Working with Conflictual Couples
What's In It For Me
Upcoming schedules:
- 8 and 9 October 2025 (Registration from 12 May 2025 to 24 Sep 2025)
Feel free to call 6425 2422 (Rexanne) for registration support.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, learners will be able to:
- Apply knowledge of neurobiological processes underlying attachment activation to guide therapeutic interventions during heightened emotional states.
- Develop an effective therapeutic stance that creates safety while managing reactivity and de-escalating conflict in couple sessions.
- Reformulate underlying emotions that drive destructive interaction patterns and facilitate therapeutic enactments that create new, more secure interaction patterns between couples.
Course Overview
While providing a continuum of care to families, people helpers may encounter couples who are so conflictual with each other that it hinders their families from receiving the help they need. This course aims to help participants develop the knowledge and skills to work effectively with high-conflict couples.
Drawing from theoretical foundations of attachment theory and neurobiology, participants will be equipped with practical, evidence-based techniques to help couples de-escalate conflict, rebuild emotional safety, and foster secure connection.
Through group discussions, video demonstrations, and guided practice, participants will learn to navigate intense emotional dynamics while maintaining therapeutic presence. Consideration will also be placed on understanding couples with cultural differences and attachment injuries, and those who may require mediation.
Topics
- Adult attachment styles and their expression in couple conflicts
- Neurobiological underpinnings of attachment activation
- The stance and tone of the therapist in creating safety for couples
- Effective first session structure with high-conflict couples
- Managing reactivity & de-escalation in couple session
- Accessing and reformulating underlying emotions
- Creating new couple interaction patterns through enactments
- Working with attachment injuries in high-conflict couples
- Cultural considerations in working with transnational couples
- Considerations for couple mediation
Training Type
Facilitated Classroom Training
Who Should Attend
Social Workers, Social Work Assistants / Associates, Case Managers, Counsellors, Psychologists, Law Enforcement Officers, mental health workers and any profession who is interested in working with couples.
This course is suitable for practitioners, professionals, board members and volunteers in the social service field, pastoral staff and para-counsellors who are working with couples and families.
Corporates like other SSAs, Family Service Centres, etc. can engage us to conduct the course for their staff who work with couples.
While there are no pre-requisites to the course, participants should already be working with marital couples or are interested to work with them in the future.
This course is not suitable for the General Public seeking to improve the conflictual marital relationships of themselves or their relatives. For couple counselling services, you may refer to https://www.arkalliedhealth.com/
Course Duration
14 hours
Total Training Duration (Hour)
Day 1 - 9am - 5pm (In-Person Classroom)
Day 2 - 9am - 5pm (In-Person Classroom)
Certification Obtained and Conferred by
Participants who meet 75% class attendance will be awarded a Certificate of Accomplishment by the Academy of Human Development.
Medium of Instruction & Trainer
Mr Ho Tze Yee joined Fei Yue Family Service Centre as a counsellor/senior social worker in 2009 after obtaining his Master of Social Science (Counselling & Psychotherapy).
Tze Yee believes that as a basic unit of society, the family should be an environment where every member can feel safe and secure to develop their potential. During his appointment as Chairman of the Jurong Family Violence Working Group, Tze Yee organized public education initiative on elderly abuse, and also facilitated the collaboration and sharing of best practices between Family Service Centres and Neighbourhood Police Centres.
As a practitioner, Tze Yee is a strong proponent of ‘talking cure’ and its potential in facilitating behaviour change. He has keen interest in working with persons who abuse, and has provided individual and group counselling to help them adopt non-violent ways of relating to their families.
As an adult educator, Tze Yee embraces the passion for life-long learning and enjoys facilitating the sharing of knowledge and skills among all learners.
Funding Information
NCSS member and MSF-funded Social Service Agencies are able to apply for PCG/VCF Funding (renewal in progress, outcome will be known in September 2025)
Additional Notes
Please note that online learning materials will be sent to learners before the course starts. We will not be providing hardcopy course materials.
Course Pre-Requisites
Price
| Discount / Promotion Fee (Apply to original fee only) |
Fee Payable After Discount / Promotion (Before GST) | |
|---|---|---|
| Early Bird Fee (closes 6 weeks before class start date) | $500.00 | |
| Course Fee Payable | ||
| Original Fee | Before GST | With GST (9%) |
| Course Fee | $600.00 | $654.00 |
Early Bird Fee (Before GST): S$500 (register & pay by 27 Aug 2025)
* Discount will be reflected during payment checkout / billing invoice
NCSS members and MSF-funded Social Service Agencies are able to apply for PCG Funding (PCG Funding renewal in progress, outcome will be known in Sep 2025)
