Diploma
in Family Therapy Studies
A distance learning course

Textbook available on KINDLE™

   College accreditation: International Association for Distance Learning.
   Course accredited by Institute for Meridian Psychotherapy
    for professional development purposes  

This course has been upgraded from Certificate to Diploma from June 2011

Total recommended period of study: approx. 3 to 6 months or less. Continuous enrolment. No time limit.

Cost: £300.00  (300 Pounds Sterling - for currency conversion see www.xe.com )

A FREE textbook (approx. 600 pages) will be sent to UK students. Non-UK students will normally purchase the book on-line from an internet bookstore.

Textbook discount for UK students: We will give UK students a discount of £25 if they purchase the Kindle edition of the textbook from the link in the left-hand column of this page, instead of opting for the free hard copy.

Method of study 

Textbook study. Written assignments based on textbooks and exercises. Assignment questions are issued by email and students return their written work by email. Grades and feedback are issued by email.

Course overview

This course provides a comprehensive overview of family therapy theory and methods of practice. The material also includes a section on research findings on effectiveness. 

Major schools of family therapy and introduced, their methods explained and their work evaluated, leading to an integrated model of how family therapy can be delivered.

The history and development of family therapy is covered.

Goals of family therapy are considered, including for diverse lifestyles and sexual orientations and families with disabled or mentally ill members.

The process of how family therapy works is explained according to its various stages, and different styles of intervention are described.

A large portion of the course is devoted to how family therapy can assist with various problems such as:

child abuse,

conduct disorders,

drug abuse,

distressing intimate relationships,

depression,

alcoholism,

schizophrenia.

You will also learn about some of the methods and technologies that are used in the training of family therapists.

Entry criteria and suitability 

This course is mainly for helping professionals who are thinking of becoming a family therapist, who have an interest in the area, or who refer clients to family therapists. The course may also be taken for personal interest.

It is an introductory theoretical course and is not intended to qualify you as a family therapist. However this course can act as a complement to other courses or as a refresher and it might also increase your chances of finding a place on a family therapy course that provides practical training. 

Qualified and practising counsellors, psychotherapists and hypnotherapists may find this course a welcome addition to their professional portfolio, providing a key area of professional development. Professional societies that operate an unrestricted CEU policy may consider this qualification for CEU purposes.  

Textbook

The key textbook used is: 

Carr, Alan.  Family Therapy: Concepts, Process and Practice. Second Edition. John Wiley and Sons Ltd., 2006.

(The book is FREE to UK students: overseas students will need to acquire the book separately - see column on left for links.)

Qualification

Successful graduates will receive the Diploma in Family Therapy Studies awarded by UK College of Holistic Training which is a private UK qualification. The college is accredited by the International Association for Distance Learning.

The course is accredited by The Institute for Meridian Psychotherapy (which is linked to UKCHT) for professional development purposes (see societies page for explanation).

This course is not in itself a qualification in counselling or psychotherapy. It is offered for educational and professional development purposes.

This diploma is accepted by Calamus International University (a non-UK, private distance university with private accreditation) for credit towards a degree.

Further information

Please see our FAQs page for general information.

We reserve the right to change the syllabus and other details of any course at any time.

To apply for this course now, go to our Application page