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Faculty

Ellyn Bader

PhD
CEO-Co-Founder & Director
The Couples Institute

Psychotherapist, Founder of The Couples Institute® and Creator of The Developmental Model

Dr. Ellyn Bader is one of the early founders of “couples therapy,” as well as a recognized thought leader and trailblazer in relationship therapy worldwide. Acting on years of exploration and therapy sessions, she discovered that bringing the couple together in sessions was far more effective than working with each partner individually.

Through her informal research and thousands of sessions, Ellyn co-created “The Developmental Model,” a revolutionary approach that is highly adaptable to the complex needs of two people growing, changing, and staying connected in a relationship. The model has deeply influenced the therapeutic world and is currently used in 72 countries. It is taught by many graduate programs using her award-winning textbook In Quest of the Mythical Mate, which has been reprinted over 20 times.

Ellyn co-founded The Couples Institute® (1984) and co-authored Tell Me No Lies (2001) with her husband, Dr. Peter Pearson. The two have been a frequently trusted resource by TV, radio, podcast, and print publications, appearing on Nightline, NPR, CBS This Morning, Today Show, Good Morning America, and in articles in The Wall Street Journal, O Magazine, Cosmopolitan, and over 70 others.

She continues to evolve the field of couples therapy through her tireless commitment. She offers world-class training to thousands of therapists on applying “The Developmental Model” and becoming masterful at the art of couples therapy.

2024 Sessions

Managing the Crisis of Infidelity: How to Lead Your Clients from Raw Pain to Constructive Action

Therapists often feel challenged working with couples in the aftermath of infidelity. The relationship is in crisis, emotions are intense, and PTSD symptoms can surface and become unrelenting. You are required to quickly organize a lot of complex information into a coherent treatment plan. How do you do this with confidence?<br><br>Ellyn will describe the three stages of infidelity treatment, show how to uncover the meaning of infidelity, describe when and why obsessing is valuable and when it is not and demonstrate via video how to move partners past the crisis stage into deeper work.

Presenter

Wednesday, December 13 9:40–12:40 PM
Room Pacific - AB (Hilton)
Faculty

Ellyn Bader

PhD
CEO-Co-Founder & Director
The Couples Institute

Psychotherapist, Founder of The Couples Institute® and Creator of The Developmental Model

Dr. Ellyn Bader is one of the early founders of “couples therapy,” as well as a recognized thought leader and trailblazer in relationship therapy worldwide. Acting on years of exploration and therapy sessions, she discovered that bringing the couple together in sessions was far more effective than working with each partner individually.

Through her informal research and thousands of sessions, Ellyn co-created “The Developmental Model,” a revolutionary approach that is highly adaptable to the complex needs of two people growing, changing, and staying connected in a relationship. The model has deeply influenced the therapeutic world and is currently used in 72 countries. It is taught by many graduate programs using her award-winning textbook In Quest of the Mythical Mate, which has been reprinted over 20 times.

Ellyn co-founded The Couples Institute® (1984) and co-authored Tell Me No Lies (2001) with her husband, Dr. Peter Pearson. The two have been a frequently trusted resource by TV, radio, podcast, and print publications, appearing on Nightline, NPR, CBS This Morning, Today Show, Good Morning America, and in articles in The Wall Street Journal, O Magazine, Cosmopolitan, and over 70 others.

She continues to evolve the field of couples therapy through her tireless commitment. She offers world-class training to thousands of therapists on applying “The Developmental Model” and becoming masterful at the art of couples therapy.

Working with Trauma in Couples Therapy

Clients coming for Couples Therapy have often been impacted by early developmental trauma, systemic or intergenerational trauma, or acute interpersonal trauma.<br><br>Partners with early developmental trauma or acute trauma at young ages are complex to work with and take patience, and persistence from the therapist to recognize moments of exposure and self-expression in order to develop a stronger sense of self. Yet, couples therapy can be a very powerful form of therapy for alleviating shame and developing a much stronger and more integrated sense of self.

Presenter

Thursday, December 14 9:40–11:10 AM
Room Pacific - AB (Hilton)
Faculty

Ellyn Bader

PhD
CEO-Co-Founder & Director
The Couples Institute

Psychotherapist, Founder of The Couples Institute® and Creator of The Developmental Model

Dr. Ellyn Bader is one of the early founders of “couples therapy,” as well as a recognized thought leader and trailblazer in relationship therapy worldwide. Acting on years of exploration and therapy sessions, she discovered that bringing the couple together in sessions was far more effective than working with each partner individually.

Through her informal research and thousands of sessions, Ellyn co-created “The Developmental Model,” a revolutionary approach that is highly adaptable to the complex needs of two people growing, changing, and staying connected in a relationship. The model has deeply influenced the therapeutic world and is currently used in 72 countries. It is taught by many graduate programs using her award-winning textbook In Quest of the Mythical Mate, which has been reprinted over 20 times.

Ellyn co-founded The Couples Institute® (1984) and co-authored Tell Me No Lies (2001) with her husband, Dr. Peter Pearson. The two have been a frequently trusted resource by TV, radio, podcast, and print publications, appearing on Nightline, NPR, CBS This Morning, Today Show, Good Morning America, and in articles in The Wall Street Journal, O Magazine, Cosmopolitan, and over 70 others.

