PACFA-endorsed CPD · 2 days · North Adelaide
Family therapy training in Adelaide
Family Therapy Foundations is a two-day intensive introduction to systemic ways of working with families, run by AkindaCo at 183 Tynte St, North Adelaide. It is designed for professionals across sectors who already work with people and keep running into the family around them.
You were trained to help one person. The problem is in the room.
The child who is fine at school and falling apart the moment they get home. The parent who will not engage. The file that never moves.
You have been patient, thorough and kind, and nothing shifts. Here is what nobody told us in training: you are not failing that family. You are working with one person in a system that has other ideas.
Most of us were taught to treat the individual in front of us. But the difficulty usually is not inside that person, it sits between people. Once you feel confident to do something about it, those families stop being the ones you dread.
That is what these two days are for.
Learning outcomes
What you will be able to do on Monday
- Read a family system and know where to intervene
- Draw a genogram with a family in the room, as a live clinical tool rather than a homework sheet
- Use circular questions to shift a conversation that is stuck
- Work out what to do when the person in front of you is not the person who needs to change
- Hold a session with several people in it without losing control of it
- Talk to a family about their patterns without anyone feeling blamed
- Notice when your own history is shaping what you are seeing
Genograms are covered in depth in their own one-day course as well. See The Therapeutic Use of Genograms.
Who this family therapy training is for
- Counsellors, psychologists, social workers and occupational therapists
- School wellbeing leaders, student counsellors and senior teachers
- Child protection, CAMHS and community-sector practitioners
- Anyone who works with a young person and keeps running into the family around them
You do not need prior family therapy training. This is a foundation course and it assumes no systemic background.
How the two days run
Guided by experienced family therapists, you will explore the key ideas behind systemic practice and walk away with techniques you can apply immediately, whether you work with individuals, families or teams.
Every AkindaCo course has an experiential flavour. You get a workbook that guides you towards a concrete understanding of the fundamental content, activities to reflect on the self of the therapist and the systems you work inside, case studies, and practice of experiential and creative ways of working with complexity. You practise the techniques on the day rather than reading about them.
Who teaches it
AkindaCo's education team is led by Rana Kökçinar, Senior Psychotherapist, Family Therapist and Education Lead, who publishes in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy and presents at the Australian Association of Family Therapy and UK Association of Family & Systemic Psychotherapy conferences. You can read summaries of that work here.
AkindaCo's founder, Paula Gillespie-Fotheringham, is an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Adelaide. Our co-director, Shane Fotheringham, is a Clinical Family & Systemic Psychotherapist and Registered Social Worker. Meet the full AkindaCo team.
We are a working clinical practice first and a training provider second. Everyone teaching on the day still has a caseload.
CPD and endorsement
Family Therapy Foundations is PACFA-endorsed CPD. It is also routinely used for continuing professional development by members of the Australian Association of Family Therapy, the AASW and the PTPA. If your association needs evidence in a particular format, tell us before the day and we will provide it.
Where it is held
183 Tynte St, North Adelaide SA. AkindaCo also has rooms in Salisbury, and every course in our catalogue can be delivered in-house at your organisation if you would rather train a whole team at once.
Questions
Family therapy training in Adelaide: common questions
How much does the family therapy training cost?
Early Bird is $340, a standard individual seat is $425, and a team of three or more is $918, which is 10% off. Payment plans are available at checkout on Humanitix.
When is the next family therapy course in Adelaide?
Thursday 17 to Friday 18 September 2026, 9:30am to 4:30pm ACST both days, at 183 Tynte St, North Adelaide.
Is it accredited or endorsed?
Family Therapy Foundations is PACFA-endorsed CPD. It is a professional development course, not a qualification in family therapy. If you are looking for a full qualification pathway, talk to us and we will point you in the right direction.
Do I need a background in family therapy?
No. It is a foundation course, designed for professionals from any sector who work with people. No systemic training is assumed.
Can my whole team attend?
Yes. There is a team rate for three or more people, and we can also deliver the course in-house at your service and shape it around the work your team actually does.
What do I get to take away?
A workbook that holds the theory, the practical techniques you have rehearsed on the day, and a set of reflective activities on the self of the therapist that you can keep using afterwards.
Do you run other family therapy courses?
Yes. The Therapeutic Use of Genograms is a one-day course covering genograms in assessment and intervention. We also run Art Therapy Foundations and in-service Preschool Boost programs for early childhood educators.
Book your place, 17–18 September 2026
Places are limited so the group stays small enough to practise in.