Start Date: September 2026 | Day: Wednesdays | Duration: 6 months (8 sessions)

Course Fees

Founding Cohort Early Bird Fee £1,295

• £295 deposit + 8 monthly payments of £125

Standard Price £1,695 total

• Option A (recommended): £395 deposit + 6 monthly payments of about £217

Places are limited in order to maintain a high-quality experiential learning environment.

About the Course This experiential CPD certificate is designed for qualified counsellors, psychotherapists and mental health professionals who wish to begin working confidently, ethically and competently with couples and relationship systems.

The programme offers an integrative and inclusive approach to couples therapy, combining attachment-informed, systemic, relational and psychosexual perspectives with practical supervised skills development.

This is a highly experiential training with live teaching, demonstrations, supervised role-play practice, reflective process work and group supervision throughout.

Our Approach The programme includes:

• Live teaching

• Skills demonstrations

• Supervised role-play practice

• Reflective discussion

• Case formulation exercises

• Experiential learning

• Group supervision

What You'll Learn Participants will develop confidence in:

• Working with relationship dynamics and conflict

• Conducting couples assessments

• Managing emotional escalation

• Supporting repair and reconnection

• Working with psychosexual issues

• Working affirmatively with diverse relationship structures including LGBTQ+ relationships, polyamory and consensual non-monogamy

Course Structure

• 8 Wednesday training sessions

• Delivered over 6 months

• Face-to-face experiential training in Worcester Park

• Small group learning environment

• Supervised role-play and skills practice included

• Group supervision provided throughout the course

Participants will also be supported in beginning couples work in practice following completion of core assessment and safety modules.

Clinical Practice & Supervision The course includes facilitated supervision within the training days through structured role-play, observation and feedback exercises.

Participants wishing to complete the full clinical pathway will be expected to:

• Complete 20 couples client hours

• Attend supervision

• Complete these hours within 9 months of the course start date

The programme is designed to support therapists in transitioning safely and confidently into couples and relationship work.

Scheme of Work

Session 1 – Foundations of Couples & Relationship Therapy The couple as the client, neutrality and therapeutic alliance, assessment and contracting, contraindications and safeguarding, domestic abuse and coercive control, session structure

Session 2 – Attachment, Conflict Cycles & Emotional Dynamics Attachment styles in relationships, pursuer/distancer dynamics, escalation patterns, shame, blame and withdrawal, emotional regulation and de-escalation

Session 3 – Assessment, Formulation & Treatment Planning Relationship history taking, goal setting, family-of-origin influences, high-risk presentations, structuring couples therapy

Session 4 – Communication, Repair & Relationship Skills Conflict management, repair conversations, emotional flooding, listening and communication interventions, boundary setting

Session 5 – Affairs, Betrayal Trauma & Trust Repair Understanding affairs and attachment injuries, disclosure and accountability, rebuilding trust, supporting emotional processing, working with separation and endings

Session 6 – Psychosexual Therapy Foundations Desire discrepancy, sexual communication, shame and intimacy, erectile and orgasm difficulties, painful sex and trauma-informed practice, referral and ethical competence

Session 7 – Diversity, Polyamory & Inclusive Relationship Practice LGBTQ+ affirmative practice, polyamory and consensual non-monogamy, relationship agreements and boundaries, power, privilege and cultural considerations, therapist assumptions and bias awareness

Session 8 – Integration, Supervision & Developing Couples Practice Integrating approaches, therapist use of self, working online with couples, supervision and ethical practice, developing couples work in private practice, endings and ongoing professional development

Assessment Participants wishing to complete the full clinical pathway will be expected to complete 20 couples client hours, attend supervision, and complete these hours within 9 months of the course start date.

Who Is This Course For? This course is suitable for:

• Qualified counsellors

• Psychotherapists

• Clinical psychologists

• Mental health professionals

• Therapists already in private practice wishing to expand into couples work

Applicants should hold a recognised counselling or psychotherapy qualification.

Course Details at a Glance

• Start: September 2026

• Duration: 6 months (8 sessions)

• Day: Wednesdays

• Format: Face-to-face experiential training in Worcester Park, Surrey

Certification Participants will receive the Advanced Certificate in Couples, Relationship & Psychosexual Therapy, awarded on successful completion of attendance and course requirements.