Queering Gottman: Gottman Method Couples Therapy Training (Levels 1 and 2)
Description
The Gottman Method Couples Therapy Training offers a research-based, skills-focused approach to working with couples, grounded in decades of observational research on relationship stability and repair. Unlike many other modalities, Gottman emphasizes practical, structured interventions that can be immediately applied in clinical work to strengthen friendship, manage conflict, and deepen emotional connection. This training is affirming of all relationship structures, including queer, LGBTQ+, polyamorous, and ethically non-monogamous partnerships, and is designed to support clinicians working with diverse relational configurations. Participants will gain clarity on certification pathways while engaging a model known for its specificity, accessibility, and real-world clinical utility. Reach out to space@radicalhealing.us for more information on sliding scale offerings! Dates: Level 1: Friday September 18 - Saturday September 19 and/or Level 2: Sunday September 20 -Tuesday September 22.
By Friday, July 24, 2026, if registration numbers do not meet minimum enrollment requirements, either part of the Gottman Training, or both Part 1 and Part 2 (if applicable), may be canceled due to insufficient enrollment. In the event of cancellation due to limited enrollment, a 100% refund of registration fees paid directly to the organizer will be issued to all registered participants. Refunds will be processed by July 31, 2026. Please note that ticketing platform fees, including Humantix processing fees, are subject to the platform’s separate policies and may not be refundable, even if the event is canceled.
LEVEL 1 Overview
Help couples in your practice manage conflict and deepen intimacy! This is the first step in learning Gottman Method Couples Therapy. Level 1 Training will give you new insights into treatment for couples who struggle, using research-based assessments and effective interventions.
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
In this workshop, you will be provided with a research-based roadmap for helping couples compassionately manage their conflicts, deepen their friendship and intimacy, and share their life purpose and dreams based on the Sound Relationship House Theory.
You will be introduced to Dr. Gottman’s breakthrough research on thousands of couples to understand the difference between the “Masters” and “Disasters” of relationships. If you are not already doing assessment, this training will teach you how to assess a relationship’s strengths and areas of concern using empirically validated questionnaires.
You will view original videos of real couples from the famous Gottman “Love Lab,” as well as videos of Dr. Julie Gottman demonstrating assessment and interventions in a case example from her private practice.
What will I learn in Level 1?
You will learn research-based strategies and tools to help couples successfully manage conflict. You will gain skills to empower partners to dialogue about their worst gridlocked issues by uncovering their underlying dreams, history, and values. You will gain tools to help couples process fights and heal their hurts, and techniques for partners to deepen their intimacy and minimize relapse.
APPLY GOTTMAN METHOD COUPLES THERAPY TO HELP COUPLES STRENGTHEN:
The Friendship System – the foundation for intimacy, passion, and good sex
The Conflict System – the basis for helping couples identify and address solvable problems, and understand and manage irresolvable differences
The Shared Meaning System – the existential foundation of the relationship that helps partners discover their shared purpose for building a life together
AS A RESULT OF TAKING THIS TRAINING, YOU WILL LEARN:
Participants will summarize the research that allows us to predict future relationship stability.
Participants will describe the seven levels of the Sound Relationship House theory.
Participants will design a couple’s therapy assessment using elements of the couple’s narrative, the Oral History Interview, written questionnaires, observations of conflict and individual interviews.
Participants will describe two interventions to help strengthen a couple’s conflict management.
Participants will describe two interventions to enhance a couple’s friendship system.
Participants will describe two interventions to explore a couple’s system of shared meaning.
Participants will explain why physiological self-soothing is essential for a healthy relationship.
Participants will create a therapeutic contract with a couple, discuss and decide on goals and include a summary of the couples strengths and areas that need improvement.
Participants will describe the Philosophy of Therapy including assumptions, overview of techniques, and goals of therapy
Participants will describe the Rapoport Intervention and when to use it.
Participants will describe the process of therapy, including the structure of a session.
Who is this training for?
Participants working in the following fields will benefit from our level 1 clinical training: Mental health providers, mental health students and interns, faculty who teach couples therapy, allied professionals and clergy, family clinic staff, researchers in the social sciences, pastoral counselors, Employee Assistance professionals, and laypeople. There are no prerequisites.
What is included in the price?
