The New Jersey Couples Therapy Training Program

The New Jersey Couples Therapy Training program (NJCTTP), a division of the Center for Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis at Fairleigh Dickinson University, offers a unique multitheoretical program including a thorough grounding in the theory of couples relationships from both family systems and diverse psychoanalytic points of view. During the two year program, intensive classroom work and clinical supervision integrates readings with students' own clinical material. Each student receives one-to-one supervision as well as courses that encompass both theory and clinical training from senior faculty throughout the training period.  

The mission of this program is to provide psychoanalytic couples therapy training to licensed clinicians. While the primary focus of the training is psychoanalytic couples theory, students will also have an opportunity to explore other approaches: various family systems perspectives, attachment theory, Emotionally-Focused Therapy, and the Imago Relationship Therapy, among others. These contemporary models of couples therapy (e.g., Gottman, Johnson, and Hendrix) will be incorporated into the training as applications and/or alternatives to psychoanalytic approaches to arrive at an eclectic understanding of the couple as an entity, and how each partner has a separate internal world that impacts the whole of the couple. "Couple" is a flexible concept, referring to two persons working on developing their intimate relationship.

NJCTTP provides a culture and community for its students, graduates and faculty through courses, meetings, workshops, presentations, personal connections, and social events. Candidates may opt to get referrals through our Psychotherapy Center.