Speaker Region: California

Dr. Ellis specializes in and has a passion for assessing and treating sexual, mental health, and relational concerns across the lifespan (childhood through adulthood). Specifically, she works with individuals and couples surrounding issues of relationship wellness, sexual health, and intimacy. Dr. Ellis regularly hosts couples workshops and retreats. She additionally gives mental health and relationship enhancing presentations to churches and religious organizations in the Los Angeles, California area. She currently serves on the faculty of the Institute for Sex Education & Enlightenment (ISEE) where she teaches courses on child and adolescent sexual development, out of control sexual behavior, and common issues in couples and partner sex therapy.

*Accepting New Certification Candidates*

Mesha is a clinical and forensic psychologist who specializes in working with individuals, couples, and families. She has been in private practice for nearly 20 years. Her years of experience in teaching and serving clients across the lifespan has provided her with a deep knowledge of individual, developmental, cultural, familial, and societal processes that influence the therapeutic process and outcomes.

Mesha has extensive experience working with clients presenting with relationship issues. Whether it is a child/adolescent struggling with peer relationship or romantic partner difficulties, parents struggling to relate to their child(ren), or adults struggling in their intimate relationships. She enjoys helping consultees tease apart presenting and clinical issues, developing effective treatment plans, becoming comfortable with sharing and reviewing videos, and confidently implementing Gottman Method interventions. Her consultative style is characterized by warmth, empathy, humor, and a caring yet direct approach.

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

Laurie is a registered nurse, certified childbirth educator, and Training Specialist for the Bringing Baby Home program. She has a passion for supporting new parents through the myriad of changes that occur when a baby joins the family. She believes the Gottman principles taught in a Bringing Baby Home course are invaluable in helping new parents understand and successfully navigate the transition to parenthood. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to train other professionals to facilitate this profoundly impactful workshop.

Laurie is married and is the mother of five children. She teaches childbirth classes at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, and is a frequent volunteer in her children’s schools and her church’s organizations for children and youth.

*Accepting New Certification Candidates*

Are you looking to find some peace and comfort in your life and/or relationship? Or want to learn some skills to heal from the hurts and pains you have experienced in life and/or your relationship?

Tammy has a tremendous amount of compassion for each and every person she meets, and is very passionate about working with couples through their journey using the Gottman Methods of therapy. With over 15 years experience working with couples in various stages of their relationship, Tammy is able to help couples learn the skills and techniques to move through time together in a more harmonious respectful manner.

With extensive training in the Gottman Methods, Tammy’s areas of specialty with couples therapy are trauma, marital dissatisfaction, betrayal, affair recovery and addiction recovery. Relationships are not easy and when these are plaguing a relationship, it can make life as a whole more difficult to manage. Her approach is with gentleness, care and compassion, when communicating with each and every person.

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

To learn more about Sinead Smyth, visit her website here.

*Accepting New Certification Candidates*

The consultation process is rewarding and confidence-building as you learn to integrate theory and practice with your own personal clinical style. It can also be challenging, anxiety-provoking, and overwhelming at times. As a consultant and as a long time clinical supervisor, Sinead is a believer in creating a safe and supportive environment early on where you feel free to share your work, learn from mistakes and celebrate successes.

Sinead has been a licensed Marriage and Family therapist for 16 years and am a Level 1, 2 and 3 Gottman Trainer and couples’ workshop leader. In her private practice, she has found her training in Gottman Method to be invaluable in its depth, breadth and practical applications with distressed couples. Consultation is the time where you truly hone your skills and deepen your understanding of the complexity of this approach.

Sinead’s goal is for you to find the consultation process professionally and personally enriching in its combination of support and developing proficiency in the core skills needed for certification. She look forward to supporting you on your journey towards being a Certified Gottman therapist.

“I want to give a HUGE mention that my consultant, Sinead Smyth, was fantastic. She was wonderful in providing clinical guidance, helping me use the Gottman interventions with more skill/finesse, and also providing support in the long process. I have loved working with her and the only downside to now being certified is that our regular consultation ends. Thank you, Sinead!”

