Certified Gottman Therapists

You can locate a Certified Gottman Therapist near you by using the Gottman Referral Network, which is accessible from the Gottman Institute’s website.

All certified Gottman Therapists are master level therapists or psychologists, licensed by the state in which they practice and nationally certified by their governing board. Each Certified Gottman Therapist has had extensive training in using Gottman Methods; training is provided by trainers who are also approved by the Gottman Institute. Currently, there are around 250 therapists world-wide who are certified by the Gottman Institute.

Training begins with Level 1 training. This course may be taken online or in person; when taken in person, this phase of training takes two full days. After Level 1 training, comes Level 2 and Level 3 training; Level 2 and 3 training each take 3 full days of training. Once the three levels of training are completed, the therapist enters the certification track.

The therapist who enters the Certification Track must complete one hundred hours of couples’ therapy; after Level 2 training is completed. Supporting documentation must be submitted for those sessions, which describe the Gottman Method Interventions used in each session, treatment plans and assessment information for each couple. A minimum of 8 hours of supervision must be completed with a Certified Master Therapist, to whom the Gottman Institute assigns each Certified Gottman Therapist candidate. The Candidate must also record four segments of sessions, done with client couples, which demonstrate the mastery of the four most common interventions used in Gottman Couples Therapy. These four clips must be “passed” by a different Gottman Certified Master Therapist, with whom the candidate has not had a supervisee relationship. The process to become a Certified Gottman Therapist usually takes a minimum of two years.