Advanced Diploma in Relationship Psychotherapy

In class

February 2027 to December 2027. Times: 10.00 – 16.30 hrs. 10 weekends, 20 days in total.

Weekend 1: Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 February 2027
Weekend 2: Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 March 2027
Weekend 3: Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 April 2027
Weekend 4: Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 May 2027
Weekend 5: Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 June 2027
Weekend 6: Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 July 2027
Weekend 7: Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 September 2027
Weekend 8: Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 October 2027
Weekend 9: Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 November 2027
Weekend 10: Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 December 2027

David Piner (Course Director), Bernd Leygraf  (Course Consultant), Dermot Kelly, Dr Remziye Kunelaki, Justyna Kulczyk-Lewinska, Jaap Westerbos, Serge Nicholson, Dr Joanne Collins, Dorota Mucha, Steven Hayward, Keeley Mardon, Robert Hudson, Anastasios Argyropoulos (external examinator)

The course is taught by a renowned and highly experienced team of trainers. The majority of tutors have taught previously on various course and supervision trainings and each tutor has been selected on the basis of their knowledge and practice.

Bernd Leygraf  – Course Consultant
Bernd was the first counselling trainer accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) until the demise of this accreditation category. Currently he is Consultant Trainer with the Interfaith Seminary, Course Director of the London Diploma and Consultant Psychotherapist (LDPRT). He trains therapists, supervisors, organisational consultants and executive coaches in the UK and abroad. He has been course director of several MSc programmes run in conjunction with South Bank University and Middlesex University and is training director of a number of organisations in the UK and internationally.

Bernd has senior accreditation status with the College for Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy (COSRT, a M.O. of UKCP) and has currently chosen, while eligible and having been registered for many years, not to support UKCP registration. Instead, he has established a pathway for this training into the accredited Register (Prof Standards Board) via the National Counselling Society. He is a Fellow registrant with NCS and Fellow and Chair of NCP. He supervises in private practice and has practised and supervised within the NHS and other statutory and voluntary organisations. He is accredited as supervisor by COSRT.

Bernd developed and taught training courses in leadership, therapy and related fields from beginners to Masters level, both in a private capacity and through various universities in the UK and abroad for nearly four decades. His training courses draw on students from over 40 countries. From 2019 onwards he has taken his work to the Middle East and is proud to contribute this way to a culturally inclusive way of working with sex and relationships.

Bernd was awarded, in 2023, a COSRT fellowship and the 2023 Liz McElligott Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession by NCPS.

His work: “Global Perspectives on Psychosexual Therapy – When the road signs are not in English” is due to be published in 2026.

David Piner – Course Director
David is an accredited psychotherapist specialising in relationship and psychosexual therapy. He is a supervisor and trainer who runs an established private practice in London and Kent.
David is Associate Director on the London Diploma of Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy and a Course Director of NAOS’ Advanced Couples Diploma. He holds an MA in Counselling and Psychotherapy.
For a few years David studied with the Couples Institute in the advanced group under the supervision of Dr Ellyn Bader PhD who, along with Dr Peter Pearson, developed the Bader-Pearson developmental model for couples’ therapy.

Previously, David was a tutor and supervisor on the University of East London’s Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy. He worked as a psychosocial delegate with the Red Cross where he provided emotional support for British nationals caught up in disasters overseas. Postings included: Sri Lanka (2004 tsunami); Egypt (Dahab bombings); Cyprus (Lebanon evacuation); Saudi Arabia (coach crash). He is a qualified teacher and has worked in education in the UK, USA and Japan.

He is a Senior Accredited Member and Trustee of the College of Sex and Relationship Therapists (COSRT) and registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

Dermot Kelly
Dermot is an accredited psychotherapist specialising in relationship and psychosexual therapy. Dermot has specialist training in child and adolescent psychotherapy and works in private practice in Dublin, Ireland. He is a supervisor and trainer.

Dermot is the director of the Advanced Diploma in Psychosexual Therapy Training course at NAOS. He holds an MA in Creative Psychotherapy, a diploma in Creative Supervision, the London Diploma in Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy, and an Advanced Diploma in Relationship Psychotherapy. He is currently studying for a PhD.

