Couple standing back to back against grey wall, shadows are prominent against the wall
CPD Credits
16
Event Type
Live Online Event
Location
Zoom & Not Recorded
Time (UK)
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Standard
£1,300.00
Trainee/NHS
£1,105.00
Book Tickets
Couple standing back to back against grey wall, shadows are prominent against the wall
Monday, September 21, 2026 - Monday, December 7, 2026

An Introduction to Therapy with Couples

Explore central theoretical concepts of psychodynamic couple therapy

With Cass Vollmer & Catherine Rashid

In this 11-week online seminar series, participants will explore what it is like to work with couples in therapy. This comprehensive series offers both the opportunity to read theory by key figures in the field and to think, through group discussion, about its application in the work with couples. Film clips and relevant case material are also used to help you gain deeper insight and understanding into this fascinating and burgeoning area in the field of psychotherapy.

Topics covered include what brings couples together, shared unconscious relationships and couple fit, holding the ‘couple in mind’ in therapy, unconscious phantasy and beliefs, projective processes in couples, sex and sexualities, aggression and violence in couples, couples and parenting, ageing and relationships, depression and psychological issues, attachment styles within couples, and intergenerational aspects in relationships. Time is spent as a group discussing and reflecting on these topics, this type of work and the dynamic of couple relationships in therapy. With three in the room the work becomes quite different.

Our seminar leaders are both experienced couple therapists themselves, trained at Tavistock Relationships and immersed in the TR model of understanding and working with couples. This course offers CPD credits for psychotherapists and is a fantastic grounding to pursue any of our clinical trainings, whether you are a beginner looking for a career change or trained to work with individuals and interested to learn more about being with a couple in the room.

Please be aware this course does not result in a clinical qualification allowing you to undertake any form of practice in the field of Couple Psychotherapy and Counselling.

Programme

 First Encounters: The couple and the Culture they Create

Each session includes a theoretical discussion, case material as well as time to think about what it might be like to work with couples.

There will be papers to read in advance available in your online learning hub account.

First Encounters: In the room

Each session includes a theoretical discussion, case material as well as time to think about what it might be like to work with couples.

There will be papers to read in advance available in your online learning hub account.

Projective Processes: 'It's not me it's you!'

Each session includes a theoretical discussion, case material as well as time to think about what it might be like to work with couples.

There will be papers to read i advance available in your online learning hub account.

Difference. The Seen and Unseen: Race, Intersectionality, Identity, Sexuality

Each session includes a theoretical discussion, case material as well as time to think about what it might be like to work with couples.

There will be papers to read i advance available in your online learning hub account.

The Oedipal Situation and the Third: When two become three

Each session includes a theoretical discussion, case material as well as time to think about what it might be like to work with couples.

There will be papers to read i advance available in your online learning hub account.

Where do siblings and the wider family sit in couple relationships?

Each session includes a theoretical discussion, case material as well as time to think about what it might be like to work with couples.

There will be papers to read i advance available in your online learning hub account.

Sex and sexuality: Through the Lens of the Psychosexual Model 2026

Each session includes a theoretical discussion, case material as well as time to think about what it might be like to work with couples.

There will be papers to read i advance available in your online learning hub account.

Attachment and the Couple

Each session includes a theoretical discussion, case material as well as time to think about what it might be like to work with couples.

There will be papers to read i advance available in your online learning hub account.

Mentalization Based Therapy for Couples

Each session includes a theoretical discussion, case material as well as time to think about what it might be like to work with couples.

There will be papers to read i advance available in your online learning hub account.

Divorce and separation

Each session includes a theoretical discussion, case material as well as time to think about what it might be like to work with couples.

There will be papers to read i advance available in your online learning hub account.

Ageing and Loss

Each session includes a theoretical discussion, case material as well as time to think about what it might be like to work with couples.

There will be papers to read i advance available in your online learning hub account.

Cass Vollmer

Cass is a psychodynamic couple and individual psychotherapist, and a psychosexual therapist.  Having spent her earlier career years in the business and education sectors, she retrained with Tavistock Relationships from 2016 to specialise in working with relationships. This was followed by a psychosexual therapy training, and Cass is now a tutor for the current training cohort.  She has worked as a visiting clinician at TR and has a private practice based in East Grinstead and online. 

Catherine Rashid

Catherine is a psychodynamic couple and individual psychotherapist, and she trained at Tavistock Relationships. She is a visiting clinician at TR, and has a private practice online and in-person in Warwickshire. Prior to retaining as a psychotherapist, Catherine had a decade-long career as a diplomat in the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, including leadership roles in conflict-affected settings in the Middle East. She now provides teaching for the FCDO and private sector organisations on relationship resilience. She is also a mindfulness teacher and endurance runner, and co-leads trail running and mindfulness retreats in North Yorkshire.

Book Tickets