Advanced Diploma in Relationship Psychotherapy

February 2025 to December 2025 – in-room London – 20 days.
Our 2025 intake (London, in-room) is now full and we operate a waiting list for late applications
We shall publish our 2026 dates soon and commence recruitment for 2026 in the spring of 2025.

Our Advanced Diploma in Relationship Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy with couples requires specific skills rather than those applicable to general psychotherapy work. This course aims to build on existing psychotherapy and counselling skills and to widen these to include systemic and some psychosexual skills. We support individual students in building on, enhancing and honing their practice when working with couples and other intimate systems, such as multiple partner ones. Our intention is to enable participants to work with complex and multi-faceted presentations at a deep level incorporating a variety of psychotherapeutic models within the couple and relationship framework.

What can I use this course for?

As a substantive, specialist relationship psychotherapy qualification in itself at Level 7
This Diploma is a route into the Accredited Register of the Professional Standards Board, currently the only one in Britain to do so. For this students will normally have undertaken the two year LD (www.psychosexualtraining.org.uk) either prior to this course or after its completion
The new register at COSRT in Relationship Therapy allows students, subject to a number of requirements immediate access to the RT register. See here for the requirements XXX
Specialist CPD topping up your existing qualification in counselling or therapy
As a route, via COSRT into UKCP
As a route, via NCPS onto the NCPS RT register

Entry requirements
Counsellors, psychotherapists or related professions with a minimum of 2 years training.

Accreditations 2025 in-room
This version is accredited by NCPS and in part fulfilment of the NCPS (link here) pathway into the Accredited Register of the Professional Standards Authority. It also leads directly onto NCPS’s new Relationship Therapist Register (RTR) if students become a member of this organisation.
COSRT (link here) accredits this course either as a thematic qualification or, subject to additional requirements as a direct lead into the Relationship Therapist register.

(COSRT’s additional requirements are: COSRT student membership at a reduced rate, completion of a 1000 word critical reflection for each of the ten weekends, 100 hrs clinical practice with couples or relationships under a COSRT registered supervisor, 20 hrs personal therapy.)

We run a number of dedicated seminars on sex, sexuality, psychosexual therapy and relationship therapy, including relationship enhancement. We endorse and collaborate with the London Diploma in Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy, a two year training accredited by COSRT, NCPS and Middlesex University.

Dates

In class, face to face

February 2025 to December 2025. Times: 10.00 – 16.30 hrs. 10 weekends, 20 days in total.

Weekend 1: Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 February 2025
Weekend 2: Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 March 2025
Weekend 3: Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 April 2025
Weekend 4: Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 May 2025
Weekend 5: Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 June 2025
Weekend 6: Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 July 2025
Weekend 7: Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 September 2025
Weekend 8: Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 October 2025
Weekend 9: Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 November 2025
Weekend 10: Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 December 2025

Faculty

David Piner (Course Director), Bernd Leygraf, Effie Soultani, Dr Joanne Collins, Ana Rhodes, Judi Keshet-Orr, Serge Nicolson, Keeley Mardon, Steven Hayward, Dr Chris Cartner, Dorota Mucha

Course Tutors
The course is taught by a renowned and highly experienced team of trainers. The majority of tutors have taught previously on various course and supervision trainings and each tutor has been selected on the basis of their knowledge and practice.

Bernd Leygraf – Course Consultant
Bernd was the first counselling trainer accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) until the demise of this accreditation category. Currently he is Consultant Trainer with the Interfaith Seminary, Course Director of the London Diploma and Consultant Psychotherapist (LDPRT). He trains therapists, supervisors, organisational consultants and executive coaches in the UK and abroad. He has been course director of several MSc programmes run in conjunction with South Bank University and Middlesex University and is training director of a number of organisations in the UK and internationally.

Bernd has senior accreditation status with the College for Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy (COSRT, a M.O. of UKCP) and has currently chosen, while eligible and having been registered for many years, not to support UKCP registration. Instead, he has established a pathway for this training into the accredited Register (Prof Standards Board) via the National Counselling Society. He is a Fellow registrant with NCS and Fellow and Chair of NCP. He supervises in private practice and has practised and supervised within the NHS and other statutory and voluntary organisations. He is accredited as supervisor by COSRT.

Bernd developed and taught training courses in leadership, therapy and related fields from beginners to Masters level, both in a private capacity and through various universities in the UK and abroad for nearly four decades. His training courses draw on students from over 40 countries. From 2019 onwards he has taken his work to the Middle East and is proud to contribute this way to a culturally inclusive way of working with sex and relationships.

