Post-Master’s Certificate Program in Couples Therapy
Application for the 2025–2026 program is open. Deadline is October 1, 2025.
About the Program
The Post-Master’s Certificate Program in Couples Therapy is comprised of two 10-week modules. Module I is in-person only, and Module II is online only. To complete the certificate program, you must apply to the program and take both Module I and II. Anyone interested in only one of the modules may register and take that module as a standalone without applying to the certificate program.
Module I: From Impasse to Intimacies
Are you ready to transform the way you work with couples? This ten week, in-person training offers a powerful integrated model for working with couples facing a broad range of challenges across diverse cultural contexts. Grounded in the Vulnerability Cycle framework, the Multi-Level Approach, and an intersectional lens, this course provides a coherent integrative road map for understanding and transforming even the most entrenched relational impasses.
Module I Course Dates
Ten (10) 3-hour classes, meeting in-person on Mondays, 3:00 pm–6:00 pm November 3, 2025–February 2, 2026
Tuition and Application Fee
- Tuition for Module I for the 2025-2026 academic year is $2000.00.
- Application fee is $100.00 for certificate program.
Continuing Education (CE)
The Post-Master’s Certificate Program in Couples Therapy will provide 30 CE credits for Module I.
Through a dynamic blend of theory, detailed video demonstrations, and skill building, you’ll gain the tools to help couples navigate the emotional and relational complexities of modern relationships with greater clarity, flexibility, compassion, and confidence. You’ll learn how to address some of the most pressing issues couples face today, including:
- Moving couples beyond stalemates and entrenched impasses
- Managing emotional reactivity, polarization and conflict
- Integrating individual and multigenerational work
- Dealing with unspoken matters of inequity and power imbalances
- Navigating dilemmas of intimacy and sexuality
- Knowing how to deal with complex situations of infidelity
- Exploring challenges around monogamy and open relationships
- Bridging interracial, and intercultural divides
- Addressing tensions related to money, power and decision- making
Our roadmap will help you defuse escalations, pinpoint core emotional dynamics, and transform reactive moments into opportunities for self- reflection, meaningful dialogue and deeper intimacy. We’ll guide you through the nuances of assessment, hypothesis formulation, and treatment planning that will equip you with skills needed to address even the most complex issues in the therapy room.
The course blends didactic presentations, compelling video demonstrations, and hands-on skills. Expect a rich mix of readings, case examples and in-depth discussions that will support your learning and clinical growth.
In our intimate face to face setting, you’ll have the opportunity to bring your questions and clinical dilemmas, engage deeply with peers , and learn directly from a team of internationally acclaimed faculty. Michele Scheinkman, Jean Malpas, Suzanne Iasenza, Mary Kim Brewster, and Keren Ludwig are exited to guide you through this journey and elevate your practice to the next level.
Module 1 Curriculum
The Post-Master’s Certificate Program in Couples Therapy Module I consists of ten (10) 3-hour classes, which will meet in-person on Mondays from 3:00 pm—6:00 pm (ET), beginning November 3, 2025 and ending February 2, 2026. It is geared to practitioners of all levels, with the requirement that participants are working with couples.
Method of Teaching
The methods of teaching will include didactic classes, readings, discussion, videotape demonstrations, and case consultations based on clinical cases presented by trainers and trainees.
Module I Teaching Faculty
This course is led by Michele Scheinkman and co-taught by an internationally acclaimed faculty comprised of Jean Malpas, Suzanne Iasenza, Mary Kim Brewster, and Keren Ludwig.
Jean Malpas, LMHC, LMFT
Couple & Family Therapist
Suzanne Iasenza, PhD
Psychologist
Module II: Special Topics in Couples Therapy
This online module, part of the Post-Master’s Certificate Program in Couples Therapy, is designed to build upon and deepen the foundational learning of Module I: The Vulnerability Cycle – From Impasse to Intimacy. It also functions as a stand-alone series of engaging lectures and discussions for participants seeking focused training on complex clinical issues in couples therapy.
Over the course of ten sessions, some of the most respected voices in the field will explore pressing and nuanced issues that arise in contemporary couples therapy. Through a combination of didactic presentations and in-depth discussions, participants will develop a more sophisticated lens for identifying relational stalemates and transforming them into opportunities for growth and connection.
