Couples and Addiction Recovery

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This is the fundamental course on treating addictions within couple and family systems. Alongside learning the powerful interventions and tools, you’ll learn how to help couples develop a couple recovery through increasing communication and understanding, establishing boundaries, and healing from the impact of addiction and recovery.

What You Will Learn

Adopt a relational approach to addiction recovery, facilitating healing within the couple and family systems.
Differentiate between codependency and interdependency, establishing healthy boundaries to support individual and shared recovery journeys.
Implement the Couple Recovery Development Approach, blending research with practical interventions for a holistic recovery process.
Navigate the transition from addiction to recovery, improving conflict management and enhancing communication and understanding.
Incorporate the Sound Relationship House model into addiction treatment, fostering a stable, supportive environment for recovery.

What You Will Get

6-hour fundamental course on treating addictions within couple and family systems, integrating over a decade of research with the Sound Relationship House model
Practical learning experience with video content, a 186-page PDF manual, and 40-page lecture slides, offering tools for managing addiction recovery in relationships
Innovative recovery approaches focusing on communication, boundary setting, and healing from addiction's impact for both individuals and their relationship
Certification and additional resources including a Certificate of Completion and access to recovery training manuals, fostering a comprehensive understanding of couple-based addiction recovery

Detailed Information

Included Content

This online course includes:

More than 6 hours of video from a recent live workshop conducted by Dr. Robert Navarra
186-page printable PDF manual with the content, assessments, interventions, and references discussed in training videos
40-page printable PDF of lecture slides
English Captions
Online quiz
Certificate of Completion from The Gottman Institute

Additional Resources

Couples and Addiction Recovery Training Manual (physical version)
Couples and Addiction Recovery Card Decks (highly recommended to purchase)

Audience

This online course is for anyone working with couples struggling with addiction as well as couples in recovery from alcohol, drugs, and/or behavioral addictions. As this is an advanced Gottman Training, we highly recommend that learners have a basic understanding of Gottman Method Couples Therapy (at least Level 1 Training).

Customer Service

Please see the Gottman Help Center for questions or to submit a request for assistance.

ADA Needs

We would be happy to accommodate your ADA needs. Please submit a request through the Gottman Help Center.

Couples and Addiction Recovery is a groundbreaking new training for therapists, counselors, and professionals. While current models for treating couples impacted by addiction discourage any type of relational approach in early recovery, couples need help sooner rather than later. It’s time to change how we treat couples in recovery. This online course is for anyone working with couples struggling with addiction as well as couples in recovery from alcohol, drugs, and/or behavioral addictions. It draws from the fields of addiction treatment, mental health, and couples counseling, and integrates current research findings with knowledge from clinical practice. It combines more than a decade of research by Dr. Robert Navarra with the Sound Relationship House model, developed by Drs. John and Julie Gottman. Dr. Navarra has worked in addiction recovery for over 25 years. He holds an Advanced Drug and Alcohol Certification and a national certification as a Master Addiction Counselor through the Association of Addiction Professionals (NAADAC). This training provides interventions and tools for a relational approach to healing that addresses three different but overlapping recoveries: the person with the addictive disorder, the partner, and their relationship. You will learn a research-based approach to help couples:

Identify addiction
Break through denial
Navigate the challenging road from active addiction to recovery
Improve conflict management skills
Learn the difference between “codependency” and “interdependency” and how to identify and set appropriate boundaries
Develop a relationship recovery, while supporting their partner’s recovery and strengthening their own individual recovery
Heal from the aftermath of addiction
Move toward wellness as individuals and as a couple

Learning Objectives

Describe and critique the differences between the Couple Recovery Development Approach and the current most common approach in treating couples impacted by addiction
Explain the three components of the Couple Recovery Development Approach and their roles during recovery
Incorporate concepts and interventions from the Gottman Sound Relationship House Theory to help couples manage conflict
Explain the impact of addiction and recovery processes on the couple relationship
Analyze and differentiate feelings and behaviors associated with codependency and interdependency
Explain the neurobiology of addiction and the impact it can have on individuals and couples
Differentiate between mild, moderate, and high risks of problematic substance use and compulsive behaviors using assessment techniques
Apply therapeutic techniques to help break through denial
Apply interventions for helping couples manage conflict during addiction recovery
Recognize opportunities to utilize Recovery Card Map decks to facilitate couple recovery

Do I have to be a Certified Gottman Therapist or have had Gottman Method Couples Therapy Training to take this training?

No, you do not need to be certified in Gottman Method Couples Therapy to take this training. Because this is an advanced Gottman Specialty Training, it requires participants to have a basic understanding of Gottman terminology and interventions upon arrival. Core clinical training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy (at least Level 1) is highly recommended, but not required. Click here for the Level 1 Clinical Training online course or view a calendar of live trainings.

