Hope-Focused Couple Counseling
$800.00
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12 credit hours
The Christian Hope-Focused Couple Counseling training equips mental health professionals, pastoral counselors, and educators to apply the empirically supported Hope-Focused Couple Approach (HFCA) within a Christian integrative framework. This course emphasizes healing and growth through Hope, Forgiveness, and Positive Psychology, providing a practical, spiritually sensitive model to strengthen marital bonds, promote reconciliation, and empower willing Christian couples toward long-term relational health. Rooted in Christian virtues and empirically tested interventions, the HFCA promotes faith-based principles (faith, grace, forgiveness) with evidence-based couple interventions that enhance communication, intimacy, and trust. The course highlights the HFCA’s adaptability across cultural and theological diversity and demonstrates applications to issues such as difficult communication, conflicts, and faith struggles within marriage. Attendees will explore the model’s structure, including assessment tools, the Hope-focused intervention modules, and specific Christian-integrated practices such as prayer, and grace-based conflict resolution.
Learning Objectives
Participants will…
- Describe the theoretical and empirical foundations of the Hope-Focused Couple Approach and its Christian integration levels.
- Identify the Hope focused grand strategy using Hope, techniques and strategy to promote emotional bonds in willing Christian couples.
- Apply practical interventions from the HOPE model in faith-informed couple therapy.
- Facilitate communication and conflict resolution skills, including TANGO, LOVE, and CLEAVE interventions, within a Christian counseling context.
- Implement forgiveness processes using the REACH Forgiveness model and FREE reconciliation exercises.
- Integrate Christian practices such as prayer into therapeutic planning while maintaining ethical, multicultural competence.
- Assess relationship change through HFCA assessment tools, goal-setting, and outcome monitoring for faith-based clients.
- Develop a brief, structured treatment plan aligned with empirical evidence and Christian values that promotes marital healing and hope.
Presenters: Jennifer Ripley, Ph.D. and Everett Worthington Jr., Ph.D.
Lesson Titles and Presenters
HFCC 101: Foundations of the Hope-Focused Couple Approach
Jennifer Ripley, Ph.D. and Everett Worthington Jr., Ph.D.
In this session, Drs. Worthington and Ripley introduce the theoretical base, Christian integration, and research evidence behind HFCA. They will examine the theology of “faith working through love” and hope as a mechanism of change with willing Christian couples.
HFCC 102: Operation HOPE – The Strategy for Healing and Growth
Everett Worthington Jr., Ph.D.
In this session, Dr. Worthington outlines the HOPE-focused grand strategy of change. Hope is established as the key component for the hurting, holy and health of couples which cascades to strategies and techniques for couple therapists. The goal of the clinician’s work is to help couples create, build, grow and repair their emotional bond so that they can find satisfaction and maturity in their relationship.
HFCC 103: Assessment in Couples
Jennifer Ripley, Ph.D.
In this session, Dr. Ripley teaches strategies for written and interview assessment of the couple. Through a 10-question method of intake assessment and suggested written assessments the first level of couple assessment is taught in detail. The goal is to build a treatment plan with hope and alliance in the couple therapy room, while obtaining necessary information for effective care.
HFCC 104: Feedback and Routine Outcome Monitoring
Jennifer Ripley, Ph.D.
In this section, Dr. Ripley will outline how feedback is communicated to the couple for effective outcomes. She will review a written form as one of the keys to effective outcomes, with previous research showing that about a third of all outcomes are relevant to assessment and feedback. The principles of client voice, and self-determination in treatment are the focus of Routine Outcome Monitoring for couple therapy.
HFCC 105: Communication Skills for Connection and Covenant
Everett Worthington Jr., Ph.D.
In this session, Dr. Worthington will examine the importance of communication within the marriage dyad. Attendees will learn to recognize how communication interventions can emphasize the semantics, syntax, and pragmatics of communication, and will learn practical interventions such as TANGO, LOVE, and Simple Listen & Repeat to improve communication through humility and gentleness, which will affect emotional intimacy, mutual understanding, and agreement on Christian covenantal values.
HFCC 106: Bonding and Emotional Intimacy through Faith
Jennifer Ripley, Ph.D.
In this session, Dr. Ripley will describe the rebuilding of a functional bond as the essence of couple therapy. Attendees will explore BOND interventions (CLEAVE, Dreams, Spiritual Intimacy Conversations) and discusses how to restore closeness through shared prayer and scriptural reflection.
HFCC 107: Repairing Hurts
Everett Worthington Jr., Ph.D.
In this session, Dr. Worthington will build on the previous session by outlining how having a functional bond, to some extent, requires repair of hurts. A theory of reconciliation will be presented briefly. This module focuses on understanding injuries and hurts in couple relationships, with sculpting interventions being discussed as one method of making the repair of relationship hurts memorable. Repair options for the couple include forgiveness, covered in detail in HFCC 108, and other methods of relational repair.
HFCC 108: REACH Forgiveness Model – Forgiveness in Couple Counseling
Everett Worthington Jr., Ph.D.
In this session, Dr. Worthington guides participants through the evidence-based REACH Forgiveness process with specific emphasis on how to use it with couples to enhance reconciliation. Attendees will learn various applications of the biblical principles of confession, repentance, and grace to facilitate deep healing and reconciliation.
HFCC 109: Rebuilding Trust and Renewing Covenant Commitments
Everett Worthington Jr., Ph.D.
In this session, Dr. Worthington, will introduce the Forgiveness and Reconciliation through Experiencing Empathy (FREE) reconciliation interventions to rebuild confidence, gratitude, and perseverance after relational injury. This will harken back to the theory of reconciliation presented earlier.
HFCC 110: Diversity, Culture, and Faith Integration in Christian Couple Therapy
Jennifer Ripley, Ph.D.
In this session, Dr. Ripley will summarize cross-cultural applications, step-coupling, interracial marriages, and faith diversity, emphasizing humility and adaptability in Christian-integrative practice.
HFCC 111: Ethical Practice and Long-Term Change in Christian Couple Counseling
Jennifer Ripley, Ph.D.
In this session, Dr. Ripley will review the ethical issues in integrating faith, empirical fidelity, and therapist boundaries when working withing willing Christian couples. Attendees will examine the importance of outcome monitoring, follow-up, and therapist self-reflection through prayer and supervision.
HFCC112: Finishing Well
Jennifer Ripley, Ph.D.
In this session, Dr. Ripley will discuss proper termination of couple therapy with a memorable review of progress, discussion of future goals, and a Joshua Memorial activity to maintain progress after therapy is concluded.
Continuing Education Approval Statements
American Association of Christian Counselors has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7543. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. American Association of Christian Counselors is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
The American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) is an Approved Continuing Education CE provider by the International Board of Christian Care (IBCC). American Association of Christian Counselors is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
The American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) offers some psychologists, therapists, counselors, social workers and play therapists Continuing Education (CE) credit due for good standing with certain states and a limited number of professional organizations. It remains the responsibility of each participant to be aware of state licensure and CE requirements.
Participants should check their state and/or local regulations regarding required continuing education hours. For more information Light University Continuing Education programs, please visit: https://lightuniversity.com/continuing-education-statements/
12 credit hours
Continuing Education Accreditations applicable to this course
NBCC, IBCC, Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling
Intended Audience: Mental and Medical Health Professionals, Mental Health Coaches
