105 Two Days - Wednesday and Thursday,
July 7 and 8, 2010 – 8:30am – 5:30pm
The Gottman Method Couples Therapy, Level I, "Bridging the Couple Chasm: a Research-Based Approach"
Vagdevi Meunier, PsyD
Attendees will be trained to use Level I Gottman’s Couples Techniques and receive the Gottman level I Training Certificate of Completion. There will be no spouse discount for this Training Institute. Couples, however, are warmly encouraged to attend.

John Gottman, PhD, has studied couples and families for more than three decades. Through analyzing thousands of interactions, he has scientifically determined the factors that produce long-lived harmonious relationships, and those behaviors that damage and eventually ruin relationships. From this, he has put together a practical and scientific therapy method for helping and strengthening relationships between committed couples, and between parents and children.

John Gottman and his wife, Julie Schwartz Gottman, PhD, created The Gottman Institute in Seattle, Washington, to provide training in the Gottman method to health care professionals, and in depth workshops to couples. I have been involved with The Gottman Institute since 2004. I have found the pragmatic Gottman program to be a break-through for relationship-based counseling, and have been pleased to make it a primary component of my own counseling approach.

Gottman is well known for his best-selling books Why Marriages Succeed and Fail and Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child, among others. In 2005, Malcolm Gladwell included an entire section on Gottman’s couples research in his best-selling book Blink. “Gottman has proven something remarkable. If he analyzes an hour of a husband and wife talking, he can predict with 95 percent accuracy whether that couple will still be married fifteen years later.”

Who Should Attend:
This Institute is open to all – psychologists, psychiatrists, marriage and family therapists, social workers, educators, pastoral counselors, mental health and other professionals, clergy, marriage educators, lay leaders, mentor couples – and the public. There is no minimum requirement, educational level, degree, or licensure to attend the Level I training. Note, however, the manual and materials are ONLY to be used in clinical or counseling settings, not in educational classes or settings. Couples are also encouraged to attend, however please note that there is no spouse discount in lieu of the requirement that each attendee must receive the full training manual. 

What you will Receive:
Each participant will receive a Level I Certificate of Completion and the "Bridging the Couple Chasms: a Research - Based Approach" Manual which includes not only all of the material covered in this 2-day training, but also the many assessment questionnaires and intervention tools needed to put this therapy method into practice when you return to your clinical setting – a $150 value if purchased on the Gottman internet site. Proper Use of these Materials: Participants in this Level I training have permission to reproduce materials for use with their clients in couples therapy and for no other use.  They do not have permission to use these methods or materials in any form to offer workshops either for couples or for other mental health professionals or to make these materials available to the public. This permission is reserved as the sole province of The Gottman Institute, Inc, and may be revoked at any time. Any misuse of these materials may be subject to legal action. 

What We’ll Cover:  
This training will review Gottman's three decades of research on what makes marriages succeed or fail and teaches an approach that helps strengthen marriages. The Institute provides a wealth of information about couples dynamics, marital assessment, couples exercises and therapeutic interventions. All materials may be used in private practice clinical settings.

You will learn what the Gottman research tells us about couples, including…

• How married couples really sustain their marriages—in contrast to common myths and misconceptions.
• How the quality of relationships affects the immune system, physical health and well being.
• How marital problems change over time, but never go away—even in happy couples.

You will gain specific, research-based tools to make an impact on the couples you see in your practice, including…

• New marital assessment and diagnosis procedures that have been used to predict marital stability with 94% accuracy.
• New diagnostic tools that accurately identify the specific problems in the dynamics of the marital relationship.
• Methods to help couples feel a renewed sense of caring and partnership through emotional connection.

You will be ready to apply what you've learned, including…

• The key points in couples' interactions, when your interventions will be most effective.
• Therapeutic methods to help couples enhance friendship and shared meaning in their relationships.
• Specific and precise therapy techniques based on years of scientific analyses that help resolve solvable problems and dialogue on grid-locked ones.
  

NOTE: This 2-day Institute is the first step toward full certification as a Gottman Therapist. While anyone interested in learning more about the Gottman Method can take the Level I & Level II trainings, only Masters or Doctoral degreed, licensed professionals can be admitted to Level III training and go on to complete the steps to become a Certified Gottman Therapist.  For complete information about Level II and Level II training and the full Gottman Therapist certification requirements, see www.gottman.com 

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Presenter:
Vagdevi Meunier, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and Associate Professor of Counseling at St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas. She has a private clinical and consulting practice in Austin where she specializes in couples and group therapy, couples workshops, training and supervision, and organizational consultation. She has over 25 years of experience as a therapist, consultant, and educator and has been full-time core faculty in the Master of Arts in Counseling program at St. Edwards since 2004 where she teaches primarily marriage and family therapy courses. Her primary expertise is as a certified Gottman Couples Therapist and a certified Gottman Workshop Leader. She offers the “Art and Science of Love” weekend workshop for couples twice a year in Austin and has joined other workshop leaders to offer this workshop for couples in other cities.  You can find more information about her Art and Science of Love workshops here:  http://www.txcouplesworkshops.com.    She is also an approved professional trainer and consultant with the Gottman Institute. She has presented the Level 1 training for professionals in the Gottman method of couples therapy every year in Austin and around the United States and Canada.  She plans to offer the Level II advanced training starting in 2010. She is also a seminar director with Prepare-Enrich; has also completed advanced training in Emotionally Focused couples therapy; and is an approved provider for the Twogether in Texas premarital education program.  
She can be reached by phone at 512-587-2499 or by email at vagdevim@gmail.com.

Dear Diane,
As a member of the Smart Marriages Coalition, just want to say that my husband and I took the Gottman course from Vagdevi in Austin about a year ago and found it excellent. She is competent, personal and it was very helpful to us both personally and professionally.
Janine Lund, PhD, LMFT 

This institute is part of the week-long Smart Marriages conference.

Register for the Institute and the Conference: Click for Information on Conference Details, to download a conference brochure, REGISTER ONLINE, hotel & travel information & discounts, etc.