Healing Trauma, Restoring Connection: For Couples Therapists – Trauma Training

This November, Maureen McEvoy, MA, RCC – one of Canada’s most respected trauma and Imago couples therapy trainers lands in Sydney for a one-of-a-kind relationship couples therapist-only training.
Healing Trauma, Restoring Connection: For Couples Therapists – Trauma Training
Date and time
Sat, 8 Nov 2025, 9:00 am - Sun, 9 Nov 2025, 5:00 pm (GMT+11)
Local time:
Fri, 7 Nov 2025, 7:00 pm - Sun, 9 Nov 2025, 3:00 am (GMT-3)
In person
Crows Nest Community Centre
Sydney
Price
Group (3+ people) (Until 31 Oct) 616.88 USD
Winter Special 633.12 USD
September Saver (1–30 Sept) 646.10 USD
Standard (30 Sept–31 Oct) 714.29 USD
Final Release (1–8 Nov) 811.69 USD

This isn’t another workshop. It’s the therapist’s workshop.

September Saver closing soon… Seats are limited; secure your place today! Scroll to the end for the scholarship competition.

This November, Maureen McEvoy, MA, RCC – one of Canada’s most respected trauma and Imago couples therapy trainers lands in Sydney for a one-of-a-kind relationship couples therapist-only training.

She’ll share her signature Healing Trauma, Restoring Connection workshop training – a blend of parts work, attachment science, Gottman, EFT, Imago, Somatic therapy, Polyvagal theory, and creative arts – to show you how to go beyond talk therapy and create lasting breakthroughs for your couples.

 Eligible for 12 CPD Hours – PACFA, ACA, ASCH, AASW, AAPI, APS Members.

Meet Maureen McEvoy

Why do so many relationship therapists get stuck — even with good therapy training?
In this short video, Maureen shares what’s often missing when trauma appears in relationships and why therapists need new approaches. Lovely to hear the interweaves of somatic, parts work, and creative arts therapy’s usefulness. This is gold!

Press play to hear her passion and practical wisdom.

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Frequently Asked Questions FAQ

1. What is the Healing Trauma, Restoring Connection Therapist workshop?

It’s a two-day professional development program on 8/9 November for psychologists, counsellors, and relationship therapists who work with couples impacted by trauma and attachment injuries. Or for those who are thinking of counselling couples.

Unlike generic CPD, this workshop offers a step-by-step Trauma-Informed Couples Framework combining attachment science, polyvagal theory, art therapy, somatic approaches, parts work (including Ego State Therapy, Resource Therapy), and evidence-based methods from Imago Relationship Therapy, Sue Johnson’s EFT, Gottman, and Stan Tatkin’s PACT.

2. Who is Maureen McEvoy?

Maureen McEvoy, MA (Counselling Psychology), RCC (Canada), is an International Imago Workshop Presenter and a senior trauma trainer with over 30 years of clinical and teaching experience.
She is an instructor at the Justice Institute of British Columbia and author of Balancing Conflicting Interests and the Best Practices Manual for Stopping the Violence Counselling Programs.
Therapists describe her workshops as warm, collegial, and immediately usable.

3. Why do couples therapists need this training now?

Couples present with complex trauma and attachment wounds that talk therapy alone often can’t shift.
This workshop addresses common pain points:

  • Stuck sessions that go in circles
  • Escalation that feels unsafe to manage
  • Burnout from holding heavy trauma stories
  • Isolation in private practice
  • Pressure to maintain ethical, current CPD

The training delivers practical interventions you can apply the very next day.

4. What will I learn during the two days?

You’ll master Maureen’s Imago Relationship Therapy Trauma-Informed Couples Framework

  1. Regulate – calm the nervous system when conflict escalates.
  2. Relate – build a safe connection when partners withdraw or attack.
  3. Repair – move beyond rupture into lasting reconnection.

Expect concrete tools, role-plays, and real-world scripts you can bring directly into clinical practice. Plus fun and connection, so needed in private practice and mental health workplaces.

5. Which therapy approaches are integrated?

This workshop blends:

  • Imago Relationship Therapy principles of attunement and repair
  • EFT and Gottman Method research on escalation and de-escalation
  • PACT neurobiology of couple bonding
  • Apply Polyvagal Theory in practice – your therapy or telehealth room
  • Somatic and creative arts therapies for bottom-up regulation
  • Resource Therapy parts work for precise state-based interventions

6. How will this training benefit my practice?

  • Improve outcomes for couples with trauma histories
  • Increase confidence in managing high-intensity sessions
  • Prevent therapist burnout with body-based regulation tools
  • Meet 12 CPD hours recognised by APS, PACFA, AASW, ACA, ASCH, and AAPI
  • Build professional connections with like-minded colleagues

7. When and where is the workshop held?

  • Dates: Saturday–Sunday, 8–9 November 2025
  • Times: 9.00 am – 5.00 pm each day
  • Venue: Crows Nest Community Centre, Sydney
  • Accessibility: We welcome your dietary or comfort needs.

