IDM Professional Development Programs Overview
The Professional Development Courses at IDM are based on the evidence-based foundation of the Institute’s international certificate programs called Program One, Two, and Three. These programs, taught since 2000, have been thoroughly validated and are internationally known. In contrast to programs leading to certification, the courses under this menu aim to educate professionals in areas of developmental process consultation that are not already covered somewhere else in the world. While participants in these programs have secondary access to certification if they so desire, most of them are thought to be working professionals whose primary interest lies in refreshing and updating the skills and expertises they already excel in.
IDM’s professional development agenda is an open-ended one so that new courses can be added when the need for them arises. Some of the courses offered are stand-alone courses without any preconditions, while some of them require foundations offered by related IDM courses.
The central topic of Professional Development at IDM is that of Process Consultation in the sense of E. Schein who defined the field as “consultation to others’ mental process.” In going beyond Schein, the Institute teaches consultation practices that are developmental in that they are based on an understanding of adults’ cognitive and social-emotional development over the lifespan.
An important characteristic of professional development at IDM is the distinction between cognitive and social-emotional development. These two strands of adult development, although related, follow a decidedly different trajectory and require different qualitative methods to understand them. Merging these two trajectories as is done worldwide hinders insight into their relationship and is therefore taboo at IDM.
In graphic form, professional development courses are related to each other in the following way:
As shown, three kinds of courses are offered:
- Self study courses.
- Courses that combine self study with a subsequent tele-class in which the foundations learned through self study are put to practical use.
- Master classes that presuppose two (or more) courses under (1) and (2).
In sum, IDM professional development courses are theory-based but hands-on, pragmatic courses in specific areas of professional work. These courses are addressed to consultants, coaches, HR strategists, managers, facilitators, mediators, social workers, and psychologists in equal measure.
The main teaching language at IDM is English, but German courses are increasingly becoming available. French courses are offered especially by Pro-Action Europe in Brussels, Belgium (see www.pro-action.eu).
Course Name |
Description |
Duration |
The IDM Gateway is an overview course covering all three perspectives of the CDF assessment methodology. No prerequisite. Gateway self-study itself is a prerequisite for entering Program One and all PD courses. |
Self-directed & -timed; audio recordings and course materials |
|
Based on self study material, practical hands-on work in applying the CDF Three Houses/Thought Form framework to effective cognitive interviewing. Requires Gateway. |
Self study time plus four hour teleclass |
|
Based on self study material, practical hands-on work in applying the framework of developmental stages and interview prompts to effective social-emotional interviewing. Requires Gateway. |
Self study time plus four hour teleclass |
|
Intense practical work in helping clients access their own mental processes, both of ‘thinking’ and ‘feeling’, for the purpose of deeper self-observation and reflection. |
Six two-hour teleclasses |
|
Intense practical work in client supervision using interviewing skills acquired through self study & teleclass. Requires Gateway self study and at least one interviewing class. |
Six two-hour teleclasses |