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Postgraduate Diploma in Relationship Psychotherapy
Advance your career with Ireland’s first Postgraduate Diploma in Relationship Therapy. This IACP-approved, one-year, 20-day online learning program combines theory and practical skills to deepen your expertise in working with couples. Led by experienced lecturers, starting April 2025.
Course Overview
The Institute of Couples Therapy is proud to introduce Ireland’s first Postgraduate Diploma in Relationship Therapy, a year-long programme which meets the currently recommended relationship therapy professional standards criteria.
Using an integrative framework, this unique program equips therapists with advanced skills to work with a variety of relationship dynamics—from intimate partnerships to non-monogamous relationships, sibling bonds, and professional partnerships.
Our comprehensive curriculum blends Gestalt Therapy, the Developmental Model, Differentiation, Relational Life Therapy, and approaches by thought leaders like Salvador Minuchin and Esther Perel. Through engaging lectures, live demonstrations, video analysis,
skill-building exercises, and supervised client hours, therapists will gain hands-on experience and practical tools to navigate complex relationship dynamics.
As an added bonus, students enrolled in this programme will have access to all of our live and recorded CPD webinars for the entire course duration—including a library of past webinars and all upcoming sessions.
This diploma offers a transformative opportunity to deepen your professional practice and become a confident, skilled relationship therapist. Join us and be part of a pioneering program that sets the standard in relationship therapy training in Ireland.
Course Details
- Overview
- Course Details
- Dates & Time
- Eligibility Criteria
- Application Process
- Course Assessment
- Fees
- Faculty
- Inclusivity Diversity, and Belonging
COURSE DURATION: One Year (April 2025 – March 2026)
IACP APPROVED: Qualifies for 110 CPD points
PROGRAMME DIRECTOR: Karen Murphy MIACP
DELIVERY FORMAT: Online (via Zoom)
PARTICIPANT LIMIT: Maximum of 20 participants
CONTACT EMAIL: [email protected]
INFORMATION EVENING: Thursday 9th January 2025
Training Approach
The Postgraduate Diploma in Relationship Therapy is a formative psychotherapy training focusing on an integrative approach to working with couples and other forms of intimate relationships.
All modules of the training will incorporate three aspects:
Self-awareness and Reflexivity:
• Use reflexivity to manage one’s own emotional well-being, ensuring personal history and emotions are kept separate from the client’s to prevent the ‘self’ of the therapist from adversely affecting the therapeutic relationship.
• Explore and challenge personal beliefs, values, fears, and prejudices to enable client-centered practice.
• Demonstrate knowledge of and sensitivity to equality and difference.
Knowledge:
• Integrate a range of psychotherapeutic concepts in practice with clients.
• Understand and articulate a range of humanistic, relational, and experiential approaches appropriate to relationship practice with clients.
• Apply a safe, ethical, legal, and professional framework in practice.
Skills:
• Demonstrate a working knowledge and understanding of the skills required to deliver relationship psychotherapy to individuals, couples, and other types of intimate relationships.
• Manage contracting and boundaries.
• Assess risk effectively.
• Manage and respond appropriately to each partner while maintaining a non-judgmental stance.
Course Modules
Conceptualising Relationship Dynamics
• Differentiation
• Vulnerability Cycle
• Developmental Processes of Relationships
• Models of Couples Therapy
Assessing Relationships
• Pre-Therapy Assessment
• Intake Questionnaire
• Paper Exercise
• First Session Assessment
The Work of the Couples Therapist
• Approaching Early Sessions
• Hostile Couples
• Conflict-Avoidant Couples
• Creative Approaches
Ethical Considerations
• Abuse
• Harm to Self or Others
• Child Protection
• Mental Health Presentations
Communication Skills
• What is Communication?
• How Communication Breaks Down
• Initiator/Inquirer Process
• Playful Exercises
Perinatal Mental Health
• Transition to Parenthood
• Infertility
• Perinatal Mental Health Concerns
Sex
• Talking About Sex and Understanding Desire
• Common Sexual Dysfunctions
• When to Refer to a Specialized Sex Therapist
Neurodiversity
• What is Neurodiversity?
• Presentation in Couples Therapy
• Skills for Navigating ND Impact
Specific presentations
• Infidelity and Betrayal
• Addiction
• Difficult Presentations
• Loss and Endings in Relationships
Gender, Sexual, and Relationship Diversity
• Consensual Non-Monogamy
• Working with Gender-Diverse Individuals
• Bringing Cultural Sensitivity into the Work
Client Contact Hours
Students are required to complete 25 hours working with couples or other forms of intimate relationships by the end of the teaching year (to be arranged by the student). This period can be extended by two months if necessary.