Bernd was awarded, in 2023, a COSRT fellowship and the 2023 Liz McElligott Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession by NCPS.

David Piner – Course Director
David is an accredited psychotherapist specialising in relationship and psychosexual therapy. He is a supervisor and trainer who runs an established private practice in London and Kent.

David is Associate Director on the London Diploma of Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy and a Course Director of Naos’ Advanced Couples Diploma. He holds an MA in Counselling and Psychotherapy.

For a few years David studied with the Couples Institute in the advanced group under the supervision of Dr Ellyn Bader PhD who, along with Dr Peter Pearson, developed the Bader-Pearson developmental model for couples’ therapy.

Previously, David was a tutor and supervisor on the University of East London’s Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy. He worked as a psychosocial delegate with the Red Cross where he provided emotional support for British nationals caught up in disasters overseas. Postings included: Sri Lanka (tsunami); Egypt (Dahab bombings); Cyprus (Lebanon evacuation); Saudi Arabia (coach crash). He is a qualified teacher and has worked in education in the UK, USA and Japan.

He is an accredited member of the College of Sex and Relationship Therapists (COSRT) and registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

Judi Keshet-Orr
Judi is a consultant psychosexual and relationship psychotherapist and a Fellow of COSRT and NCP. She has over 30 years of clinical, teaching, mentoring and supervisory experience. Her initial training was with John Heron and James Kilty. Judi was the first person in the UK to be awarded an MSc in Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy. Judi has co-founded several successful organisations and training programmes, these include The Incest Intervention Project, CPPD, and the COSRT-approved course at the Whittington Hospital NHS Trust. With Bernd Leygraf she co-authored and led the MSc in Humanistic Psychotherapy and Psychosexual and Relationship Psychotherapy courses. She also co-authored and led the Master’s programmes at London’s South Bank and Middlesex Universities in psychotherapy and psychosexual therapy. Judi founded the LDPRT nine years ago.

Judi has contributed to several academic journals, published a number of articles, spoken on radio and appeared on television both in the UK and overseas. She is a regular conference speaker and workshop facilitator in the UK and abroad while also maintaining links with a major international organisational development consultancy working in developing countries.

Judi is also a co-founder of Relationship Resolve London a mediation service which sits at the interface of therapy and legal mediation. She has extensive experience of working within the corporate and private sectors as well as statutory agencies and charitable foundations.

Ana Rhodes
Ana Rhodes Castro has been living and working in the Findhorn Foundation since 1994. During this time she has worked in a variety of areas within the organisation. She has been a member of the Central Management team over the last nine years, six of those spent being responsible for the area of Spiritual and Personal Development. This consisted of internal trainings, conflict facilitation, supervision and other internal structures that support the Findhorn Foundation to function gracefully and efficiently at an individual and collective level. In February 2009 she stepped into the role of Chair of Management/Focaliser of the Findhorn Foundation.

One of Ana’s greatest passions is maximising the inherent potential of individuals, groups and organisations in a way that is supportive and enhances the natural leadership that lives in people.

Part of her accreditation is as a Transpersonal Psychotherapist, which enables her to work as a psychologist with young people, single adults and couples in the Local Moray area in Scotland.

Ana is fluent in both Spanish and English and regularly runs trainings and offers consultancy in Spain, the UK and South America. Ana is connected to the Process Oriented Psychology Organisation of Ireland and to the Transpersonal Institute in Spain.

Effie Soultani
Effie Soultani is an accredited Psychosexual Psychotherapist, Hypnotherapist, Clinical supervisor and Trainer. She is also a Dynamic Interpersonal Therapist (DIT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapist and Somatic Trauma Therapist.
For the last twenty-five years she has been working for NHS whilst she is also holding a small private practice in North London. She is a pioneer in the field of psychosexual therapy with people with disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorders. She specialises in working with sexual trauma, mood disorders, sexual addiction and sexual offending.

Effie is an associate director at the London Diploma in Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy course and a faculty member at the London Foundation Certificate in Counselling and Psychotherapy Course. She is an accredited member of COSRT (College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists), an accredited member of ATSAC (Association for the Treatment of Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity) and she is registered with the UKCP(UK Council for Psychotherapy) and as a DIT therapist with BPC (British Psychoanalytic Council)

Dr Chris Cartner
Chris is a Psychologist specialising in trauma, sexual health, Chemsex and LGBT+ affirmative therapy.

