Course Overview

The Aloe Level 5 Integrative Diploma in Relationship Counselling is a comprehensive, practice-focused qualification. Designed to help qualified counsellors and experienced coaches develop the knowledge, confidence, and skills to work effectively with couples and relationships of all types.

The training is delivered through a blended format, combining online theoretical modules with face-to-face experiential training weekends at our dedicated learning venue:

📍 Aloe Counselling Training Centre - 4 Bramley Road, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, PE27 3WS

You’ll complete 26 online modules exploring key relational frameworks and evidence-based approaches, supported by four in-person weekends, where theory comes to life through live skills practice, supervision, and collaborative learning.

In-person training dates:

21st–22nd February 2026

21st–22nd March 2026

9th-10th May 2026

20th–21st June 2026

Our integrative approach draws from leading relationship frameworks including:
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
The Gottman Method
Transactional Analysis (TA)
Imago Therapy
Bowen, Minuchin, Satir – Systemic and Family Systems Theory
Eric Berne – Transactional Analysis (TA),
Terry Real – Relational Life Therapy
Bowlby, Ainsworth, Hazan & Shaver – Adult Attachment Theory
Esther Perel – Relational Aliveness & Erotic Intelligence.

While embracing inclusive, contemporary perspectives on gender, sexuality, culture, parental alienation, metallisation and modern relationship dynamics.

To support this transition, the course includes individual supervision sessions to help you integrate new learning and grow in confidence as you begin relationship counselling work. Applicants are required to provide a supervisor’s/line manager's letter confirming readiness to undertake this specialist training.

Become a Certified Relationship Counsellor for Every Kind of Relationship

Relationships today come in many forms and so should the counsellors/coaches who support them. This Level 5 Diploma in Relationship Counselling has been designed to prepare you to work confidently, sensitively, and ethically with the full diversity of relationship structures found in modern society. This model is based on real life experiences and interventions.

Whether You’re Supporting:

  • Couples Navigating Disconnection or Conflict
  • Understanding Relationship Style
  • Support Building Good Communication creating Emotional Safety
  • Blended families Adjusting to New Dynamics
  • Dating in the Modern Age 
  • Equipping therapist to work with conflict in the relationship
  • Polyamorous, open, or non-monogamous partnerships seeking balance and honesty
  • Cross-cultural or interfaith couples negotiating difference
  • Neurodiverse relationships managing communication and emotional attunement
  • Digital-age relationships impacted by online connection, dating apps, or virtual intimacy 


This training will help you bring insight, empathy, and structure to your practice. You’ll learn how to hold space for complexity, difference, and growth  working relationally with couples and systems that reflect the world we live in today.

This Qualification Is Ideal For:

Qualified counsellors who are ready to integrate relationship work into their professional practice.

Coaches and helping professionals who wish to expand their scope of practice to include relational and couple work.

Applicants are required to provide a supervisor’s/manager's letter confirming readiness to undertake this specialist training.

Pricing Options

Pay in Full or Choose Our 6 Month Payment Plan

Course Curriculum

The Course is set out so that each PART of the self Paced Modules are to be Completed Before Residential Weekend

PART 1 – Foundations of Relationship Counselling (Modules 1–9) Key Areas:

• Identity and role of the relationship counsellor
• Pre-screening, assessment, communication foundations
• Attachment theory and emotional regulation
• Emotionally Focused Therapy principles
• Relational trauma and containment
• Cultural awareness and diversity
• Systemic and genogram work
• Transactional analysis
• Overcoming relational blocks

PART 2 – Advanced Relational Practice (Modules 10–17):

• Helping Couples to Separate Amicably
• Parental Alienation in Split Families
• Dating in the Modern Age
• Supporting Blended Families
• Additional Topics:
o Gender and relationship structures
o Cultural and intersectional competence
o Narcissistic dynamics

PART 3 – Working with Coercion, Control & Mentalisation Themes (Modules 18-24):

• Coercive and controlling behaviour
• Gaslighting, minimising, isolation
• Risk assessment and safety decisions
• Narcissistic and high-conflict presentations
• Mentalisation and emotional regulation
• De-escalation and rupture repair
• Infidelity

PART 4 – This complete Module will be based on Psychosexual Relationship Training. Building upon the exploration of narcissistic dynamics and the complexities of coercion, control, and mentalisation, this section delves into the multifaceted nature of psychosexual relationships. Emphasizing comprehensive assessment and understanding of sexual histories, the focus shifts toward desire, arousal, and the varied aspects of sexual functioning within partnerships. Contemporary challenges such as pornography use, addiction, and digital sexual culture are examined alongside considerations for sexual identity, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, and the impact of trauma and dissociation on embodied safety. The training also addresses the nuances of consent, sexual power dynamics, and coercion, providing guidance on navigating addiction, shame cycles, and fostering recovery. Ultimately, this part aims to cultivate skills for supporting healthy intimacy, enriching eroticism, and enhancing communication within diverse relational contexts.

Themes:
• Psychosexual assessment and history
• Desire, arousal, and sexual functioning
• Pornography, addiction & digital sexual culture
• Trauma, dissociation and embodied safety
• Consent, sexual power dynamics and coercion
• Addiction, shame cycles and recovery
• Healthy intimacy, eroticism and communication

Residential Training Weekends
• Weekend 1: Safety and Structure
• Weekend 2: Boundaries and Movement
• Weekend 3: Control and Mentalisation
• Weekend 4: Psychosexual Relationship Training

Assessment & Integration

• Observed skills
• Reflective Journals
• 5000-Word Case Study
• Supervision Logs
Professional Alignment Aligned with CPCAB, BACP, COSRT, NCPS.

Course Tutor

Shirley Marais

Seasoned CPCAB Tutor

Shirley Marais is a seasoned relationship counsellor and dedicated educator who brings a wealth of professional experience and relational insight to her role as course tutor. A Registered Member of both the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society (NCPS), Shirley has built a successful private practice working with individuals and couples in the Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire region and online for many years. Shirley’s therapeutic style is rooted in the Person‑Centred approach, providing clients a safe, compassionate environment in which they are fully seen, heard and valued. Over time she has integrated a rich repertoire of modalities including Psychodynamic, Transactional Analysis (TA), Solution‑Focused and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) to meet the complex needs of couples and individuals alike. In her role as tutor and supervisor she supports aspiring counsellors on accredited courses (Levels 2, 3 and 4) as well as offering CPD in relational work. Her teaching is characterised by clarity, practicality and relational depth she draws directly from her practice to help delegates develop both therapeutic confidence and relational competence.