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Professional Certificate in Couples Counselling

Online | 5 Days | 06th March

Mailing List Prospectus

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.

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?

The course will provide an opportunity for qualified counsellors and psychotherapists to develop competence in working with couples and to empower counsellors and psychotherapists who work in a one to one setting to do so informed by relational dynamics. Students will be introduced to the theories underpinning this work, including internal family systems theory, and also to contemporary approaches to working with couples, such as those outlined by Gottman and Johnston. There will also be an introduction to EFT and the concepts within this model. An experiential approach to working with couples will allow students to practice their skills and deepen their understanding to these approaches on a practical level. The course will also introduce the area of sex and sexuality in the counselling room and within a couples dynamic, in addition to working with anger and control. There will be a focus on integration of learning, where participants are given the opportunity to outline and describe how they have integrated the learning from the four core workshops and applied it to their practice.

Course Details

DURATION: 5 Days START DATE: 6th March 2021

Day 1 & 2: 6th & & 7th of March 2021
Day 3 & 4: 20th & 21st of March 2021

Day 5: 25th of April 2021

TIMETABLE: Saturday and Sunday from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm

AWARD: PCI College Professional Certificate in Couples Counselling

VENUE: Live-Classroom

In compliance with COVID-19, the classes will be delivered as live online lessons via Microsoft Teams, which is a platform built on Office 365. It is a secure platform and follows the compliance capabilities.

Syllabus

DAY ONE & TWO: Introduction to Couples Counselling & Skills and Strategies

The initial 2 days of the Professional Certificate includes an overview of the theories underpinning couples counselling including the work of John Gotteman. Therapeutic interventions will be introduced and practised including role plays.

The objective of the 2 Introductory days:

Relevant theories will be revised and revisited.
Participants will be introduced to counselling with couples and become familiar with the similarities and differences between couples counselling and individual counselling.
Working with gay and lesbian couples will also be introduced.

DAY THREE: Family dynamics
Family dynamics - will focus on family systems including the work of Murray Bowen and Virginia Satir. Participants will be introduced to the genogram.

Objectives of Day 3:

Participants will become aware of the importance of family of origin in couples counselling.
Become aware of the importance of being familiar with family values and mottos.
Become familiar with triangulation and mapping within families.

DAY FOUR: Sexuality
Participants will be made aware of the importance of being comfortable talking about sexuality in couples counselling. Need to understand own sexual script otherwise the area of sexuality within couples counselling will not get adequate attention.

Objectives of Day 4:

To be able to normalise and validate couples around sexuality.
To be more comfortable talking about sexuality with the couple.
Become aware of primary and secondary sexual dysfunctions.

DAY FIVE: Integration
The integration day takes place in a relaxed atmosphere where participants are given the opportunity to outline and describe how they have integrated the learning from the workshops outlined above and applied them to their practice. Each member of the group will have an opportunity to talk about their experience.

Objectives of Day 5:

Understanding and prioritising main presenting problems
Understanding the maintenance of presenting problems
Able to outline interventions used

Participants will be expected to submit relevant documentation of 15 hours of supervised clinical work.

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

Entry Requirements

ELIGIBILITY

Qualification in Counselling, Psychotherapy or other helping professionals with therapeutic experience.

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

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.

Course Fees

FEES

Cost of Days 1 & 2 - €260

Cost of Days 3,4 and 5 - €520

Full Price: €730 (Save €50)

PCI College Graduate & Student Full Price*: €680

*PCI College Student rate applies to BSc Degree and Postgraduate students only

APPLICATION PROCESS

Applicants are invited to book online using the book now. Applications must be accompanied by the payment of the full course fee. Applicants are entitled to a refund if they decide to cancel within 14 days of receipt of their booking, and didn't participate on the course. Please note that the name used on your application needs to be the same name that you have on your passport.

Integration day (Day 5) is scheduled for a date that allows sufficient time for students to complete practice hours. If you are unable to attend your integration day due to not having completed your practice hours, you may be subject to a fee for setting the integration day outside of your original class schedule.

Fees are non-refundable in all personal circumstances. The College makes every effort to avoid altering course times, course commencement and conclusion dates. However, should any changes be necessary, you will be notified at the earliest opportunity. All courses run subject to demand and the formation of a viable class cohort. A full refund will be given to all applicants in the event that the class does not proceed.

For more information, please visit our full Terms & Conditions page.