Chris comes from a background in both the NHS and private settings, having worked in sexual health, addictions, general counselling services and dental psychology (maxillofacial trauma and orthognathic psychology). He currently works in the NHS in a sexual health clinic in Kingston and continues to offer private couples and individual psychotherapy both online and in his office in Earl’s Court as well as training and clinical supervision to other therapists.

His research and academic experience explores men’s engagement with Chemsex, with a publication in the role of mentalisation in understanding and working with those engaging in Chemsex, and Doctoral research looking at Chemsex abstainees reflections on sexual experiences.

His view is that on some level everything makes sense. Meaning, everything we do, however painful or seemingly nonsensical this may be, has its roots in something from our developmental, earlier, or experiential life, which has at some point served a purpose for us. Though, these processes and behaviours may lose their effectiveness over time.
In his clinical work, he draws integratively on various psychotherapeutic models, though largely works from relational psychoanalytic and trauma informed models.

Serge Nicholson
Serge is Director and psychosexual and relationship therapist at CliniQ, (www.cliniq.org.uk) a Community Interest Company that offers holistic wellbeing, counselling and sexual health services for trans people, their partners and friends.

He is also wellbeing practitioner and therapist at Gendered Intelligence, a Community Interest Company supporting trans youth, parents, offering professional development and trans awareness training. Co-coordinating the Gendered Intelligence Therapist and Counsellors Network, plus group therapy for trans and non-binary18-30 year olds. Additionally, he is a Nottingham University research assistant on the Partner’s Experience of Gender Transition.

Serge holds diplomas from the London Diploma in Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy, and the NAOS Advanced Diploma in Couples Therapy.

Serge has experience of working in disability & mental health & trans advocacy, and the promotion of performance, film and arts events in community wellbeing.
He is the co-founder of Hotpencil Press, co-editor of ‘There Is No Word For It’ (2011) a trans masculine verbatim monologues collection, performed internationally.

Dr Joanne Collins
Dr Joanne Collins has been working in the field of Social Care for twenty years. She began her work in the field working with women who were experiencing pregnancy crisis and went on to undertake therapeutic training. She has gained extensive therapeutic experience in a variety of settings e.g., 3rd sector, statutory sector, NHS, and since 2013 she has been in private practice.
Currently based in Central London, Joanne has successfully completed her Clinical Doctorate in Systemic Psychotherapy. An education enthusiast, Joanne has completed a number of trainings to include an MSc in Systemic and Family Therapy, an M.A in Transpersonal Child Adolescent & Family Therapy and an MSc in Rehabilitative Counselling & Healthcare. At the beginning of her exploration into working with race, she completed a course in Brief Psychoanalytic Work with Young Black People at Tavistock & Portman Clinic and is also a qualified teacher.
Joanne is a 2014 graduate of London Diploma in Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy. The main goal was to work explicitly with sex and sexual dysfunction in all genders. Since completing this course, Joanne has gone on to develop her practice to include working with LGBT sex and relationship problems and to explore ideas of intersectionality and how this impacts on sex, sexual relationship and experiences of different sexual groups. This continues to be an area of interest for her.

Dorota Mucha
Dorota is a highly qualified Psychosexual and Relationship Therapist accredited and registered by biggest regulatory and awarding bodies in the UK. Alongside of being therapist, she is public speaker, tutor, lecturer and supervisor for NHS Trust and Tavistock Relationships.

In addition to working and managing Us In Therapy, she is a public speaker providing workshops to increase the knowledge about importance of sex and intimacy. She runs talks and relationship retreats for Soho House around Europe and online workshops globally. She has been interviewed for several magazines including Attitude and Vice and contributed to many academic publications. Dorota has contributed to several documentaries and theatre productions addressing and exploring such topics as ChemSex, LGBTQ+ identity and non-monogamy.
Dorota’s training and education includes an MSc in Psychosexual and Relationship therapy with Tavistock Relationships (University of East London), Individual and Couples Counselling and Psychotherapy, Counselling Psychotherapy with City University of London, MA in Social Psychology with University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Mentalization Based Therapy. She is also certified clinical supervisor, lecturer and tutor working in academia and providing support on clinical placements.