Grounded in a non-pathologizing, resilience-based framework, the series emphasizes both the emotional and systemic dimensions of couples’ dynamics—and how to work with them creatively and effectively.
Our distinguished faculty includes Mona Fishbane, Judith Siegel, Froma Walsh, Elana Katz, Fiona True, John Rolland, Molly Bobek, Liz Brenner, and Corky Becker, all of whom bring their passion, insight, and clinical wisdom to this enriching learning experience.
Module II Course Dates
Ten (10) 3-hour classes, meeting online on Mondays, 3:00 pm–6:00 pm
February 9, 2026–April 20, 2026
Tuition and Application Fee
- Tuition for Module II for the 2025-2026 academic year is $2000.00.
Continuing Education (CE)
The Post-Master’s Certificate Program in Couples Therapy will provide 30 CE credits for Module II.
Module II Curriculum
Module II, the online series of the Post-Master’s Certificate Program in Couples Therapy consists of ten (10) 3-hour classes, held on Mondays from 3:00—6:00 PM (ET), beginning February 9, 2026 and concluding on April 20, 2026. This module is open to clinicians of all levels, of experience; the sole requirement is that participants are currently working with couples.
Participants will explore a range of critical and timely issues in couple therapy including:
- The role of neurobiology in couples’ dynamics
- Intergenerational factors in couples’ reactivity
- Managing emotional dysregulation within couples’ interactions
- Addressing the impact of relational trauma
- Navigating illness and disability within couple relationships
- Fostering relational resilience, and attending to matters of power and gender in the couple’s quid pro quo
- Applying Emotionally Focused Therapy techniques (EFT)
- Responding to substance use in couples’ relationships
- A mindful start exercise, and road map for effective sessions, developed at the Family Institute of Cambridge.
Method of Teaching
Teaching methods include didactic lectures, assigned readings, group discussion, and case presentations. This multi-modal format encourages both conceptual learning and practical application.
Module II Teaching Faculty
This online course includes Mona Fishbane, Judith Siegel, Froma Walsh, Elana Katz, Fiona True, John Rolland, Molly Bobek, Liz Brenner, and Corky Becker.
Application Process
To apply to the Post-Master’s Program in Couples Therapy, we require the following:
- Minimum of a master’s degree in a licensable mental health profession
- A resume
- A completed application
- $100.00 application fee for certificate program
Deadline is October 1, 2025. Upon submission of all application materials, decisions will be made within ten (10) days.
Program Policies
FAQs: Post-Master’s Certificate Program in Couples Therapy
Applications are now open for the certificate program. The deadline for application submission is October 1, 2025.Â
To apply to our Post-Master’s Program in Couples Therapy, we require the following:
- Minimum of a master’s degree in a licensable mental health profession
- A resume
- $100.00 application fee for certificate program
Financial aid is not provided for this course.
The Ackerman Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that relies on donors and earned revenue to work toward our mission. The full expense of training at Ackerman is subsidized by the generosity of our donors. Your tuition fees cover only a small portion of this expense. We thank you for investing in your professional future and for supporting the Ackerman Institute for the Family.
Upon submission of all application materials, decisions will be made within ten (10) days.
Ackerman is approved to provide CEs for psychologists, social workers, and marriage and family therapists in New York State. The Post-Master’s Certificate Program in Couples Therapy will provide 30 CE credits for Module I and 30 CE credits for Module II.
Please note that you must attend all 10 classes in their entirety and complete an evaluation to receive CE credits.
We understand that some applicants will be completing their master’s degree in advance of the course start date. We will consider applications with proof of a pending master’s degree.
If you have not yet received your master’s degree, you may upload a copy of your official transcript or a certificate of graduation letter from your master’s program. A degree must be provided at the time of enrollment.
Most questions can be answered by reading our Couples Therapy Certificate Program Policies.
If you have more questions about applying to the certificate program, contact our admissions department: admissions@ackerman.org
For other inquiries about the program, contact Michele Scheinkman, LCSW, Director of Post-Master’s Certificate Program in Couples Therapy: mscheinkman@ackerman.org