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

As a Certified Gottman Therapist and Master Trainer for The Gottman Institute, Dr. Young regularly teaches their clinicians’ track, Levels 1, 2, and 3, serves as a Consultant for therapists pursuing certification, and leads the Art & Science of Love Couple’s Workshops. In her private practice she has seen thousands of couples in all stages of relationship (dating, pre-marital, married/cohabitating, transitioning to parenthood, post-affair, divorced) in couple’s counseling, marathon therapy, and workshop formats.

Dr. Nancy owns and runs, Pathways to Wellness, a multi-specialty private practice which includes six therapists and three therapy dogs, all of whom have some training in Gottman Method couple’s therapy, in Costa Mesa, California. She is passionate about diversity as she believes that every relationship is a cross-cultural and transpersonal experience.

“Current research studies have now shown us that good relationships have the capacity to heal and elevate every aspect of our lives, to reduce fear and physical pain, to lessen depression, to increase productivity and creativity, to lower blood pressure, to extend our lives, and make them happier and much more fun. In a time when so many of us are longing for community, I find it surprising that we don’t teach more about how to actually do great relationships starting at least by early high school, especially now that we have great research from the Gottmans and others to give us such clear, easy-to-apply tools!”

*Accepting New Certification Candidates*

You might be thinking, “I feel pretty awkward about this videotaping thing and I really hate to be watched, especially when I’m learning something new!” if so, you’re not alone. One of the things Nancy loves most about the Gottman model is that it’s so collaborative and respectful. The model honors the experience and intellect of all clinicians interested in the Gottman work. From the beginning, John and Julie have incorporated the best of other models in the work and encouraged CGTs to contribute to a growing understanding about how to best help couples. They have urged us all to bring our individual artistry, informed by science, to their work. Nancy is collaborative, by nature, so that appeals to her.

Starting in the late 1970’s, Nancy’s work has been about couples and romantic love: how people do love… not just how they “should” love. She videotaped all her clients doing everything all through the 1980s and she took copious notes on dating behaviors. She studied most of the models around, and then Nancy stumbled on the Gottman work in the late 1990s, she was in love with it immediately! It wasn’t armchair philosophy… It was/is, at its core, an empirically-based study of how people actually do love… how they do it gracefully and how they do it awkwardly.

Nancy has been a full-time clinician for over thirty years, twenty of which she also taught at Chapman University part-time, and she is a CAMFT Certified Supervisor for MFT Interns. She loves teaching, mentoring, and collaborating on case consultations. Nancy teaches Gottman Levels 1, 2, and 3 trainings and put on the Art & Science of Love Couple’s Workshop several times a year, all in Southern California.

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

Currently, Basta primarily sees couples in my practice using Gottman Method; however, Basta also utilizes elements of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Structural Family Therapy, and Dan Wile’s Collaborative Couples Therapy. Basta believes that one of the strengths of the Gottman Method is its adaptability to complementary methods. In addition to his work as a Gottman Method Couples Therapist, Basta has been providing the Art and Science of Love Workshop (with my colleague Marcia Gomez) three times per year since 2008.

Basta finds it invaluable to be part of the community of Gottman clinicians, as collaboration with his colleagues challenges him to continue to learn and grow as a clinician. Basta is honored to be part of this talented and dedicated group of professionals. One way that Basta maintain his connection with the community of Gottman clinicians is to serve as a Master Teacher at the Gottman’s couples workshops in Seattle, training Gottman Method Therapists to become effective roving clinicians.

Basta believes that consultation is the central process for therapists to integrate Gottman Method into their work. It troubles him that many clinicians seem to think of Gottman Method as being restricted to psycho-education. Basta believes that it is important for those learning Gottman Method to develop an understanding of the potential depth and breadth of the approach in addition to mastering the specific techniques. Further, Basta believes that the consultant-consultee relationship needs to be one of trust and honesty. He believes that it takes some courage for clinicians — who are often used to working in privacy — to expose their work to others through case discussion and video tape review. It is important to develop a relationship of safety and collaboration for the consultation process to be effective.

