Systemic Family Psychotherapy

Course Outline

This is a two-day training course in which we will cover the fundamentals of systemic family psychotherapy. We will outline the background of systemic practice and how it sits within the wider psychotherapy field. We will explore the key values, principles, and theories which sit within this practice. We will engage with some of the practical tools based within systemic psychotherapy, with the aim of adding to your tool box.

Systemic family psychotherapy is a hugely practical modality and the aim of these two days will be for us to engage with as many approaches/theories as we can including:

· Motivational interviewing

· Narrative therapy

· Hypothesizing

· Social Graces

· Systemic Questioning

· Cultural Genograms

· First and Second Order Change

· Mentalising and externalising

· Safe Uncertainty and Relational Risk Taking

Aims

To provide the participants with some tools to either start this work or to add to their own practice, to chase away some fears that practitioners hold regarding working with couples.

Learning Outcomes

This course aims to equip the participants with a solid understanding of systemic psychotherapy, its area for application. The delegates will be practiced in a wide range of skills and techniques based within the modality of systemic psychotherapy.

Who is it aimed at?

This course is aimed at psychotherapy trainees and qualified psychotherapy practitioners with at least a foundation qualification in any psychotherapy school.

Course content

The course as a whole aims to both give an overview of systemic psychotherapy, as well as practical tools that can be used safely to support client work.

All of the presentation slides will have references and there will be a deep reading list, but these will be for additional learning outside of the room.

Day one morning

We will start not just with a check in but also with some scoring which will help feedback/pitching, but also is a key systemic tool. This section will be quite talk heavy, but is needed to help ground all of the work later, as all of the approaches following are all based in the ideas outlined in this morning.

• Background of systemic psychotherapy

• Core values of systemic practice

• Systemic ideas around change and power

Day one afternoon

The afternoon   will be mostly practical practicing each approach as its brought up. The   format will be a brief overview, then practice each section of the topics   outline below, then bringing the whole technique together.

• Motivational interviewing

• Rolling with resistance

• OARS

• Systemic questioning

Day two morning

Some time this morning will be on mopping up from the day before, ensuring that the information from the day before has been engaged with. Systemic questions is one that I think will need going over again as it is so complicated. Similar to the afternoon before we will be practically practicing social graces and cultural genograms.

• Systemic questioning (mop up)

• Social Graces

• Cultural Genograms

Day two afternoon

This afternoon will cover the sections below- these again will be a bit of a light touch in terms of theory, with most of our time covering practical tools and practicing what we have learnt.

• Hypothesizing

• Mentalizing

• Externalising

• Narrative Therapy

Before the end we will score again to check how well things have integrated. Then a check out.

Facilitator Biography

Ben Groves – CTA(P), MSW, UKATAdip, CTF, PEP2, BA(hons)

UKCP and SWE registered

Ben is a psychotherapist based in York, previously a social worker for over 10 years. Ben started his private practice ‘Flux Therapy’ in 2019. In addition to offering psychotherapy and training, Ben also offers supervision and consultancy. Ben has a deep passion for working with and helping people in the most effective ways he can.