Bristol Relationships : Training Courses

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.