access to the college support staff. Graduates from other colleges are welcome to contact the college office (015394 96110) for details of post-graduate study and seminars.