Working with Couples: Avoiding the Complaining Being About Us

Being the subject of a complaint in your professional practice can be a deeply stressful and distressing experience. We are becoming a more litigious society and the concept of the ‘customer is always right’ has crept into all areas of life. It is something we need to prepare for as counsellors and therapists, and the area of couple work is where we see an increase in complaints.

This session is an opportunity to reflect on your practice with couples and build your preventative approach to minimising complaints.

It is a facilitated session in the company of other practitioners to identify some of the factors that need to be taken account of -

At the start of the work – Context: Why people come to couple counselling including –

• ‘Last chance saloon’
• A way to announce its over
• Looking for a fix
• They are in terrible pain

In session – Own preparedness: acknowledging to self that complaints may arise

• Contracting – your role, way of working, what you offer
• Setting out clients’ hopes and expectations of couple work

Should a complaint be made – Stop and review: dealing with the emotional impact on self as well as the process

• Supervision
• Review of records
• Addressing the complaint itself

This session will include looking at a model of ‘prevention to repair’ that could be adapted for use within your own work with couples.

RECORDING 

This event will be recorded and you can use the ticket function to pre-purchase the recording before the event. This will be useful for colleagues who are not able to attend the event live and also for those who attend the event live and want to watch it again.

ZOOM 

This event will be hosted on the Zoom meeting platform where we will use our cameras and microphones to interact with each other as a group.

SELF-SELECT FEE

The self-select fee is a radical inclusion policy to open learning for all colleagues. The guide price for this event is £20.00, however, we appreciate that income varies greatly in different locations and circumstances. Please contribute what you can to help us maintain inclusive professional training.

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At Onlinevents, we and the presenters we collaborate with are committed to working in a way that aligns with the ethical codes and frameworks of our respective professional organisations. We expect all colleagues attending our events to uphold the ethical principles of their professional membership.

If you are not a member of a professional organisation, we ask that you participate in a way that is both authentic and respectful, fostering a space of mutual learning and professional engagement.

By registering for this event, you agree to be present and interact in a manner that reflects these principles.

Claire Edwards

Claire Edwards is a qualified individual counsellor (Strathclyde,1992) and couple counsellor (postgraduate certificate, 2023). She is currently the Counselling Practice Manager of a charitable counselling service in Edinburgh (Bright Light Relationship Counselling) and has a small private practice.

Claire worked in private practice and in a number of settings including a Health Centre in Glasgow’s East End and the Beatson Cancer Service at the Royal Infirmary. With the birth of her son who is disabled, in 2000, she stepped back from counselling but her therapeutic training informed her work as the Director of an advocacy service supporting families of disabled children and the Manager of a Guided Self Help service in Edinburgh. As a freelance trainer and consultant for over 15 years she has used the therapeutic lens when supporting the personal and professional development of individuals and staff teams. Claire returned to counselling in 2020 and joined Bright Light in 2021.