*Accepting New Certification Candidates*

Michael is a clinical social worker with 30 years experience helping emotionally distressed couples and families to improve their relationships and to develop more effective interpersonal skills. He began his training as a Gottman Method Couples Therapist in 2002 and this method has become the central focus of his practice. Michael is appreciative for the clear road map that it has given him for his work with couples.

Currently, Michael primarily sees couples in his practice using Gottman Method; however, he also utilizes elements of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Structural Family Therapy, and Dan Wile’s Collaborative Couples Therapy. He believes that one of the strengths of the Gottman Method is its adaptability to complementary methods. In addition to Michael’s work as a Gottman Method Couples Therapist, he has been providing the Art and Science of Love Workshop (with his colleague Marcia Gomez) three times per year since 2008. He has also been presenting Level, Level 2, and Level 3 trainings.

He finds it invaluable to be part of the community of Gottman clinicians, as collaboration with his colleagues challenges him to continue to learn and grow as a clinician. He is also honored to be part of this talented and dedicated group of professionals. One way that Michael maintains his connection with the community of Gottman clinicians is to serve as a Level 3 Trainer at the Gottman’s couples trainings in Seattle, training Gottman Method Therapists to become effective roving clinicians.

Michael believes that consultation is the central process for therapists to integrate Gottman Method into their work. It troubles him that many clinicians seem to think of Gottman Method as being restricted to psycho-education. He believes that it is important for those learning Gottman Method to develop an understanding of the potential depth and breadth of the approach in addition to mastering the specific techniques. Further, Michael believes that it the consultant-consultee relationship needs to be one of trust and honesty. It takes some courage for clinicians – who are often used to working in privacy – to expose their work to others through case discussion and video tape review. It is important to develop a relationship of safety and collaboration for the consultation process to be effective.

You can contact Michael directly to learn about his pricing and more through his Gottman Referral Network profile here.

She has a full-time private practice and primarily works with couples using the Gottman Method, as well as elements of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Structural Family Therapy, and Dan Wile’s Collaborative Couples Therapy. In addition to her work as a Gottman Method Couples Therapist and trainer and consultant of the Gottman Method, Marcia has presented The Art and Science of Love workshop, with her colleague Michael Basta, three times per year since 2008. Also, as a Level 3 Trainer, she has been teaching Gottman Method Couples Therapy in California and in Latin America.

Marcia has pioneered Gottman Method Couples Therapy in Latin America. She and her husband have translated many of the Gottman training materials into Spanish. She has appeared for an interview on a local TV station in Sonoma County, and has participated in the weekly radio program, Healthy Couples, Healthy Families, on the local Santa Rosa National Public Radio in Spanish.

She has offered conferences on the Gottman Method, parenting, communications skills, and conflict management skills to families, couples, and professionals in California, Mexico, Guatemala, and Chile.

*Accepting New Certification Candidates*

Marcia’s goal as a consultant is to make Certification Candidates feel comfortable, safe and encouraged in the certification learning experience. She enjoys and benefits professionally from giving Candidates feedback on their video cases. Although supervision through videotaping can be very challenging for clinicians, Marcia believes it is the most effective and accurate method to assess therapeutic skills and provide feedback to clinicians. She is always open to receive feedback from Consultees to make consultation an effective tool to achieve certification in a timely manner. Marcia offers consultation in both Spanish and English.

“In the certification process it was essential to have the advice and guidance of Marcia Gomez. She is a very good teacher and I have become a better therapist because of her. In addition, I want to highlight her generosity and human quality.”

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

In her clinical practice, she specialized in working with couples, alcohol abuse, and trauma, and is a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. She was an adjunct faculty member in the Psychology Department of California State University, Sacramento and American River College. Dr. Curtis is a trainer of facilitators in four evidenced based relationship/marriage education programs. She presented papers at various national conferences. She is a wife, mother, step mother, and grandmother.

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 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.”

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.