Dermot has experience working in education at the primary, secondary and third levels, and he has worked in education in Ireland and the UK. Previously, Dermot ran child safeguarding workshops for volunteers in church and sporting organisations. In addition to this training role, Dermot was on a child safeguarding advisory panel for a roman catholic church religious order in Ireland, advising on child safeguarding policy and case management. As an extension of this safeguarding role, Dermot has worked therapeutically with those who sexually offend against children.

Dermot is an accredited member of the Irish Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP) and the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), and he is a registered member of COSRT.

Dr Remziye Kunelaki
Dr Remziye Kunelaki is a psycho-sexologist with over 20 years of experience working with various sexual difficulties.
Remziye studied psychology in Turkey and specialised in sexual and relationship therapy in the UK. She worked in the sexual health and HIV departments of major university hospitals in London, setting up and managing busy psychosexual services.

She serves on the British Society for Sexual Medicine’s committee. Remziye is a certified psycho-sexologist by the European Society of Sexual Medicine and a senior accredited psychosexual therapist and clinical supervisor by the College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists. Remziye sits on the examination board of the European Society of Sexual Medicine for the certification of psycho-sexologists.

Remziye has conducted PhD research at Anglia Ruskin University, focusing on sexuality and religion.

She has a private practice in central London and offers consultations in English, Turkish, and Greek.

Justyna Kulczyk-Lewinska
Justyna is an accredited psychosexual and relationship therapist, clinical supervisor, and founder of JKL Therapy Centre. With extensive experience across NHS, hospital and private practice settings, she integrates a trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming, and culturally sensitive approach to relationship therapy.

Justyna specialises in working with neurodivergent individuals, diverse relationships and couples, exploring how neurotype, communication and sensory experience shape intimacy and connection.
In her teaching, she supports therapists to deepen their understanding of neurodivergence within couple dynamics and to develop inclusive, attuned and evidence-based relational practice.

Jaap Westerbos
Jaap specializes in group dynamics and collective wisdom as expressed in his book World Wide We (2004). He trains counsellors, supervisors, executive coaches and leaders both in the UK and abroad. He also counsels individuals and couples in the UK. He is a COSRT senior accredited psychosexual and relationship therapist, an NCPS senior accredited therapist and an experienced organisation consultant and executive coach. He consulted to many organisations.

Jaap lived for many years in Amsterdam where he received his primary training through an internship with Thale Bout, one of the first successful personal development trainers in the Netherlands. He also published a cookbook to ‘awaken’ the stomach (The Tao of Mashed Potatoes, 1999).  He has a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and in Religious Studies and is also an accredited Interfaith Minister. In an earlier incarnation he was part of the artist duo Tempi & Wolf, with many international exhibitions and installations to their name

Jaap is one of the founders and a director of NAOS Institute, a successful London based organisation. His approach to counselling and training is first to create a place of safety. Safety is the condition that enables us to explore conscious and unconscious issues together. He supports personal enquiries at ever increasing depth so that healing and continuous growth through the relationship can take place.

Serge Nicholson
Serge is Director and psychosexual and relationship therapist at CliniQ, (www.cliniq.org.uk) a Community Interest Company that offers holistic wellbeing, counselling and sexual health services for trans people, their partners and friends.
He is also wellbeing practitioner and therapist at Gendered Intelligence, a Community Interest Company supporting trans youth, parents, offering professional development and trans awareness training. Co-coordinating the Gendered Intelligence Therapist and Counsellors Network, plus group therapy for trans and non-binary18-30 year olds. Additionally, he is a Nottingham University research assistant on the Partner’s Experience of Gender Transition.

Serge holds diplomas from the London Diploma in Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy, and the NAOS Advanced Diploma in Couples Therapy.

Serge has experience of working in disability & mental health & trans advocacy, and the promotion of performance, film and arts events in community wellbeing.
He is the co-founder of Hotpencil Press, co-editor of ‘There Is No Word For It’ (2011) a trans masculine verbatim monologues collection, performed internationally.

Dr Joanne Collins
Dr Joanne Collins has been working in the field of Social Care for twenty years. She began her work in the field working with women who were experiencing pregnancy crisis and went on to undertake therapeutic training. She has gained extensive therapeutic experience in a variety of settings e.g., 3rd sector, statutory sector, NHS, and since 2013 she has been in private practice.

