How to be a couples therapist and specialize professionally

Couples therapy it is one of the most interesting fields of work in which a psychologist can specialize.

Not only does it allow intervention in an area of ​​life that is extremely important to many people, but it also contributes to adopting a vision of the therapeutic process that goes beyond the individual. That is, part of a conception of psychological well-being in which each person is cognitively and emotionally linked to their context, and especially to loved ones.

• Related article: "Comprehensive Couples Therapy: what is it and how does it work?"

How to train to be a couples therapist?

When it comes to specializing to dedicate yourself professionally (mainly, or in combination with other forms of psychological intervention) to couples therapy, take into account these criteria that must be met by Master's degrees and postgraduate courses between which you are going to choose. These will give you an idea about the quality of these training programs.

1. It offers the possibility of doing internships

Couples therapy is a clearly applied activity: the theory is useless if we do not know how to apply it and contrast it with reality. Furthermore, love relationships are fundamentally changing and dynamic phenomena, so we cannot pretend approach them in a linear way, first checking what the books say and then executing the instructions that appear described. It is necessary to gain fluency in real-time learning contexts, in a therapeutic context with patients.

Therefore, to be a couples therapist it is essential to go through training programs that give the option to practice with flesh and blood couples, not only through imagination and situations hypothetical.

2. It is taught by professionals in this discipline

Partly from what we've seen before, the ability to receive supervision and insights from psychologists with extensive experience in couples therapy is very beneficial for those who want learn. In this way, even the theoretical component of this training will have a practice-oriented element.

Couples therapy professionals go beyond manuals, and offer advice on the small details of everyday life, both what happens in psychological assistance sessions and what happens between them: planning, bureaucracy, time management, etc.

3. It goes beyond the pathological

Although the concept of therapy is often used in the clinical context, we must not lose sight of that, in practice, the problems addressed in couples therapy are not caused by disorders.

Therefore, a postgraduate or Master's degree in couples therapy should be based on social psychology, and not so much on clinical and health psychology, unless it is designed to be extremely specialized in a specific area of ​​love relationships (or in a part of the population already diagnosed with mental disorders).

4. Take into account sexuality

Human sexuality is deeply implicated in the vast majority of relationships, either as a source of emotional problems or as a maintenance factor for these problems, if they have originated outside the bedroom. Therefore, becoming a couples therapist involves expanding your knowledge and experience in this aspect of intimate life.

• You may be interested: "Sex therapy: what is it and what are its benefits"

5. Provides training in the therapeutic relationship

The ability to carry out a good therapeutic relationship is crucial. For this reason, these courses and Masters should include practical advice of this type, which allows the process to therapeutic flow and that couples who come for professional help commit to the evolution of these sessions.

Where to specialize?

If you are interested in training to become a couples therapist in the Murcia area, a very good option is the Master in Sexology and Couples Therapy carried out by the Institute of the Couple, available in blended, face-to-face and online formats.

This option to professionalize, designed and promoted by the reference entity in Murcia in relation to couples therapy, allows you to learn over a 10-month course about everything related to love relationships, sexuality and sexual therapy, dependency cases, situations of gender violence, paraphilias, and much more.

• To see their contact details, click click here.

Bibliographic references:

• Biscotti, O. (2006). Couples Therapy: a systemic view. Buenos Aires: Lumen.
• Christensen A., Atkins D.C., Baucom B., Yi J. (2010). "Marital status and satisfaction five years following a randomized clinical trial comparing traditional versus integrative behavioral couple therapy". Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 78 (2): pp. 225 - 235.