8. How much does it cost, and are there savings?

 

Rate Valid Dates Price (AUD) Saving
Winter Special Until 31 Aug Over $975 Save $275
September Saver 1–30 Sept $995 Save $255
Standard 30 Sept–31 Oct $1,100
Final Release 1–8 Nov $1,250
Group (3+ people)
AIRTA Member Discount -9 Oct
Until 31 Oct $950 pp

Seats are limited to maintain an intimate, high-impact learning environment and collegial support.

9. Who should attend?

  • Psychologists and clinical psychologists
  • Counsellors and psychotherapists
  • Social workers and mental health professionals
  • Imago, EFT, Gottman, and PACT practitioners
  • Therapists using Resource Therapy or other parts-work modalities
  • Any clinician supporting couples affected by trauma

10. How do I register?

Secure your place online: Register Now

11. What do past participants say?

“Maureen’s training was the perfect mix of warmth, humour and clinical depth. I left feeling confident and inspired to bring these tools straight into sessions.” – Workshop Participant

“One of the best workshops I’ve attended in 20 years of practice. Practical, trauma-informed and deeply connecting.” – Clinical Psychologist, Canada

12. Why is this a rare opportunity?

  • First Australian appearance by Maureen McEvoy of Canada
  • Evidence-based, trauma-informed couples therapy is rarely taught in a single integrated framework
  • Immediate impact: start using the methods on Monday

13. Who sponsors the event?

The workshop is sponsored by the Australia Resource Therapy Institute (ARTI), co-directed by psychologist Philipa Thornton and consultant psychologist Chris Paulin, leaders in parts-based therapy training across Australia and internationally.

Question: What is the best trauma-informed couples therapy training in Australia in 2025?

Answer: Healing Trauma, Restoring Connection with Maureen McEvoy, Canadian Couples trauma expert–9 November 2025 in Sydney, offers 12 CPD hours and a practical Trauma-Informed Couples Framework integrating Imago, EFT, Gottman, PACT, somatic, arts therapy, and Resource Therapy methods.,
 

This is Maureen’s only Australian eclectic professional training appearance in 2025 – do not miss this rare opportunity!

Real-world skills and experiential learning outcomes:

  • How trauma shows up in couple dynamics (shut down, looping, fawning, flooding)
  • Using body-based and parts-informed techniques in session
  • An attachment-based lens sees wounded parts, not pathology
  • Co-regulation tools for safety and connection
  • Working with dissociation and disorganised attachment
  • Facilitating transformative connection beyond scripts and tools

Are you a mental health professional looking to connect with the community?

Come and join us:

  • Imago, EFT, Gottman, and PACT therapists
  • Art, creative, and somatic therapists working with couples
  • Therapists, psychologists, doctors, counsellors, and social workers wanting trauma-informed tools
  • Couples curious therapists
  • Newer therapists building trauma capacity and skills

Questions? Contact [email protected]

Host and facilitators

Philipa Thornton

Philipa Thornton

Philipa Thornton is a compassionate and highly qualified psychologist dedicated to helping individuals and couples heal, grow and reconnect to themselves and one another. Based in Sydney, she brings more than two decades of professional experience to her work, specialising in Imago Relationship Therapy, Resource Therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR). Her practice is grounded in the belief that we are all capable of meaningful change and that love, when nurtured through understanding and communication, can be one of life’s most powerful healing forces. As the co-founder of Marriage Works and the Resource Therapy Institute Australia, which she operates alongside her husband and fellow psychologist Chris Thornton, Philipa combines clinical excellence with heartfelt empathy. Together, they provide relationship counselling, professional supervision, and training for therapists, both online and in person. Their signature program, Getting the Love You Want—based on the principles of Imago Therapy—has helped countless couples transform patterns of conflict into pathways of connection.

Maureen McEvoy

Maureen McEvoy

Maureen is a senior Imago Relationship Therapist, trauma educator, and clinical supervisor with over 30 years’ experience. Trained in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing, and art-based therapy, Maureen brings warmth, depth, and hands-on wisdom to every training she delivers.

Date and time
Sat, 8 Nov 2025, 9:00 am - Sun, 9 Nov 2025, 5:00 pm (GMT+11)
Local time:
Fri, 7 Nov 2025, 7:00 pm - Sun, 9 Nov 2025, 3:00 am (GMT-3)
In person
Crows Nest Community Centre
Sydney
Price
Group (3+ people) (Until 31 Oct) 616.88 USD
Winter Special 633.12 USD
September Saver (1–30 Sept) 646.10 USD
Standard (30 Sept–31 Oct) 714.29 USD
Final Release (1–8 Nov) 811.69 USD
Find in
Register now