Professional Certificate in Couples Counselling
LEVEL
Professional Development
AWARD
PCI College Professional Certificate in Couples Counselling
COURSE STATUS
Closed for Applications
DURATION
5
day(s)
Full-Time
DELIVERY
Online
COMMENCEMENT DATE
TBD
LOCATIONS
Online
This certificate course is designed to enable qualified professionals to work with couples.
In this couples counselling course, you will learn to observe, assess, evaluate and formulate therapeutic interventions and support using the couple’s environmental influencers as well as their thoughts, moods, emotions and behaviour. You will be introduced to the many dynamics within the couple relationship and how to work with these. The approaches presented are usable, up-to-date and strongly evidence-based.
DATE
- Saturday March 7th
- Sunday March 8th
- Saturday April 25th
- Sunday April 26th
- Sunday May 17th
From 9:30 am to 4:30 pm Online
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- Record of 15 hours of supervised client work in the area of Couples Counselling.
- Record of 3 sessions with a supervisor.
- Poster Presentation
Please note that when carrying out the 15 hours of supervised client work required to complete the course, students on the Professional Certificate in Couples Counselling must ensure that at least 30% of their work with clients is with couples, while the remainder can be with individuals on a one-to-one basis.
Who is this course for?
The course is for all counsellors and psychotherapists who want to broaden their practice to include work with couples, family members and relationship issues. This certificate course is designed to equip counsellors and psychotherapists with the knowledge and skills necessary to incorporate Couples Counselling into their practice in a client-centred, integrative way.
What are the benefits of doing this course?
This certificate course is designed to equip counsellors and psychotherapists with the knowledge and skills necessary to incorporate Couples Counselling into their practice in a client-centred, integrative way.The course presents an opportunity for professionals to broaden their client referral base. The course is designed to complement already existing qualifications by broadening the repertoire of practitioner skills. Experiential aspects of this course will allow participants to integrate theories into practice.
What will you learn?
Knowledge
On completion of this Certificate, participants will:
- Be introduced to working with couples
- Understand how to contract with couples
- Integrate a working knowledge on the importance of the family of origin
- Identify the importance of roles and their influence on relating styles
- Understand the impact of communication in couples
- Be able to identify the signs of abuse and/or coercive control
- Have an awareness of the importance of safety when working with anger (overt or covert)
- Be introduced to sex and sexuality in couples work
- Comprehend the concepts within the EFT model
- Best practice guidance on working with couples
Skills
On completion of this Certificate, participants will be familiar with the use of:
- Self-reflection on personal values, communication style and sexual scripts
- Ways to evaluate their current practice needs with couples best practices guidelines
- Different ways of connecting with both individuals in the couple and overcoming any defence mechanisms
- Skills in facilitating better communication in the relationship
- Working with the relationship as the client rather than either individual
- Skills in identifying, delicately managing and referring (if necessary) cases that present with abuse and/or coercive control
- Current research and professional development resources in support of working with couples
Day 1 – Introduction to Couples Counselling
- Working with couples vs individuals
- Contracting
- Introduction to the family of origin
- Attachment influences – Bowen, Mahler
Day 2 – Family Dynamics
- Bowen’s Family Systems Theory
- Satir’s Family Roles
- Kappman’s Drama Triangle
- The Genogram
- Skills practice
Day 3 – Communication & Emotional Connections
- Satir’s Empathic & Honest Interactions
- Bowen’s Individual Behaviour in Relationships
- Genograms
- Role Play Exercise
Day 4 – Sexuality
- Sexuality in couples work
- Sexual scripts
- Working with same-sex couples
- Sexual dysfunctions in couples work
- Skills practice
Day 5 – Integration/Assessment Day
- Integration session
- Poster presentations
Eligibility
Qualification in Counselling, Psychotherapy or other helping professionals with therapeutic experience and students currently in professional training (those who have begun seeing clients). Entry is by an application form.
Language Requirements
All candidates are required to satisfy the English language requirement. Candidates whose first language is not English and who are presenting qualifications other than the Leaving Certificate may satisfy the requirement through the completion of the IELTS (International English Language Testing System), or equivalent, on the basis that they obtain a minimum band score of 6, which denotes a very good skill level of English. It should be noted that these are the minimum requirements in English and PCI College may set higher requirements in each case.
IT Skills
Students require sufficient IT skills to complete the course
Additional Entry Requirements
Students can expect to be provided with advice and support concerning any learning difficulties that they may encounter. Any diagnosed learning difficulty, e.g. dyslexia, must be noted on the application.
Students must have access to clients on a daily basis to be able to meet the requirement of 15 hours of counselling using the couples, family members and relationship issues tools learnt during this course.
Fees
Standard Rate: Applies to all non-affiliated participants.
PCI College Graduate: Discounted rate available for graduates of BSc Degree and Postgraduate programmes.
Current BSc/MSc Students & Alumni Members: Preferential rate available. Join our Alumni Group on LinkedIn to access this discount
Course Fees – Northern Ireland
Course Total