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Call Us: 043 33 62041 | 043 33 62042 |     Email Us: enquiries@icps.ie  |      Ballymahon, Co. Longford

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Format: Live-online Lecturer Led Classes (Virtual-Classroom) via Zoom

Duration: 1 Evening Every Week 6pm to 9pm

Online Live Attendance: 30 Hours

Self-Directed Learning: 30 Hours

Total CPD Credits: 60 Credits

Assessment: Written Assignment +/- Viva Voca Assessment

Award: Accredited Professional Diploma

 

Course Accreditation:

- Professional Development Consortium

- Provider of Excellence

- CPD Standards Office

- Irish Counselling & Psychotherapy Association (ICPA)

- Irish Counselling & Psychotherapy Association (Directory)

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Class 1 – Foundations of Relationship, Couples & Family Therapy

  • Orientation to State of Mind’s ethos and learning contract

  • History and evolution of couple & family therapy

  • Key theoretical foundations:

    • Systems theory & circular causality

    • Attachment theory in adult and family relationships

    • Psychodynamic, CBT, EFT, Narrative influences

  • Roles and boundaries of the relationship therapist

  • Core ethical principles, informed consent & contracting with more than one client

 

Class 2 – Assessment & Formulation in Relational Work

  • Engaging couples and families in the first sessions

  • Individual vs couple vs family assessment – who is the “client”?

  • Using genograms and relationship timelines

  • Identifying patterns of interaction, strengths, and constraints

  • Formulation tools for relational problems (systemic hypothesis, attachment lens)

  • Goal setting and collaborative treatment planning

 

Class 3 – Communication, Conflict & Power Dynamics

  • Functional vs dysfunctional communication patterns

  • Escalation cycles and “dance” of conflict (pursuer–withdrawer, demand–defend)

  • Power, control and decision-making in relationships

  • De-escalation, active listening and validation skills

  • Working with criticism, defensiveness, stonewalling, contempt

  • Introducing structured communication exercises for couples and families

 

Class 4 – Working with Couples: Intimacy, Sexuality & Commitment

  • Stages of couple development and relationship life cycle

  • Intimacy, emotional closeness and differentiation

  • Common presenting issues: infidelity, jealousy, distance, stagnation

  • Integrating sexuality into couple therapy (comfort, language, boundaries)

  • Supporting negotiation of needs, expectations, values and roles

  • When couple work is contraindicated or needs to pause (e.g., risk issues)

 

Class 5 – Family Systems, Parenting & the Family Life Cycle

  • Family structures (nuclear, blended, single-parent, co-parenting, chosen family)

  • Family life-cycle transitions (birth, adolescence, launching, ageing, loss)

  • Boundaries, roles, alliances and triangulation

  • Parenting styles and their relational impact

  • Working with child–parent and sibling relationships

  • Including children or adolescents in sessions: when, why, and how

 

Class 6 – Risk, Safeguarding & Working with High-Conflict Cases

  • Recognising and responding to intimate partner violence and coercive control

  • Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults in relational work

  • Risk assessment for self-harm, suicide and aggression

  • Holding neutrality vs taking a position in unsafe situations

  • Legal, ethical and organisational responsibilities

  • Safety planning and referral pathways; when to shift from couple to individual work

 

Class 7 – Culture, Identity & Inclusive Practice

  • Cultural, social and spiritual factors in relationships and families

  • Gender roles, feminism and power in intimate partnerships

  • Working affirmatively with LGBTQ+ couples and families

  • Neurodiversity, disability and chronic illness in relational dynamics

  • Intersectionality and the impact of marginalisation on attachment and trust

  • Adapting language, interventions and expectations for inclusive practice

 

Class 8 – Trauma, Attachment Injuries & Repair

  • Interpersonal trauma, complex trauma and their impact on relationships

  • Intergenerational trauma and family narratives

  • Attachment injuries (betrayal, abandonment, chronic misattunement)

  • Stabilisation, pacing and window of tolerance in relational sessions

  • Supporting couples and families in developing repair and resilience

  • When to integrate or refer for individual trauma work

 

lass 9 – Interventions, Techniques & Integrative Practice

  • Comparing key models: EFT, Gottman-informed, Structural, Strategic, Narrative, Integrative

  • Selecting interventions based on formulation (not fashion)

  • Live role-plays, enactments and using the room/system in the session

  • Working with impasse, resistance and drop-out risk

  • Case presentations and peer consultation

  • Documentation and outcome measures in couples & family work

 

Class 10 – Endings, Review & Professional Development

  • Planning and working toward endings in relational therapy

  • Relapse prevention, maintenance plans and follow-up options

  • Managing unfinished business and therapist’s own responses

  • Self-of-the-therapist: reflexivity, countertransference, use of self

  • Supervision models for relational, couples & family work

  • Mapping next steps in professional development and further accreditation

Professional Diploma in Relationship, Couples & Family Therapy- (LIVE ONLINE)
60 CPD POINTS

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