Supervision
A ratio of one hour of supervision for every five client hours is required. Students are responsible for attending clinical supervision sessions. Supervisors must have specific training and experience in working with couples.
A supervisor’s report, evaluating the student’s clinical proficiency and development as a relationship therapist, will be required upon completion of the training.
This programme is open to therapists who have successfully completed a core psychotherapy or counselling psychology training course and are accredited with an accrediting body such as IAHIP, IACP, BACP, PSI, or equivalent. A minimum of two years of post-qualification work is a prerequisite.
Please note, this programme does not constitute core training for entry into the profession for the purposes of acquiring accreditation as a psychotherapist.
Applicants should demonstrate:
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Commitment and motivation for personal and professional development
- Knowledge of general counselling and psychotherapy processes
- Interest in the practices of relationship psychotherapy
Click the button below to apply, or download or application form to apply through [email protected]
- Information Evening: 9th January 2025
- Closing Date: 28th February 2025
- Interview: Eligible applicants will be invited to an online interview.
- Late Applications: Accepted after initial interviews if any places remain unfilled.
Assessment Criteria
- End of year case study
- 85% attendance
- 25 hours of Client Contact
- Supervisors Report
- Self-assessment
- Course Director and Faculty Feedback
Course Fee is €2,900.
Applicants who are offered a place are required to forward a non-refundable booking deposit of €500 in order to secure their place followed by 10 month instalments of €240.
KAREN MURPHY (She/Her)
Course Director, Lecturer
Karen founded the Institute of Couples Therapy driven by her passion and dedication to the field of relationship therapy. With over a decade of experience as a psychotherapist and an accredited supervisor, Karen is committed to helping couples find meaningful ways to overcome challenges and reconnect.
She holds a BA (Hons) in Person-Centred Humanistic Psychotherapy and has successfully run a private practice for over 10 years. Additionally, Karen has completed advanced training in EMDR, adolescent psychotherapy, and family constellations.
She works from a relational, experiential, and exploratory approach with couples strongly influenced by Gestalt principles, the Developmental Model, Relational Life Therapy, David Schnarch’s differentiation, and Salvador Minuchin’s family therapy.
BRIAN NANNETTI
Lecturer
Brian brings nearly 25 years of experience as a counsellor and psychotherapist, working across diverse healthcare settings and lecturing in Gestalt and Existential group therapies.
Returning to Ireland from Australia in 2018, Brian continues to pursue his passion for couples therapy, believing that intimate relationships offer unique opportunities for personal growth and healing.
Since 2004, he has been in private practice, supporting individuals and couples through life’s complex dynamics.
REBECCA REDDIN (She/Her)
Lecturer
Rebecca Reddin is a Chartered Psychologist, Certified Perinatal Specialist with Postpartum Support International and the Founder of the Perinatal Mental Health Institute. She is passionate about creating in-depth, powerful, and evidence based trainings that explore the complexities of the transition to parenthood; including everything from the expected clunkiness of Matrescence, to the intense impact of Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders on individuals, couples and families and everything in between.
Rebecca has provided training and education throughout her career as a Corporate Trainer and Psychology Specialist, having worked with several Fortune 500 companies to provide mental health education to employees and training to their Managers and Senior Leadership, and now provides specialised training through her own educational institute around perinatal mental health. Rebecca is a board member for the Psychological Society of Ireland’s Special Interest Group for Perinatal and Infant Mental Health and holds a Masters of Science in Psychology and Masters of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy.
Rebecca has worked in women’s mental health since 2010 and has supported couples and individuals through the transition to parenthood in her private practice since 2014.
SANDRA CARROLL
Lecturer
Sandra is an experienced, integrative psychotherapist with a BA (Hons) in Counselling and Psychotherapy.
She is also an accredited EMDR Europe practitioner and she has received advanced training in various couples therapy models with experts in the field, including the Resnick’s model, the developmental model with the Couples Institute, and specific sex therapy training with the Institute of Relational Intimacy.
Sandra’s approach integrates person-centred, psychodynamic, and family systems theories, alongside relational and mindfulness-based practices.
SILVIA PLAZA (They/She/He)
Lecturer
Silvia is certified as a General Health Psychologist in Spain, with extensive training and experience in psychotherapy, and follows the standards of recognised professional bodies in Ireland. Accredited by the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI), she specializes in gender and neurodiversity, offering a welcoming, LGBTQIA+ affirming, and neurodiversity-friendly space rooted in transfeminist and inclusive perspectives.
Silvia helps clients navigate life’s difficulties with a flexible approach that draws from supportive listening, exploring past experiences, mindfulness practices, and practical problem-solving tools.
As a queer, neurodivergent therapist, she welcomes clients from diverse communities, including kink and polyamory, promoting social justice and empowerment.