Can this substitute for Gottman Level 2 or 3 Clinical Training if I want to become a Certified Gottman Therapist?

No. This online training is designed as an adjunct clinical training that provides additional intensive focus and experience working with couples struggling with addiction. The training sequence to become a Certified Gottman Therapist requires that you complete the full Level 1, 2, and 3 Clinical Trainings before entering the Certification Track.

What’s different between this workshop and Gottman Level 1, 2, and 3 Clinical Trainings?

This training is specifically designed to help professionals work more effectively with couples struggling with addiction.

Will I learn actual skills to use immediately in my practice?

Yes! This training will teach you practical skills and tools that you can begin using immediately with couples.

What is an On-Demand course?

On-Demand courses are self-paced online courses you can access any time from any computer or mobile device with a current browser and a reliable internet connection. Courses include streaming video lectures and downloadable PDFs of manuals and supplemental content. There are no required assignments or scheduled events, and there is no interaction with faculty or other students. On-Demand courses include online quizzes, as well as certificates you can download once you have viewed all the content and passed the quiz. These courses do not expire. You can take as long as you need to pass, and you still have access once you have completed the course.

What kind of computer skills do I need?

In order to be successful with online learning, you must have basic computer or mobile device and internet skills. You should be able to use a browser, such as Chrome or Firefox, and keep it updated to the most recent version. You will need to be able to create an account at gottman.com, complete the purchase process, and visit your account again to launch your courses. You will need to understand how to click buttons, use video controls, such as pause and play, and download and open PDF files.

How do I access the course content once I have purchased a course?

Log in at gottman.com and visit your “My Account” page to see a list of your online courses. Each course will include a button to launch the course viewer. The viewer button takes you to a page that contains all the course content, including links to take your CE quizzes and download certificates.

Do online courses come with the printed manuals?

No. Online courses that include manuals come with a downloadable PDF manual. A printed manual is available at an additional cost.

Can I share my login with colleagues so we can learn as a group?

No. Logins may only be used by the individual who purchased the course. If you would like to learn as a group, please ask the other members to purchase the course.

Can I share the manual and handout PDFs with colleagues?

No. All files included with the course may only be used by the individual who purchased the course.

CE Credits

Up to 8 CE Hours for the live training are available for an additional fee. CE credits are offered separately through Dr. Robert Navarra. In order to qualify for the CE hours, Dr. Robert Navarra requires participants to attend a 90 minute live virtual training session in addition to completing the online learning course. The Gottman Institute does not provide continuing education credits directly through this online learning course.

Featured Reviews

Professional from
Berkeley, CA

Since I am already trained in the Gottman method, it was really helpful to learn new, yet similar, interventions that can be applied specifically to couples working through addiction and recovery.

Professional from
Seattle, WA

We needed this – I see so much substance abuse and addiction in the couples I work with. It’s nice to have a strategy.

Courtney Strong, Clinical Director, Edgewood Health Network

Couples affected by addiction are hungry for a framework to help heal their relationship. I highly recommend this important training for addiction treatment centers running family programs. It provides new research, insights, clinical structure and effective materials that can be used by therapists and staff to help couples build new relationship bridges.

Professional from
Washington D.C.

Forget dry theory. This program equips us with concrete interventions drawn from the Gottman Method, enabling us to guide couples in navigating denial, managing conflict, and establishing healthy boundaries.

Couples and Addiction Recovery

$149.00

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Add Training Materials

We highly recommend ordering these additional materials to supplement your online learning experience. Additional materials not required. See the "Details" tab below for what is included in the course.

Why do I need this material?

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Couples and Addiction...+ $75.00
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Couples and Addiction...+ $32.00

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Faculty

Robert Navarra, Psy.D.

Robert Navarra, Psy.D., M.F.T., M.A.C., is an author, researcher, and Master Certified Gottman Therapist, Consultant, Speaker and Trainer. He has worked in the addiction recovery field for over 25 years. He holds an Advanced Drug and Alcohol Certification and a national certification as a Master Addiction Counselor (MAC) and a Recovery to Practice (RTP) certification, both awarded by the National Association of Addiction Professionals (NAADAC). Dr. Navarra is a Research Scientist with the Gottman Institute, where he is collaborating with Drs. John and Julie Gottman on research on couple recovery. Additionally, he is a Senior Research Fellow at Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto, California where he co-founded the Center for Couples in Recovery and developed the Couples Recovery Development Approach (CRDA). Additionally, Dr. Navarra is a Lecturer at Santa Clara University where he teaches graduate and professional development classes on addiction and in Gottman Method Couples Therapy. This course was created in collaboration with John Gottman, Ph.D. and Julie Gottman, Ph.D. and The Gottman Institute

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