New Couples Therapy Training in Bristol

A recent government survey revealed Bristol and Weston Super-Mare to be very high up on the list of UK divorce hotspots. Currently special skills in couple counselling are not widely available in this area. That is set to change when leading trainers, Tavistock Relationships, offer their specialised couple counselling training for the first time in Bristol. They are offering two courses – to start in January 2017 and run on Wednesday evenings, over two terms – to suit either beginners or existing practitioners.

If you are a good listener, enjoy helping others and are interested in a rewarding and flexible career – this could be the course for you. It also suits professionals who want new techniques to work with couples on their relationships.

Couple work is rewarding and stimulating. It’s ideal for people who like to understand the dynamics of relationships and want help people professionally. Many couple therapists originally switch from ‘office’ jobs or have small children and seek a more flexible career. Tavistock offer two courses depending on the student’s level of experience. 

The first is an Introductory course – for beginners with little or no experience. To be eligible you require an appropriate level of self-awareness, interest and motivation for learning about couples. 

This course introduces couple psychotherapy theories with special emphasis on the psychodynamic approach. Separate seminars explore life stages and the developmental stages of relationships. It provides a basic understanding of working therapeutically with couples. 

Ally Kessler, the Chair of Psychodynamic Training at Severnside, welcomes the launch of the course. “Bristol is served well with analytic training for individuals and child psychotherapists, but there’s no designated course currently available tackling the complexities of couple work,” Kessler observed. 

Tavistock’s second course is a Certificate in the Study of the Couple Relationship, for existing counsellors and person centred professionals. This covers psychoanalytic theory and technique for adult couple relationships. Students can apply this to their own clinical material. This course helps qualified adult, child and family therapists develop understanding of couple relationships and theory via lectures, theoretical discussions and video presentations.

Details for both courses:

Duration: 18 January 2017–21 June 2017, Wednesday 6pm–9pm

Fee: £980 Venue: Engineers House, Bristol  

Applications for either course must be completed by Nov 30 2016

For a FREE information pack with course details, application form and a paper about couple work and how it impacts society, email: [email protected] and specify which course you are interested in. For more details on the course in Bristol you can also visit: tavistockrelationships.ac.uk