Currently based in Central London, Joanne has successfully completed her Clinical Doctorate in Systemic Psychotherapy. An education enthusiast, Joanne has completed a number of trainings to include an MSc in Systemic and Family Therapy, an M.A in Transpersonal Child Adolescent & Family Therapy and an MSc in Rehabilitative Counselling & Healthcare. At the beginning of her exploration into working with race, she completed a course in Brief Psychoanalytic Work with Young Black People at Tavistock & Portman Clinic and is also a qualified teacher.

Joanne is a 2014 graduate of London Diploma in Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy. The main goal was to work explicitly with sex and sexual dysfunction in all genders. Since completing this course, Joanne has gone on to develop her practice to include working with LGBT sex and relationship problems and to explore ideas of intersectionality and how this impacts on sex, sexual relationship and experiences of different sexual groups. This continues to be an area of interest for her.

Dorota Mucha
Dorota is a highly qualified Psychosexual and Relationship Therapist accredited and registered by biggest regulatory and awarding bodies in the UK. Alongside of being therapist, she is public speaker, tutor, lecturer and supervisor for NHS Trust and Tavistock Relationships.

In addition to working and managing Us In Therapy, she is a public speaker providing workshops to increase the knowledge about importance of sex and intimacy. She runs talks and relationship retreats for Soho House around Europe and online workshops globally. She has been interviewed for several magazines including Attitude and Vice and contributed to many academic publications. Dorota has contributed to several documentaries and theatre productions addressing and exploring such topics as ChemSex, LGBTQ+ identity and non-monogamy.

Dorota’s training and education includes an MSc in Psychosexual and Relationship therapy with Tavistock Relationships (University of East London), Individual and Couples Counselling and Psychotherapy, Counselling Psychotherapy with City University of London, MA in Social Psychology with University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Mentalization Based Therapy. She is also certified clinical supervisor, lecturer and tutor working in academia and providing support on clinical placements.

Steven Hayward
Steven is a Psychosexual and Relationship Therapist in private practice. He trained at the Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships in 2006 then went on to complete the London Diploma in Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy with a distinction; and then with Bader & Pearson at The Couple’s Institute in California, and is about to train with StopSO, with a view to working with sexual offenders, those at risk, and their partners/families.

His primary therapeutic lens is attachment theory and its strong links with neuroscience (mainly from the work of Allan Schore and the concept of Right Brain Psychotherapy). He believes that affect regulation is at the core of everything we do in psychotherapy but also believes in the importance of promoting and educating our clients on their general well-being with subjects like nutrition, gut health, movement, sleep, good attachments and connections, mindfulness, the pursuit of meaning, truthfulness and authenticity, a sound epistemology, and our connections with nature.

Steven works with young men with a variety of erection, ejaculation, and relationship concerns. This has led him to look at what it means to be male/masculine in the western cultures and the challenges of growing up in society where boys are not just raised differently, but develop differently, and have unique challenges to their psychological health and well-being.

Keeley Mardon
Keeley is a Psychosexual and Relationship therapist working in private practice and the NHS. She trained at the LDPRT, she also holds the Advanced Diploma in Couples Therapy. In addition she is an accredited integrative psychotherapist with many years’ experience. She specialises in working with adolescents with extreme emotional and behavioural difficulties. She is a child protection trainer for Kent Children Safe Board and offers consultancy to professionals working with children. She also has a Diploma in Clinical Supervision, she supervisees trainee counsellors and many other professions. Keeley is Service Lead of a leading counselling service within the NHS.

Keeley lectures at Christchurch University in Canterbury for the Psychology department. She writes and delivers workshops for trainee counsellors the NHS and schools.
She also sits on the accreditation committee for the Royal College of Psychiatrists and is a lead reviewer for the service.

Dr Robert Hudson
is a UKCP registered psychotherapist, sex and relationship therapist, and certified Sex Addiction & Trauma Specialist (CSAT-S Supervisor). He is a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP), an accredited member of the College of Sexual and Relationship Therapy (COSRT), and a trained EMDR trauma therapist.

Robert specialises in working with individuals, couples, and groups on issues including compulsive sexual behaviour, intimacy, and relational difficulties. He has designed and facilitated treatment groups, workshops, and retreats, and is particularly known for his work with couples navigating the challenges of trust, betrayal, and recovery. His integrative approach combines humanistic, psychodynamic, and cognitive behavioural models, offering a warm, collaborative, and structured style of therapy.

