bristol relationships : training courses
Bristol
Started in 2017, Bristol Relationships is a fresh, dynamic, experience-led
training initiative created by Barbara Bloomfield, Dominique Sakoilsky, Rex
Baird and Zoe Baird. Barbara, Dominique and Rex have over fifty years of
experience, with tens of thousands of contact hours of working with couples and,
more recently, families between them. They all worked extensively together at
Bristol Relate and, from 2007, were a core part of the team that pioneered the
Family Counselling service there. All continue to have busy private practices.
Now they are looking to share, expand and develop this body of knowledge and
experience by offering specialist training to those interested working directly
with human relationships. Zoe has a strong background in administration and
organisation and is responsible for all the non-teaching aspects of Bristol
Relationships. Barbara Bloomfield, MA Barbara Bloomfield Barbara has been a
Counsellor for 23 years and a Counselling Supervisor for 15 years. She trained
with Relate in relationship counselling and has completed over 16,000 hours of
counselling and supervision during her career. In 2007, after taking a Diploma
in Systemic Family Counselling, she, along with Dominique and Rex, started the
Family Counselling service at Relate Avon. Barbara was a member of the Relate
Domestic Abuse Training Team and has been a national spokesperson for Relate for
many years, often quoted on tv, radio and media. She has written five books
about relationships, one of which won a Time Out award in 1986. Her most recent
book, Couple Therapy: Dramas of Love and Sex, is the world's first graphic novel
about relationship counselling and is published in 11 languages. This book led
to her working at Warsaw University in Poland with postgraduates. In 2017-18,
Barbara won a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship to study creative and
innovative ways of working with relationships where neuro-diversity is an issue
in Australia and North America. Barbara is a Director of Lapidus International,
the expressive arts organisation that brings together creative writing and arts
with better mental health. She has a master's degree in creative writing and
taught undergraduates at Bath Spa University. Her life passion is to continue
helping people to have better lives and connections through therapeutic
creativity.