Steven Hayward
Steven is a Psychosexual and Relationship Therapist in private practice. He trained at the Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships in 2006 then went on to complete the London Diploma in Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy with a distinction; and then with Bader & Pearson at The Couple’s Institute in California, and is about to train with StopSO, with a view to working with sexual offenders, those at risk, and their partners/families.
His primary therapeutic lens is attachment theory and its strong links with neuroscience (mainly from the work of Allan Schore and the concept of Right Brain Psychotherapy). He believes that affect regulation is at the core of everything we do in psychotherapy but also believes in the importance of promoting and educating our clients on their general well-being with subjects like nutrition, gut health, movement, sleep, good attachments and connections, mindfulness, the pursuit of meaning, truthfulness and authenticity, a sound epistemology, and our connections with nature.
Steven works with young men with a variety of erection, ejaculation, and relationship concerns. This has led him to look at what it means to be male/masculine in the western cultures and the challenges of growing up in society where boys are not just raised differently, but develop differently, and have unique challenges to their psychological health and well-being.
Keeley Mardon
Keeley is a Psychosexual and Relationship therapist working in private practice and the NHS. She trained at the LDPRT, she also holds the Advanced Diploma in Couples Therapy. In addition she is an accredited integrative psychotherapist with many years’ experience. She specialises in working with adolescents with extreme emotional and behavioural difficulties. She is a child protection trainer for Kent Children Safe Board and offers consultancy to professionals working with children. She also has a Diploma in Clinical Supervision, she supervisees trainee counsellors and many other professions. Keeley is Service Lead of a leading counselling service within the NHS.

Keeley lectures at Christchurch University in Canterbury for the Psychology department. She writes and delivers workshops for trainee counsellors the NHS and schools.

She also sits on the accreditation committee for the Royal College of Psychiatrists and is a lead reviewer for the service.

Location

At NAOS premises, 74 Castlebar Road, Ealing – London W5 2DD

Full Course Content

The Curriculum includes

The role of the therapist in couples work
A psychotherapeutic and developmental framework
Stages of Couples Relationship: symbiosis to differentiation, practicing, rapprochement to mutual interdependence
Diagnosis of the couple’s stages including stress and anxiety within the couple relationship
Principles for Intervention which will include managing betrayal and affairs
A critical review of sexual aversion in the couple
Narcissistic-Borderline couples
A synopsis and review of Developmental and Transpersonal models of relationships
Relationship enhancement models vs. couples therapy
Mental health issues in either one or both of the couple
Working with same-sex couples
A culturally sensitive approach to ethnically diverse clients
Domestic violence
Neuroscience and gendered relationships

Entry requirements
Counsellors, psychotherapists or related professions with a minimum of 2 years training.

Assessment
+ A case study of a couple of 5000 words which is submitted in March 2023 (extensions are given if necessary)
+ Attendance of no less than 85% is required
+ Course director and faculty feedback
+ Peer and self-assessment

Dates
In class, face to face: February 2025 to December 2025. Times: 10.00 – 16.30 hrs. 10 weekends, 20 days in total.

Accreditation
Students may undertake this training in part fulfilment of the Accredited Register (Professional Standards Board), as a pathway into UKCP registration or BACP accreditation.
The course is accredited with NCPS and COSRT and faculty members are all accredited with national accrediting bodies (AHPP, NCIP, NCPS, BACP, UKCP, COSRT)

Fees for face to face version
£3,395.00 for the year (incl 20% VAT). We require a deposit of £245 to secure your place followed by 10 monthly instalments of £315.00. Applicants who wish to pay for the year a one off payment, are offered a 2.5% reduction in fees.

Enquiries and Application
If you require more information, please fill in an application form (click here). We will contact you as soon as possible.
All applicants are required to complete the application form. This will be followed by a telephone interview. If offered a place, a course contract will have to be completed and an initial non-refundable deposit of £250 or £245 to secure a place will be required.

Fees

Fees for face to face version
£3,395.00 for the year (incl 20% VAT). We require a deposit of £245 to secure your place followed by 10 monthly instalments of £315.00. Applicants who wish to pay for the year as one off payment, are offered a 2.5% reduction in fees.

Zoom online version

Now fully subscribed. These dates are published here for are online students

Zoom, online: September 2024 to July 2025. Times: 10.00 – 16.30 hrs. 10 modules of 2 days, Sunday and Monday, 20 days in total.

