Coaching Couples to Communicate - Sydney

Conference venue: Cambridge Hotel, Sydney

Date: Friday 2nd March 2018
Time: 9am – 4pm
PD Points: 7

This is a one-day course designed to give Therapists more tools and techniques for one of the most significant challenges in therapy: getting couples to communicate well. 

The seminar will deliver benefits to any therapist, social worker or counsellor who works with couples now – or intends to. It is also suitable if you work with families.

Effective communication can be the foundation for significant breakthroughs in relationship work, but it is not easy to teach.

The therapist has to know how to formulate questions and connect with the clients in a way that allows the Therapist to challenge negative communication interactions in the room. And then, there’s the challenge of using those skills to coach couples to do the same. You may be up against escalating conflict, anxiety, defensiveness, stonewalling and/or constant criticism.

The course will be presented by Jacqueline McDiarmid, who has extensive experience at managing all those dynamics in a highly-charged room.

Theory will be drawn from systemic theory, Gottman ideas, Imago ideas, and more.

Topics covered will include how to set up boundaries that protect you and your clients, how to handle conflict in the room, what to do when one person ‘gets it’ but the other does not (or doesn’t want to), and so on.

You’ll also benefit from Jacqueline’s anecdotes, insight and wisdom.

Learning will be by case presentation, group discussion, role plays and experiential work.

Outcomes:

  • You will learn the listening dialogue.
  • You will learn how to work with Solution Focused ideas when it comes to communication.
  • You will learn how to implement Gottman ideas.
  • You will learn how use yourself as the Therapist in the room.
  • You will learn how to provide safety in the room.
  • You will learn how to manage conflict and other unhelpful behaviours that couples present.
  • You will learn how to pace the work with conflict avoidant presentations.
  • You will gain confidence to do this work with couples.
  • You will also gain new insights in how to engage couples and families to commit to the work with you.

By helping your clients have better conversations, you can fundamentally improve their partnerships, significant relationships, and lives.

So register now and find out how you can coach help couples (and families) in constructive, open, positive communication.

View testimonials for our training seminars here.

jacqueline finalCourse presenter

Jacqueline McDiarmid MCFT, B.Couns., Dip. Psych, is the Director of the Sydney Couple and Family Specialists, a private practice in Sydney and the Director of The Couple and Family Training Centre where she runs professional development training sessions and a mentoring program for those who wish to work in couple and family therapy. She currently lectures in the Masters program at the Jansen Newman Institute and guest lecturers at various universities. Jacqueline is well known for her work with couples and families and is passionate about offering clients the opportunity to experience a safe and productive place to work with well trained Couple and Family Therapists. Jacqueline is a Clinical Member of the Family Therapy Association of Australia and a Clinical Member of PACFA.