11 hours of real-time, personal instruction from a Certified Gottman Therapist
A digital copy of the Level 1 Clinical Training Manual (PDF)
Lifetime access to the online, asynchronous version of the Level 1 training provided by The Gottman Institute, featuring all of the lectures and demonstrations given by Drs. John and Julie Gottman – available for review any time as part of your training library
Gottman Level 1 Training Certificate of Completion - after completing a post-training assessment with a score of 80% or better
Eligibility to continue to Gottman Level 2 Training
Available for separate purchase:
11 Live CEs – purchased after attending the training from Cognitive Behavior Institute for $40
CBI Center for Education is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. CBI Center for Education maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
CBI Center for Education is not responsible to verify that American Psychological Association continuing education credits are approved by an attendee's respective state licensing board.
Real-time instruction will take place from 9:00am to 5:00pm Eastern Time on Friday-Saturday, September 18-19, 2026. Short breaks will be provided throughout the day, along with a lunch break approximately halfway through each training day. Participants must attend the full training to receive credit for completion of Gottman Method Couples Therapy Level 1.
LEVEL 2 Overview
Deepen your understanding of Gottman Method Couples Therapy. Expand your strategies & interventions with couples during this 3-Day LIVE clinical training!
*Completion of Level 1 is required to attend this workshop
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
Now that you’ve been introduced to the fundamentals of Gottman Method Couples Therapy in the Level 1 Training, this Level 2 Training will expand your assessment strategies and intervention techniques. At the completion of Level 2 Training, you should have the clinical familiarity, knowledge, and resources to integrate Gottman Method Couples Therapy assessments and interventions into your clinical work.
This workshop provides a wealth of information about relationship theory, observation, couple dynamics, relationship assessment, treatment planning, when and how to use interventions, and working with co-morbidities. All materials may be used in clinical settings.
Live workshop participants will practice using the interventions in role play sessions to help gain confidence using them with couples. You will also view original videos of couples from the famous Gottman “Love Lab,” as well as video of Drs. John and Julie Gottman demonstrating assessment and interventions in real case examples from their private practice.
This is the next step toward becoming a Certified Gottman Therapist, and qualifies you to enroll in a Level 3 training once you have begun applying your learning with couples.
What will I learn in Level 2?
This training dives deep into the Gottman Method approach for treating complicated cases involving co-morbidities including affairs, PTSD, addiction, and domestic violence. It will help you to:
Refine your clinical skills and expand your strategies and interventions in your work with couples.
Internalize and integrate the powerful, research-based Gottman Method assessment and Intervention techniques.
Gain insight as to when to use these methods and when couples therapy is contraindicated.
Gain confidence in using the techniques of GMCT.
In this workshop, you will be provided with a research-based roadmap for helping couples compassionately manage their conflicts, deepen their friendship and intimacy, and share their life purpose and dreams based on the Sound Relationship House Theory.
You will be introduced to Dr. Gottman’s breakthrough research on thousands of couples to understand the difference between the “Masters” and “Disasters” of relationships. If you are not already doing assessment, this training will teach you how to assess a relationship’s strengths and areas of concern using empirically validated questionnaires.
Building on what you learned in the Level 1 Training, you will review how to assess a couple’s Friendship Profile, Conflict Profile, and Shared Meaning Profile. You will be provided with a toolkit of interventions that couples can use as antidotes to the Four Horsemen and to help soothe physiological flooding. You will learn to apply six modes of changing the Attack/Defend System in a couple’s interactions, and learn how to assist couples in establishing dialogue about their gridlocked conflicts.
You will learn how to select and implement interventions to help couples deepen their Friendship System with rituals of connection, and to help couples create a shared system of values and meaning. You will also understand the issues particular to five different co-morbidities common to couples presenting for therapy, and gain insights into how to apply Gottman assessments and interventions with these couples.
