Specialist Sexual Violence Training – Apply by 31st August 2026!
We are delighted to announce the return of our Specialist Sexual Violence Clinical Training for Accredited Counsellors, commencing October 2026.
Our course offers a specialist qualification that builds on generic counselling training, equipping counsellors and therapists with the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to support people affected by sexual violence. It is aimed particularly at those working within the sexual violence sector.
Read our Course Overview here
Course details
Training will run two days a month — the Friday and Saturday of the second weekend of the month — from October 2026 to June 2027*, at the Clayton Hotel, Sligo.
Topics covered include:
- Sexuality
- Dynamics of sexual violence
- Adult rape and sexual assault
- Child sexual abuse
- Male rape
- Pornography and perpetrators
- Counselling practice and issues relating to counselling
- Body work
- Intersectionality
Places are limited, and successful applicants must commit to attending the full course.
The course carries a small sliding scale fee based on capacity (maximum €450). Applicants currently working in a member Rape Crisis Centre will have this fee waived, on the basis of a continued commitment to service in that centre for two years.
How to apply
Download the application form and send to training@rcni.ie by Monday 31st August 2026.
About the training
The mission of Rape Crisis Ireland’s Specialist Sexual Violence Training for Accredited Counsellorsis to meet survivors’ evidenced need for a specialist sexual violence counselling response. This response is based on the Rape Crisis model, which understands sexual violence in context, and trauma as political as much as it is personal.
Our aim is to equip qualified practitioners to support survivors in breaking through complex societal and cultural barriers to understanding what was done to them, in a manner that empowers. Our method in each course is to create a strong, committed and safe group to work together, face-to-face, in mutual support and challenge.
Our trainers are drawn from the most experienced practitioners in the movement in Ireland.
Rape Crisis Ireland is grateful to Community Foundation Ireland for funding support to roll out this training in 2026–2027.
*The course will take place on the following dates:
9-10 October 2026
13-14 November 2026
11-12 December 2026
08-09 January 2027
12-13 February 2027
12-13 March 2027
09-10 April 2027
07-08 May 2027
11-12 June 2027
