Introduction to couples counselling

It’s likely that, as a counsellor or therapist, you probably found couples counselling wasn’t covered in much detail in your initial training. And if it’s something you’re now interested in, you’ll probably find most courses are one or two years long.

But it is possible to learn the fundamentals of couples counselling in a short course. This introduction to couples counselling is a four-day course and will provide you with the key principles and techniques you can start putting into practice to help your clients.

Course content

First weekend - day one 

• differences between individual and couples counselling
• the role of the therapist in couples counselling
• different models of couples counselling
• essential communication skills to teach your couples
• the basics of non-confrontational communication
• couples dialogue

Day two

• transference in the couple relationship
• mechanisms of attraction and partner selection
• attachment vs. differentiation; working with conflict and emotions
• attachment patterns and mechanisms of disconnection
• working with the couple’s defeating pattern or dance of disconnection

Second weekend

Day three

• stages of relationship, from romance, to power struggle, to co-creation
• working with the stages
• working with hostile couples; understanding and de-escalating conflict; bonding exercises
• working with avoidant couples; face the elephant in the room

Day four

• ethical dilemmas in couples counselling
• homework and exercises for couples clients
• how to conduct your first couples session; theory and format; determining client intentions
• making a treatment plan for the journey ahead