Participants will be able to:
Participants will describe the three qualities every therapist needs
Participants will explain the basics of observation including why it’s important to recognize Emotions on the Human Face, Tension in the Voice, the Importance of Words and the use of the SPAFF coding system
Participants will describe the seven levels of the Sound Relationship House theory
Participants will describe how to recognize Bids and Turning Towards
Participants will explain and demonstrate how to conduct an Oral History Interview
Participants will determine a couple’s “Friendship Profile,” “Conflict Profile,” and “Shared Meanings Profile”
Participants will explain and demonstrate how to use the 3 profiles to choose appropriate interventions for the couple
Participants will describe the use of the core assessments with couples, including the Locke-Wallace, Weiss-Cerretto, Gottman Sounds Relationship House Questionnaires, Gottman 19 Areas Checklist, EAQ, SCL-90, Detour Scales, CAGE, b-MAST, and Supplemental Assessments
Participants will formulate a treatment plan and present it to the couple including using the Sound Relationship House model
Participants will develop interventions that couples can use as antidotes to the “Four Horsemen”
Participants will show couples how to physiologically soothe when flooded
Participants will select and implement interventions to help deal with conflict
Participants will apply different modes of changing the “Attack/Defend System” in a couples interaction
Participants will explain to couples how to establish dialogue about their grid-locked conflicts
Participants will select and implement interventions to help couples deepen their “Friendship System” with Rituals of Connection
Participants will select and implement interventions to help couples create a shared system of values and meaning
Participants will use and describe the Stress-Reducing Conversation to minimize relapse
Participants will identify and formulate a plan for different co-morbidities common to couples using Gottman Method Couples Therapy Assessment and Intervention
Participants will describe how to apply Gottman Method Couples Therapy to a couple who has experienced an affair
Participants will describe when it is appropriate and inappropriate to use Gottman Method Couples Therapy with a couple dealing with substance abuse
Participants will describe the differences between situational and characterological domestic violence and when it is appropriate and inappropriate to use Gottman Method couples therapy with a couple dealing with domestic violence
Who is this training for?
IMPORTANT: You must have successfully completed the Level 1 GMCT training to take this workshop.
Participants working in the following fields will benefit from our level 2 clinical training: Mental health providers, mental health students and interns, faculty who teach couples therapy, allied professionals and clergy, family clinic staff, researchers in the social sciences, and Employee Assistance professionals.
What is included in the price?
21 hours of real-time, personal instruction from a Certified Gottman Therapist
A digital copy of the Level 2 Clinical Training Manual (PDF)
Lifetime access to the online, asynchronous version of the Level 2 training provided by The Gottman Institute, featuring all of the lectures and demonstrations given by Drs. John and Julie Gottman – available for review any time as part of your training library
Gottman Level 2 Training Certificate of Completion - after completing a post-training assessment with a score of 80% or better
Eligibility to continue to Gottman Level 3 Training
Available for separate purchase:
21 Live CEs – purchased after attending the training from Cognitive Behavior Institute for $40
CBI Center for Education is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. CBI Center for Education maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
CBI Center for Education is not responsible to verify that American Psychological Association continuing education credits are approved by an attendee's respective state licensing board.
IN PERSON TRAINING Please read all the information below before registering so you know whether this training will be right for you and your needs!
Real-time instruction will take place from 9:00am to 5:00pm Eastern Time on Sunday-Tuesday, September 20-22, 2026. Short breaks will be provided throughout the day, along with a lunch break approximately halfway through each training day. Participants must attend the full training and complete any required post-training components through The Gottman Institute to receive credit for completion of Gottman Method Couples Therapy Level 2. Completion of Level 2 qualifies participants to register for Gottman Level 3 trainings.
Level 1 & Level 2 BUNDLE
The "bundle" of both workshops saves you $100 off the cost of registering for both trainings separately.
To choose the BUNDLE option, select the "Level 1 & 2 Gottman BUNDLE" ticket ($1200) at checkout.
Participants registered for both Level 1 and Level 2 will attend all live training sessions from September 18-22, 2026, from 9:00am to 5:00pm Eastern Time daily. Short breaks and lunch breaks will be provided each day. Full attendance is required to receive credit for completion of each training level.
Additional Information
Lunch options will be available during the training days. Additional details regarding meal arrangements and options are currently pending and will be shared with participants as they are finalized. Please inquire about local hotel and housing options for those with interest from out of state. Please inquire further about other accommodation needs. Training will be held at 727 Eastowne Dr, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 in a wheelchair accesible building.
Grounded clinicians. Stronger relationships. Training that heals.
Radical Healing has no relevant financial or commercial conflicts of interest to disclose related to this training. Radical Healing will not receive any financial benefit from the sale or purchase of books, publications, or other materials referenced during the training.
