Couples Institute

Sign up for newsletters and cutting edge information on relationships and counseling:


For Therapist Training:


For more than 20 years, Ellyn Bader, has been specializing in helping couples transform their relationships. She and her husband, Dr. Peter Pearson are creators of The Developmental Model of Couples Therapy. Their model teaches therapists how to diagnose, intervene and significantly change troubled relationships.

Dr. Bader is considered by many to be the preeminent expert in couples therapy training. Her powerful presentations always combine theory with practical insights and how-to strategies that leave the audience wanting more. She has brought clarity to therapists throughout the United States as well as Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia.

Her first book, "In Quest of the Mythical Mate: A Developmental Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment in Couples Therapy" was awarded the Clark Vincent Award by the California Association of Marriage & Family Therapists for an outstanding contribution to the field of marital therapy. Her most recent book “Tell Me No Lies: How to Face the Truth and Build a Loving Marriage” helps therapists get therapy off to a powerful start.

Peter Pearson, is in private practice and is Co-Founder and Co-Director of The Couples Institute in Menlo Park, California. He served as an Associate Consulting Professor at Stanford University, School of Counseling Psychology for 11 years. Dr. Pearson conducts intensive workshops for couples and is frequently invited to speak at conferences for therapists. He speaks with real life experience having averaged 24 hours of couples per week for the last 22 years. His major training belief is that learning couples therapy ought to be practical, stimulating, and engaging, with a good dose of humor.

Dr. Pearson, along with his wife and Couples Institute Co-Director Dr. Ellyn Bader, have appeared on numerous radio and TV shows including the Today show and the CBS Morning Show. They have been married to each other since 1984 and have worked together since 1982. They have had multiple opportunities to successfully practice what they preach.