Introduction to couples counselling - 4 day CPD course, London

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 & 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.