Weekend 1: Sunday 15 September and Monday 16 September 2024
Weekend 2: Sunday 6 October and Monday 7 October 2024
Weekend 3: Sunday 10 November and Monday 11 November 2024
Weekend 4: Sunday 19 January and Monday 20 January 2025
Weekend 5: Sunday 9 February and Monday 10 February 2025
Weekend 6: Sunday 9 March and Monday 10 March 2025
Weekend 7: Sunday 6 April and Monday 7 April 2025
Weekend 8: Sunday 11 May and Monday 12 May 2025
Weekend 9: Sunday 8 June and Monday 9 June 2025
Weekend 10: Sunday 6 July and Monday 7 July 2025

Accreditations

2024 in-room
This version is accredited by NCIP and in part fulfilment of the NCS pathway into the Accredited Register of the Professional Standards Authority and as thematic qualification by COSRT (link here). For COSRT registration this means that the equivalent standards have to be evidenced such as COSRT supervision and 100 hrs of relationship therapy practice. To join the Relationship Therapist Register (TR) graduates may progress onto this via NCS

2024 on-line: zoom
This version is accredited by NCIP and in part fulfilment of the NCS pathway into the Accredited Register of the Professional Standards Authority. It may also lead directly onto the NCS new register at Relationship Therapist.The course is also accredited as a Professional qualification as Relationship Therapist (link here) by COSRT and it therefore requires, at reduced rates, student membership while on the course. This means that there is automatic entry onto the COSRT Register as Relationship Therapist once 100 clinical hours under COSRT supervision have been met.

Testimonials

“A deeply personal, insightful, and experiential course. I was not academically minded but learned how to use theory alongside my humanistic approach, so have developed my skills in this profession, which for me, is entirely about building a therapeutic relationship.”

2023

“I was inspired, stimulated, and stretched by this course and would recommend it highly to anyone seeking to develop their awareness and skills in working with relationship clients.”

2023

“NAOS has elevated my proficiency in couple/relationship therapy to an advanced level, seamlessly blending expertise with invaluable insights from the tutors. It’s more than a course; it’s the catalyst that has enriched my therapeutic skills in working with couples and relationships.”

2023

“If you are looking for a cutting edge experiential learning, creative and original group work, most amazing venue, truly inspirational teaching and unparalleled support throughout your course – look no further. NAOS is your place!”

2023

“However, this course has been instrumental in helping me grow both personally and professionally. It has not only strengthened my self-assurance but also equipped me with the courage to face challenges head-on. Throughout the program, I have learned numerous invaluable lessons that have greatly enhanced my knowledge and understanding of the field. I am grateful for the opportunity to have participated in such a transformative learning experience, which has significantly contributed to my development as a competent and confident therapist.”

2023

“I truly cherished the depth of knowledge shared by our tutors and their openness to our individual learning styles. Learning alongside such a diverse group was incredibly enriching, and I gained invaluable insights from each participant’s unique perspective.”

2023

“I absolutely loved the course and the space you all created for our growth. Your choice of students and teachers was absolutely perfect, allowing all of us to experience the rich range of our society which ultimately will be reflected by our clients.”

2022

“Your course is a deeply transformative experience on a personal level.”

2022

“Thank you to you, Jaap, David and your fabulous team of lecturers.”

2022

“A very informative course, brought to life by the enthusiasm and expertise of the teachers. I would highly recommend this course to anyone interesting in working with couples or those in relationships.”

2022

“One of the best courses I have taken. Great material and quality of teaching. Fantastic opportunity to network with other therapists. I feel I have grown a lot both professionally and personally.”

2022

“I especially enjoyed the group was the most diverse group I have ever been in. This was so refreshing for me as I am also a person with non-British background. The positivity and high standards both in the group and our teachers gave me the confidence and the passion to work with couples and the same time staying humble and recognising that there is always so much more to learn.”

2022

“Whilst I had already qualified as a couples/relationship therapist this course supported me in developing and honing my personal psychotherapeutic approach to working with couples and growing my confidence in this work. This was achieved through the leadership of the course, quality of the visiting lecturers, excellent support materials and highly supportive peer group.”

2022

“The couples therapy course provided an enriching and challenging learning experience. Although at times it was challenging to navigate through the different personalities in the group, it provided an opportunity for personal growth and reflection. Through the course, I have learned to identify and set personal boundaries, a valuable lesson that will be beneficial in my work as a therapist.”

2022

“I would like to extend my gratitude to the faculty for their warm and welcoming attitude throughout the course. Their generosity in greeting the group with flowers, biscuits, and fruit each month was a kind gesture that added to the overall positive experience.”

2022

“Overall, the course has provided me with valuable skills and knowledge that I will carry with me throughout my career. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow with such a supportive and inspiring group of people.”

2022

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