This full-day, experiential workshop is designed for social workers and other mental health professionals who are new to couples therapy and seeking a practical, inclusive foundation to begin this work with confidence. As more couples seek support for relational challenges, clinicians are often at the forefront, helping diverse clients whose issues are embedded in both personal and systemic contexts.

Couples therapy is not individual therapy with two people present. It requires a shift in mindset—from an individual lens to a two-person relational system. This training facilitates that transition by offering a structured, accessible approach grounded in the Developmental Model and informed by the Gottman Method.

Participants will learn to:
- Structure and lead early sessions with confidence and clarity
- Ask effective, culturally attuned questions to uncover attachment patterns and conflict dynamics
- Integrate differentiation, attachment theory, and neuroscience into a socially informed clinical lens
- Recognize and address individual issues (e.g., anxiety, trauma, addiction) as they affect the relational system
- Step into the leadership role that couples therapy demands

The workshop blends didactic learning with experiential practice, including brief lectures, role plays, case discussions, and observation. Short video examples will be used when available. We will emphasize inclusiveness, cultural humility, and social context, aligning with the core values of the social work profession. Participants will leave with tools they can immediately apply and a roadmap for building confidence as relational therapists.

This workshop is ideal for clinicians ready to grow in a new area of practice with guidance grounded in both theory and real-world application.

Licensed mental health providers, including social workers, licensed professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, and psychologists.

Identify key stages of relational development as outlined in the Developmental Model and recognize common developmental challenges couples encounter.

Demonstrate how to structure an initial couples therapy session, including setting the frame, gathering key relational history, and managing dual perspectives.

Formulate effective initial assessment questions that uncover attachment dynamics, communication patterns, and individual contributions to the couple system.

Describe the role of differentiation in long-term relational growth and how it can be introduced in early sessions.

Apply a two-person systems lens to conceptualize cases, distinguishing couples therapy from individual work and increasing therapist confidence in leading sessions.

Identify and articulate at least three clinical indicators that couples therapy may be contraindicated, and explain the rationale for alternative treatment approaches.

9:00 – 9:15 AM: Welcome & Orientation

• Overview of the day
• Learning objectives
• Establishing a safe and supportive learning environment

9:15 – 10:15 AM: Session 1: Shifting the Frame — From Individual to Two-Person System

• Why couples therapy is fundamentally different
• The therapist as leader in the room
• Common fears and early pitfalls
• Introduction to the Gottman and Developmental Models
•  Brief pair sharing or reflection: First encounters with couples work

10:15: -10:30AM - Break

10:30 – 11:15 AM: Session 2: Assessment Essentials

• What to ask and why: Intake structure and key interview questions
• Identifying developmental stuck points and attachment issues
• Introduction to the Stages of Intimacy

11:15 – 12:00 PM: Session 3: Introduction to Differentiation in Practice

• Why differentiation is foundational to long-term connection
• The “reactive loop”: how to interpret, explain, and begin interrupting it
• Working with anxiety and emotional reactivity
• Live practice in pairs

12:00 – 1:00 PM: Lunch

1:00 – 2:00 PM: Session 4: Common Individual Dynamics in the Room

• Mental health issues in relational context: depression, anxiety, addiction
• When and how to “take a side” to clarify or intervene
• Therapist emotional regulation and countertransference

2:00 – 3:45 PM: Session 5: Tools & Interventions to Lead With Confidence

•  Structuring early sessions with clarity and containment
• Setting agreements and establishing boundaries
• Early interventions that build safety and trust
•  Role-play demonstration: observing the presenter
• Practice leading a first-session moment

3:45-4:00PM - Break

4:00 – 5:00 PM: Session 6: Integration & Roadmap Forward

• Review of key takeaways
• Q&A and participant discussion
• Next steps: how to grow as a couples therapist

The cost for 6.5 Continuing Education (CE) credits will be $25. An email from Credits Education will be sent to all participants who complete the course.

• August 18, 2025 for the August Workshop
• September 15, 2025 for the September Workshop

Participants must have paid tuition fee, signed in, attended the entire seminar, completed an evaluation, and signed out in order to receive a certificate. Failure to sign in or out will result in forfeiture of credit for the entire course. No exceptions will be made. Partial credit is not available. Certificates available after satisfactory course completion at credits.education

 

Delivery Format

This course is in-person.

 

Social Workers

Getting Started in Couples Therapy: A Practical Introduction: Training for Clinicians New to Couples Work, Course# 6403, is approved by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program to be offered by Credits.Education as an individual course. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE course approval period: 7/24/25 to 7/24/27. Social workers completing this course receive 6.5 clinical continuing education credits. 

 

Counselors/Marriage and Family Therapists

CA: Credits.Education, #1032827, is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs. Credits.Education maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content.  Course meets the qualifications for 6.5 hours of continuing education credits for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.