She continues to evolve the field of couples therapy through her tireless commitment. She offers world-class training to thousands of therapists on applying “The Developmental Model” and becoming masterful at the art of couples therapy.

The Use of Containers in Couple Therapy

Couple therapists must be able to organize each session in such a way that allows for measuring progress in their treatment plan. One such way is to think of placing the couple and therapist in discreet “containers” or exercises that stress the couple. These exercises, tasks, or games allow the therapist to test and retest hypotheses, test a particular capacity, or otherwise allow the therapist to view couple performance in real time. These containers include a task, timing, and possible roles casted by the therapist and may include a role the therapist must also play. An example might be a psychodrama whereby partners must replay a recent event – step by step – as the therapist, or as “the investigator,” gets the facts. Or another container might involve a deal breaker issue whereby partners are required to persuade each other out of a deal breaker while the therapist plays the role of mediating only the way partners argue their points.<br><br>In this demonstration, attendees will learn how containers may be used within a couple sessions. This unique way of organizing therapeutic investigations/interventions can help couple therapists assess problems and progress in each session.

Discussant

Presenter

Thursday, December 14 3:05–4:35 PM
Room Pacific - AB (Hilton)
Clinical Demo with Discussant
Faculty

Ellyn Bader

PhD
CEO-Co-Founder & Director
The Couples Institute

Psychotherapist, Founder of The Couples Institute® and Creator of The Developmental Model

Dr. Ellyn Bader is one of the early founders of “couples therapy,” as well as a recognized thought leader and trailblazer in relationship therapy worldwide. Acting on years of exploration and therapy sessions, she discovered that bringing the couple together in sessions was far more effective than working with each partner individually.

Through her informal research and thousands of sessions, Ellyn co-created “The Developmental Model,” a revolutionary approach that is highly adaptable to the complex needs of two people growing, changing, and staying connected in a relationship. The model has deeply influenced the therapeutic world and is currently used in 72 countries. It is taught by many graduate programs using her award-winning textbook In Quest of the Mythical Mate, which has been reprinted over 20 times.

Ellyn co-founded The Couples Institute® (1984) and co-authored Tell Me No Lies (2001) with her husband, Dr. Peter Pearson. The two have been a frequently trusted resource by TV, radio, podcast, and print publications, appearing on Nightline, NPR, CBS This Morning, Today Show, Good Morning America, and in articles in The Wall Street Journal, O Magazine, Cosmopolitan, and over 70 others.

She continues to evolve the field of couples therapy through her tireless commitment. She offers world-class training to thousands of therapists on applying “The Developmental Model” and becoming masterful at the art of couples therapy.

Faculty

Stan Tatkin

PsyD, LMFT
Founder
PACT Institute

Stan Tatkin, PsyD, MFT, is a clinician, researcher, teacher, and developer of A Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy® (PACT). He has a clinical practice in Calabasas, CA, and, with his wife, Dr. Tracey Tatkin, co-founded the PACT Institute for the purpose of training other psychotherapists to use this method in their clinical practice.

In addition, Dr. Tatkin teaches and supervises family medicine residents at Kaiser Permanente, Woodland Hills, CA, and is an assistant clinical professor at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine. He is on the board of directors of the Lifespan Learning Institute and serves as a member of Relationships First Counsel, a nonprofit organization founded by Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt.

Books/CDs by Dr. Tatkin include:

• Wired for Love, 2nd edition
• In Each Other's Care
• Romantic Relationships, Touring and Mental Health
• What Every Therapist Ought to Know
• We Do
• Your Brain on Love
• Wired for Dating
• The Relationship Rx
• Baby Bomb
• Love and War in Intimate Relationships

Clinical Demo using Couples Assessment to Plan Targeted Treatment

When couples come to therapy, a lot is happening quickly. How do you make sense of the hostility, pain and urgent distress? Ellyn will demonstrate powerful questions and interventions you can use in first sessions to develop a treatment plan that offers hope.

Presenter

Friday, December 15 4:50–5:50 PM
Room Pacific - AB (Hilton)
Clinical Demo
Faculty

Ellyn Bader

PhD
CEO-Co-Founder & Director
The Couples Institute

Psychotherapist, Founder of The Couples Institute® and Creator of The Developmental Model

Dr. Ellyn Bader is one of the early founders of “couples therapy,” as well as a recognized thought leader and trailblazer in relationship therapy worldwide. Acting on years of exploration and therapy sessions, she discovered that bringing the couple together in sessions was far more effective than working with each partner individually.

Through her informal research and thousands of sessions, Ellyn co-created “The Developmental Model,” a revolutionary approach that is highly adaptable to the complex needs of two people growing, changing, and staying connected in a relationship. The model has deeply influenced the therapeutic world and is currently used in 72 countries. It is taught by many graduate programs using her award-winning textbook In Quest of the Mythical Mate, which has been reprinted over 20 times.

Ellyn co-founded The Couples Institute® (1984) and co-authored Tell Me No Lies (2001) with her husband, Dr. Peter Pearson. The two have been a frequently trusted resource by TV, radio, podcast, and print publications, appearing on Nightline, NPR, CBS This Morning, Today Show, Good Morning America, and in articles in The Wall Street Journal, O Magazine, Cosmopolitan, and over 70 others.

She continues to evolve the field of couples therapy through her tireless commitment. She offers world-class training to thousands of therapists on applying “The Developmental Model” and becoming masterful at the art of couples therapy.
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