Speaker Types: Workshop Presenter

Dr. Carrie Cole trains other therapists in the Gottman Method of Couples Therapy by conducting Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 trainings yearly. She is also a consultant for the certification program. She has led The Art and Science of Love weekend workshop for couples multiple times a year in Houston since 2008. Carrie was a presenter at the 2008 Gottman Annual Conference, the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2012, and appeared as a guest on the Debra Duncan Show in Houston, TX. In addition to leading workshops and training other therapists, Carrie has co-authored a number of workshops including: The Unique Challenges of Second Marriages, Ethics in Couples Therapy and Living as God’s Family: Relationship Enhancement for Congregations. She has been interviewed and quoted in several newspapers and magazines including The Chicago Tribune, Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Real Simple, Women’s Health, Woman’s World, Verily Magazine, Catster Magazine and ME Magazine.

As a public speaker Carrie is warmly dynamic and provides an engaging experience for her audience. The information that she presents is practical and helpful for a variety of audiences. Her primary goal is always to leave her audience with a sense of hope and optimism about the most important thing in life, which is having positive relationships with others. Through her presentations, Carrie frequently demonstrates humanism by having the courage to demonstrate how she has worked through her own conflicts in her relationships with others. For more information, explore her website.

*Not Accepting Certification Candidates*

Dr. Carrie Cole has been drawn to John Gottman’s research since graduate school, as her greatest joy is working with couples. Carrie and her husband opened the Center for Relationship Wellness in 2006 with the intention of specializing in couple relationships using Gottman Method Couples Therapy. Her own consultation process was very helpful in her development and confidence. The interventions are powerful and helpful to couples, and they provide guidance and clarity for the therapist. Carrie’s goal is to help Consultees gain confidence in the use of Gottman Method Couples Therapy in a safe, supportive, collaborative environment.

Carrie has been a supervisor in the State of Texas for over 10 years and loves helping colleagues develop and achieve their professional dreams. I believe in giving feedback in a thoughtful, empathic, and relational way. In addition to being a consultant for The Gottman Institute, she is an approved Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 Trainer, and an Art & Science of Love Workshop Leader. Carrie also does Marathon therapy with couples.

*Accepting New Certification Candidates*

Caralee is a fully immersed Gottman Couples therapist and loves the emphasis on research from the beginning. She is a “show me the research” gal! As an LCSW, Caralee was first licensed in CA in 2002, then in CO in 2004. After working part time at an agency, she opened her private practice. In 2019, she expanded to a small group practice, where all of her fabulous clinicians use the Gottman Method as their primary methodology.

Caralee originally thought she would be working with children and adolescents, but soon learned that when the parents’ aren’t doing well, everything else was much harder. She searched for reliable, evidence based ways to work with parents/couples and found Dr. John Gottman in 2003, when she attended a Level 1 training with him. Caralee was hooked! Suddenly, couples work seemed doable and not so overwhelming! She used Level 1 for 6 years before taking Level 2 and then moved steadily towards being certified in 2013. Because Caralee had used the model for so many years, she finished certification in a relatively short time – less than a year. She always encourages people to use the tools, immerse yourself in the method, get familiar with it before entering the Certification Track, because of her own experience.

She had the opportunity to rove in Seattle a number of times, as the Gottman’s presented the “Art and Science of Love” couples workshop, and in 2014 Caralee was the first to bring it to CO, where she has presented it several times per year ever since. In 2017 she began training clinicians in the Gottman Method. She is a trainer for Levels 1, 2 and 3, which she loves doing – especially in person! In 2019, she took the trainings and the ASL to HI, as well.

Caralee has a sub-specialty working with couples in recovery for sexual compulsions/addictions/betrayals and is Certified in Partner Betrayal Trauma. She is a Certified Sex Addiction Recovery Therapist (SRT) through AASAT since 2014. Caralee is trained in EMDR and uses it frequently in her practice. She is also Certified in Discernment Counseling (2020) through the Dougherty Relationship Institute for “couples on the brink” of separation/divorce.

Caralee was nervous to start the Certification Track! As a verifiable “technophobe”, the idea of recording her sessions, editing, and sharing them was intimidating in itself, not to mention having someone else critique her work. However, she had a great experience, with a lot of support and encouragement, as well as clear guidelines on what to focus on to successfully reach certification. Caralee’s years as part of The Gottman Institute community has reinforced the supportive, encouraging experience she had with her consultant. Caralee’s hope is to offer an equally supportive, encouraging, and helpful experience to those with whom she consults, and continue to pass on the spirit of The Gottman Institute, from which she has so greatly benefited.

Caralee is available for individual and group consultation. She also hosts pre-Certification Track group consultation sessions. You can contact Caralee directly through her Gottman Referral Network profile here.

Dr. Navarra developed the Couple Recovery Development Approach (CRDA), a relational model of addiction assessment and treatment based on his research at Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto, California. Integrating CRDA with the Sound Relationship House model Dr. Navarra designed a two-day workshop for recovering couples, Roadmap for the Journey, and a one-day training workshop for therapists and counselors, Couples and Addiction Recovery. Dr. Navarra and Dr. John Gottman are collaborating on a randomized clinical trial of the CRDA model in treatment programs. Dr. Navarra teaches graduate classes on addictive disorders at Santa Clara University.

*Accepting New Certification Candidates*

Robert has been in private practice for over 25 years, and now work primarily with couples. He is an Art & Science of Love Workshop Leader, and was a Gottman Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 Trainer. He has had the privilege to co-author a book chapter with Dr. John Gottman, titled “Gottman Method Therapy: From Theory to Practice”, in Case Studies in Couple Therapy: Theory-Based Approaches (Carson & Casado-Kehoe, Eds., 2011).

