Relational Couple Therapy – Elana Leigh

In this rich and thought-provoking recorded webinar series, Elana Leigh invites us to explore the complex, unconscious dynamics that shape couple relationships and the particular challenges of working relationally with couples in psychotherapy.

Drawing on her recent Transactional Analysis Journal article of the same title, Elana proposes that couples often form an unconscious relational pact — a shared fantasy that the other partner will repair long-standing narcissistic wounds and unresolved Oedipal struggles. While this pact may initially sustain the relationship, genuine transformation can only begin when these unconscious hopes and relational illusions are gradually brought into awareness.

Across these two recorded sessions, Elana explores how therapists can help couples disentangle the sustaining illusion by tracing its roots through:
• personal history and attachment patterns
• significant early relationships
• wider relational and cultural systems
• and the therapeutic relationship itself

Working from a deeply relational perspective, Elana considers how the therapist’s own emotional responses, countertransference, and personal history become essential instruments in understanding and working with the couple dynamic. She also explores the therapist’s task of staying emotionally present with experiences of disappointment, disillusionment, and impasse — both the couple’s and their own — as part of the process of creating the possibility for deeper intimacy, connection, and growth.

Through clinical reflection and theoretical exploration, this webinar series offers valuable insight into how relational couple therapy differs profoundly from individual psychotherapy, illuminating one of the most challenging — and rewarding — areas of clinical practice.

These recorded webinars will be of particular interest to psychotherapists, counsellors, supervisors, and trainees wanting to deepen their understanding of relational couple work.

✅ Listen anytime, anywhere — pause, replay, and reflect at your own pace.
✅ Earn CPD — simply let us know once you’ve completed the recording to receive your certificate.

These webinars were originally recorded on the 5th and 19th May 2026 and need to be purchased together

Video lecture – 2hrs and 30mins

BUY NOW Part One and Part Two – £30

Elana Leigh (TSTA, MSc Integrative Psychotherapy, B.Scs. SW) has worked for over 35 years as a clinician, supervisor, and trainer. Based in Sydney, Australia, and Europe, she brings extensive cross-cultural experience and a longstanding interest in the complexity of couple relationships and relational psychotherapy.