Alongside his clinical practice, Robert provides clinical supervision to therapists and delivers training and teaching in the fields of compulsive sexual behaviour, trauma, and relationship therapy. He is currently preparing a book and a number of articles for publication, further contributing to research and best practice in this specialist field.

Anastasios Argyropoulos (external examinator)
D.Psych, Counselling Psychologist and Counsellor/Psychotherapist
Having completed his undergraduate studies (BSc.) in Psychology 20 years ago, Anastasios went on to receive further accredited postgraduate training up to doctoral level (PgDip., MSc., PsychD.) in different psychotherapeutic modalities in the UK and abroad, including couples therapy. His diverse training informs his integrative / relational approach to practice.

He has extensive clinical experience having worked in varied settings, holding senior roles in different institutions such as psychosocial rehabilitation centres, private clinics, third sector organisations and the NHS. He has been employed in academia and contracted by organisations to consult on behavioural dynamics, change management and organisational development.

He is currently employed in the NHS where he supervises the work of other mental health professionals, runs a full-time London-based private practice, and tutors regularly on counselling/psychotherapy training programmes. He is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and the British Psychological Society.

The Curriculum includes

• The role of the therapist in couples work
• A psychotherapeutic and developmental framework
• Stages of Couples Relationship: symbiosis to differentiation, practicing, rapprochement to mutual interdependence
• Diagnosis of the couple’s stages including stress and anxiety within the couple relationship 
• Principles for Intervention which will include managing betrayal and affairs
• A critical review of sexual aversion in the couple 
• Narcissistic-Borderline couples
• A synopsis and review of Developmental and Transpersonal models of relationships 
• Relationship enhancement models vs. couples therapy 
• Mental health issues in either one or both of the couple 
• Working with same-sex couples 
• A culturally sensitive approach to ethnically diverse clients
• Domestic violence
• Neuroscience and gendered relationships

Entry requirements
Counsellors, psychotherapists or related professions with a minimum of 2 years training.

Assessment
+ A case study of a couple of 5000 words which is submitted in April 2027  (extensions are given if necessary)
+ Attendance of no less than 85% is required
+ Course director and faculty feedback
+ Peer and self-assessment

Dates
In class, face to face: January 2026 to December 2026. Times: 10.00 – 16.30 hrs. 10 weekends, 20 days in total.

Weekend 1: Saturday 31 January and Sunday 1 February 2026
Weekend 2: Saturday 28 February and Sunday 1 March 2026
Weekend 3: Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 March 2026
Weekend 4: Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 April 2026
Weekend 5: Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 May 2026
Weekend 6: Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 July 2026
Weekend 7: Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September 2026
Weekend 8: Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October 2026
Weekend 9: Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November 2026
Weekend 10: Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December 2026

Accreditation
Students may undertake this training in part fulfilment of the Accredited Register (Professional Standards Board), as a pathway into UKCP registration or BACP accreditation.
The course is accredited with NCPS and COSRT and faculty members are all accredited with national accrediting bodies (AHPP, NCIP, NCPS, BACP, UKCP, COSRT)

Fees for face to face version
£3,950.00 for the year (incl 20% VAT). We require a deposit of £250 to secure your place followed by 10 monthly instalments of £370.00. Applicants who wish to pay for the year a one off payment, are offered a 2.5% (£100) reduction in fees.

Enquiries and Application
If you require more information, please fill in an application form (click here). We will contact you as soon as possible.
All applicants are required to complete the application form. This will be followed by a telephone interview. If offered a place, a course contract will have to be completed and an initial non-refundable deposit of £250 or £250 to secure a place will be required.

Fees
£3,950.00 for the year (incl 20% VAT). We require a deposit of £250 to secure your place followed by 10 monthly instalments of £370.00. Applicants who wish to pay for the year as one off payment, are offered a 2.5% (£100) reduction in fees.

Accreditations 2027
The training leads directly onto NCPS’s new Relationship Therapist Register (RT) if students become a Registrant member of this organisation.
COSRT (link here) accredits this course either as a thematic qualification or, subject to additional requirements as a direct lead into the Relationship Therapist register.

(COSRT’s additional requirements are: COSRT student membership at a reduced rate, completion of a 1000 word critical reflection for each of the ten weekends, 100 hrs clinical practice with couples or relationships under a COSRT registered supervisor, 20 hrs personal therapy.)