As a Research Associate at Mental Research Institute (MRI) Robert co-founded Center for Couples in Recovery and developed the “Couple Recovery Development Approach” (CRDA), based on original, ongoing research over the last 10 years at MRI. In collaboration with Dr. John Gottman and the Relationship Research Institute and blending research models, Dr. Gottman and Robert presented a workshop, training therapists and addiction counselors in this relational approach to addiction recovery and collaborated in designing a CRDA weekend workshop for couples recovering from addiction that is now being offered in several treatment programs. CRDA will be studied in randomized clinical trials looking at outcomes of working with couples in early recovery verses standard individually-oriented recovery approaches.

“Dr. Bob Navarra was a wonderful consultant and his wisdom, kindness, and encouragement were invaluable.”

Alysha graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Women’s Studies and earned a Masters of Social Work from the University of Utah. Alysha began her career as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Her experience in the human service field spans twenty plus years and includes directing a homeless shelter in the Washington DC area and working with domestic violence and sexual assault survivors in various settings. A successful private practice in Salt Lake City, Utah set the stage for her current work. After moving to Texas she worked at Family Time Crisis and Counseling Center and became a Social Work Supervisor for students and interns. In 2007, she co-founded what is now known as Couples Counseling and Psychotherapy Associates, a thriving practice that serves Kingwood, Texas and surrounding communities.

Alysha is passionate about helping couples heal from betrayals, enhance their friendships, manage conflict, and create shared meaning in their lives. She has been drawn to John Gottman’s work since the early days of her practice. It was a dream realized to become a Certified Gottman Therapist. She offers four modalities of Gottman Method™ Couples Therapy: Couples counseling, Marathon therapy, the Art & Science of Love Weekend Workshops, and Premarital counseling. Since becoming certified, she has advanced further to become a Level 3 Trainer, now offering all levels of Gottman Method Couples Therapy training to clinicians and provides consultation for therapists working toward certification.

The teaching and public speaking opportunities offered to her through her workshops, training, and consultation have provided her great satisfaction. She is passionate about helping others have the tools they need to have deeply satisfying relationships. She is dynamic and warm in her presentation, providing real-life examples so others know they can apply the skills to their lives as well.

*Accepting New Certification Candidates*

Alysha entered the human service field in the early 1990s. As she entered private practice, Alysha was quickly introduced to the Gottman Method in her search for a means to better serve clients struggling in their relationships. Becoming certified has helped her build skills essential to aiding couples heal from years of hurt and betrayal. To Alysha, enabling more therapists to be trained in the Gottman Method is vital.

Alysha feels driven to do as much as she possibly can in order to help couples as well as therapists seeking to help couples. She is an Art & Science of Love Couples Weekend Workshop presenter and a Level 1, 2 and 3 Trainer. She also provides marathon therapy. Alysha and her colleague, Mary Beth George, have built a practice dedicated to training clinicians and treating couples. She is grateful to be a part of a community of therapists that are devoted to helping couples and she appreciates being able to stay connected with the Gottman Institute and other Certified Gottman Therapists by regularly roving at the Seattle Art & Science of Love Couples Weekend Workshops.

Her advice in getting certified: Jump into the material! Alysha was certified quickly because she immersed myself into the Gottman Method. As a Social Work supervisor, she enjoys helping professionals hone their skills. She would love to help you get certified so you can be a part of this enthusiastic community of therapists, grow your practice confidently and truly help couples heal.

You can contact Alysha directly to learn about her consultation pricing and more through her Gottman Referral Network profile here.

In addition to her work with couples, Kimberly is also a Gottman Trainer and Consultant. She is certified to present all three levels of the Gottman Method Training sequence as well as the Art & Science of Love Weekend Workshop for couples. She also serves as a consultant to clinicians seeking certification in the Gottman Method. In addition to her expertise in the Gottman Method, Kimberly is trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy and integrates it into her work.

Kimberly is an engaging, energetic speaker with a passion for training others in the Gottman Method. She is personable and is able to teach the method in a clear, comprehensible manner. She uses humor in her presentations and shares examples from her own work experience to highlight the concepts being taught.

*Accepting New Certification Candidates*

Kimberly is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over a decade of experience working with individuals, couples, groups and families. She took the Gottman Level 1 Training in 2012 and knew immediately that she wanted the method to guide her work as a therapist. Shortly after getting certified in 2014, Kimberly transitioned her practice from mostly individuals to almost exclusively couples. She utilizes the Gottman Method in her work with couples simply because it is effective. She has seen it work with the couples that walk into her office and the knowledge she gained during her training helped strengthen her own marriage. There is nothing greater than being able to help couples improve their understanding of their partner and themself so that their relationship may flourish.

Kimberly was anxious about entering the consultation process. However, after her first session with her consultant, she realized that she had nothing to be anxious about. Kimberly felt at ease with her consultant and the advice and insights she provided challenged Kimberly and helped her grow as a couple’s therapist more than she ever had. Kimberly’s goal is to provide consultees with the same supportive, collaborative environment so that they can reach their true potential as a Gottman therapist.

In addition to her work as a consultant, Kimberly also leads the Art & Science of Love Weekend Workshops several times a year and presents Level 1, Level 2 & Level 3 of the Gottman Method training sequence.

You can contact Kimberly directly to learn about her consultation pricing and more through her Gottman Referral Network profile here.