AGENDA:
LEVEL 1:
DAY 1
TIME | CONTENT | LENGTH |
10:00am | Introduction to L1 | |
10:30 | Theory & Research | |
11:20 | Dysfunctional Relationships & Predicting Divorce | |
11:40 | 10 minute break | |
11:50 | Functional Relationships | |
12:20 | The Sound Relationship House | |
1:00 | Intro to Assessment/Contra-indications for Couple therapy | |
1:04 | LUNCH – 45 mins | |
1:50 | Assessment Session 1 – The Oral History Interview | |
2:40 | Written Assessments & Scoring | |
3:15 | 10 minute break | |
3:25 | Assessment Sessions 2 & 3 – Individual Interviews & Feedback | |
4:15 | Q&A | |
4:30 | End |
DAY 2
TIME | CONTENT | LENGTH |
10:00am | Overview of Assessment | |
10:45 | Conflict: Rapoport | |
11:40 | 10 minute break | |
11:50 | Conflict: Dreams Within Conflict, Compromise Ovals | |
12:50 | LUNCH – 45 mins | |
1:35 | Conflict: Aftermath of a Fight | |
2:05 | Conflict: Eliminate the Four Horsemen, Flooding & Soothing | |
2:50 | Friendship: Build Love Maps | |
3:10 | Friendship: Stress Reducing Conversation | |
3:30 | 10 minute break | |
4:10 | Gottman Training & Certification | |
4:20 | Q&A | |
4:30 | End |
LEVEL 2:
DAY 1
TIME | CONTENT | LENGTH |
|---|---|---|
9:00am | Introduction to Level 2 | |
9:30 | Basics of Observation | |
10:10 | Bids & Turns | |
10:20 | Assessment | |
10:30 | Oral History Interview | |
10:50 | 10-minute break | |
11:00 | Evaluating Conflict Management | |
11:50 | Oral History Interview Role Play | |
12:30 | LUNCH – 45 mins | |
1:15 | Individual Interviews | |
1:50 | Core Assessment Questionnaires & Scoring | |
2:05 | Feedback & Treatment Planning | |
2:55 | 10-minute break | |
3:05 | Feedback Session Role Play | |
3:25 | Comorbidities: Dealing with Affairs | |
4:40 | Q&A | |
5:00 | End of Day 1 |
DAY 2
TIME | CONTENT | LENGTH |
9:00am | Interventions in Level 2, Offering interventions | |
9:30 | Introduction to Demo Couple | |
9:45 | Four Horsemen and Their Antidotes | |
10:35 | Four Horsemen Role Play | |
11:00 | 10-minute break | |
11:10 | Comorbidities: Addiction | |
12:00 | LUNCH – 45 mins | |
12:45 | Intervention for Flooding & Self-Soothing | |
1:25 | Intervention for Flooding Role Play | |
1:50 | Gottman-Rapoport Intervention | |
2:20 | Gottman-Rapoport Role Play | |
2:45 | 10-minute break | |
2:55 | Dan Wile Intervention | |
3:15 | Dan Wile Role Play | |
3:35 | Internal Working Model Intervention | |
3:55 | Comorbidities: PTSD | |
4:50 | Q&A | |
5:00 | End of Day 2 |
DAY 3
TIME | CONTENT | LENGTH |
9:00am | Q&A | |
9:20 | Dreams Within Conflict | |
9:45 | Dreams Within Conflict Role Play | |
10:15 | Compromise Ovals | |
10:40 | Compromise Ovals Role Play | |
11:05 | 10-minute break | |
11:15 | Comorbidities: Intimate Partner Violence | |
12:45 | LUNCH – 45 mins | |
1:30 | Aftermath of a Fight or Regrettable Incident | |
2:10 | Aftermath of a Fight Role Play | |
2:35 | Friendship & Romance Interventions | |
3:05 | 10-minute break | |
3:15 | Interventions for Turning Towards, Stress Reducing Conversation | |
3:40 | Stress Reducing Conversation Role Play | |
4:10 | Build Rituals of Connection | |
4:30 | Relapse Prevention | |
4:35 | Gottman Training & Certification | |
4:45 | Q&A | |
5:00 | End of Day 3 |
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