ALVINA CASSIDY
Lecturer
She worked at Dzogchen Beara Meditation Centre coordinating meditation and compassion-based courses for health and social care professionals and remains part of the team facilitating retreats.
She delivered mindfulness-based programmes in Cork City to health, social care, education and business organisations. Laterally she coordinated and developed the family programme at Tabor Lodge Addiction Treatment Centre.
Currently, she lives on the Beara peninsula and meets with clients face-to-face or online.
JOYLINE GOZHO (She/Her)
Lecturer
LINSEY BLAIR (She/Her)
Lecturer
MINH TRAN (She/Her)
IT and Training Manager
We at the ICT are committed to making our training inclusive and equitable to all. We recognise that as human beings we have a tremendous amount in common and we also have a lot of rich diversity. This includes (and isn’t limited to) neurodiversity, gender, race, sexual, relationship, physical and religious.
At the core of the work of the ICT is how we navigate differences in relationships. In order to recognise and accommodate diversity in the training environment and promote inclusivity and belonging we have committed to the following:
- Students will be respected and treated equally in the training irrespective of diversity including neurodiversity, gender, race, sexual, relationship, physical and religious.
- Application forms have been designed to be clear and concise.
- Applications can be submitted in alternative formats such as phone, email or downloadable forms as well as online forms.
- Extended timeframes for applications are possible due to processing needs or medical considerations.
- Options are given for alternative forms of accessing information outside of physical reading such as audiobooks and YouTube videos.
- Pronouns are encouraged to be shared. Respect will also be given to not disclosing pronouns.
- Clear instructions about the training are given in a comprehensive course handbook.
- Accommodation will be given for students to take breaks, stand up, move around, use fidget toys or any other supports they need to help them get the most from the learning environment.
- Students can contact [email protected] to disclose any specific support or accommodation they might need. This will be kept confidential and used solely to facilitate accessibility. We encourage you to reach out, you will not be penalised in any way for doing this. We want to do our best to support you to have the best possible learning experience.
- Assessments will be designed to be clear and easy to understand. Flexibility will be given wherever possible to submit assessments using diverse formats.
- If there is anything you are concerned about we would hope that you can speak honestly to us. The [email protected] is personal to her and not a public email address. However if you are not comfortable to do this you can submit your concern anonymously by using this link.
Our commitment at the Institute of Couples Therapy is to continue to review and update the ways that we can ensure that our students all feel included, supported and that they belong.
”Working with relationships has been by far the most challenging and deeply fulfilling work in my life.
Karen MurphyCourse Director
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the Postgraduate Diploma and the Professional Certificate Programme?
The Postgraduate Diploma in Relationship Psychotherapy and the Professional Certificate in Couples Therapy both provide valuable training in relationship therapy, but they’re tailored for different levels of experience and depth.
Postgraduate Diploma in Relationship Psychotherapy: This is our most in-depth programme, designed for experienced therapists who meet specific entry criteria, including a grounding in individual therapy and a minimum of two years post-qualification experience. The Diploma is ideal for those looking to specialise deeply in relationship therapy, covering advanced topics and practical skills to work with diverse relationship dynamics, including couples, families, and non-traditional partnerships. Following UK’s NCPS standards, this year-long programme offers a comprehensive foundation in relationship psychotherapy.
Professional Certificate in Couples Therapy: The Certificate is a stepping stone into the field, perfect for therapists who want to get started in couples work. It covers essential theories and practical skills to confidently begin seeing couples in practice. Unlike the Diploma, the Certificate course does not have a strict experience requirement and is suited for those looking to build a foundational understanding of relationship therapy.
Both programmes are valuable, with the Certificate as an accessible start and the Diploma offering a deeper, more specialised pathway for those with experience.
If you have any questions or would like more guidance on which programme best aligns with your goals, please let us know via [email protected]
How do I apply for the programme?
You can apply directly through our website by submitting an online application form here, or download the application from here and send it to our email at [email protected] upon completion.
Is the diploma a full-time or part-time programme?
This is a part-time programme that balances in-person training days with online workshops to accommodate working professionals.
Are the sessions live or recorded?
Lessons are carried out 100% online, they are conducted live to encourage real-time interaction and participation.
Are there payment plans or financial support options available?
Yes, we offer flexible payment plans to make the programme accessible. Course Fee is €2,900. Applicants who are offered a place are required to forward a non-refundable booking deposit of €500 in order to secure their place followed by 10 month instalments of €240.
Is this programme IACP-Approved?
Yes, this programme is IACP-Approved for 110 CPD Hours.
What Does the CPD Certificate Webinar Bonus Include?
Students enrolled in this programme gain exclusive access to all of our live and recorded webinars for the entire duration of the course—including a library of past webinars and all upcoming sessions.
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