21/01/2026
This is a note I received from Lottie Passell-Syms and as she is an exceptional therapist and trainer I want to share with you:
I wanted to reach out personally to share something I’ve been developing over the last few years, and which is now opening again for the next cohort.
Many of you will remember that alongside my clinical work, I used to run training for therapists and students. A comment I heard repeatedly, even from very capable practitioners, was:
“I’ve got the theory. I’ve got the materials. But I still don’t feel ready to work with couples.”
That gap stayed with me. Not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of confidence, structure, and practical grounding when it comes to having two people in the room, working with the dynamic between them, and knowing how to hold that safely.
The Playbook grew directly out of that.
It’s an NCPS-recognised advanced specialist training (50 CPD hours), designed to give therapists a clear, practical foundation for working with couples. The focus is not on training people into a single model, but on what sits underneath modality: assessment, structure, process, and how to work with the relational system itself.
Around 70% of those who attend haven’t worked with couples before and want to feel genuinely prepared before stepping into that work. The remaining 30% are already seeing couples, but want more clarity, confidence, and structure, particularly around complex dynamics, conflict, affairs, and intimacy.
The training is highly practical and includes the assessments, contracts, and clinical frameworks required for couples work, all of which can be adapted to each therapist’s existing approach. The intention is support, not overwhelm, and application rather than abstraction.
The next cohort runs across four live, in-person modules:
Friday 6th March 2025 & Saturday 7th March 2026
Assessments, Contracts & Skills Practice
Friday 17th April 2025 & Saturday 18th April 2026
Tools, Techniques & Talking Therapies
Friday 15th May 2025 & Saturday 16th May 2026
Conflict, Communication & Affairs
Friday 26th June 2025 & Saturday 27th June 2026
S*x & Intimacy
If this feels relevant for you, or for someone you supervise or work alongside, you’re very welcome to apply or share it on.
https://www.lottiepassellsyms.com/the-playbook
For anyone interested in joining, applications can be made here:
https://forms.gle/iNGvhaBw9tcLLu2y7
Please fill in the following form. If you have any questions, please send us an email to contact@lottiepassellsyms.com and we will come back to you. Make sure you have checked out our testimonial video, to hear first hand how our previous students have found the course: https://youtu.be/fMEBJEqvR78?...
