You Don't Need to Finish Level 1 to Go Further. You Just Need to Want To.
The therapists who get the most out of the Advanced Training aren't the ones who feel ready. They're the ones who decided to keep going anyway.
If you've spent any time in Level 1, you’ve started seeing relationships through a new lens. If you’re thinking in terms of stages, differentiation, and slowing down, you're not the same clinician you were before.
Level 1 gave you the foundation. The Advanced Training is where you learn to trust yourself inside of it.
What Changes in Year Two
You’ll begin a different kind of work. It's less about absorbing and more about integrating. Less about following the framework and more about leading from inside it.
Here's what that looks like in practice:
You stop second-guessing your instincts and start acting on them.
You start using confrontation as a tool — not something to avoid.
You design your own early session flow, a repeatable process that gives you traction with new clients.
You see the link between a couple's presenting problem and their developmental stage earlier and more clearly.
And you start doing things grad school never taught you — things that work.
One therapist who made this transition put it this way:
“In Level 1, I was learning, experimenting and undoing some of what grad school taught me. In the Advanced Training, I am going outside the ‘set boundaries' the profession adheres to — leaning way more into my instincts, trusting myself, and becoming the leader I always wanted to be with couples.” – Carrie Hammond
Another described the shift this way:
“In the Advanced Training, I am becoming more skillful, calm, and courageous as I practice using The Developmental ModelTM — and I am enjoying my work more than ever.” – Donna Steinberg
The community is the frosting on the cake.
Here's what members say about the calls and each other:
“The very fact that someone asked the question to the group reminds me how important the group support is — how isolating this work can be.”
“Pete, your zoomed-out view of why a couple is in therapy is amazeballs.”
— Jimmy B.
Before You Talk Yourself Out of It
Most people haven't. That's not what this is about. You don't need to have consumed every case presentation, archived call, or practice session before moving forward. You just need a genuine desire to advance your work. The Advanced Training deepens what you already know — it doesn't test whether you've memorized what came before.
You've already made an investment in this model. The Advanced Training is where the concepts become clinically instinctive for you. They were probably new and foreign at first, and you grew more comfortable throughout the year. They’ll become second nature for you in the Advanced Group. Leaving after Level 1 is a little like buying a good knife and never learning to sharpen it.
And here's something worth knowing: the Advanced Training is $159/month — $30 less than Level 1.
3 hours is all you need to get real value from this. You can fit this into a single weekend afternoon, 1-2 lunch breaks, or 15 minute blocks before specific sessions. This isn’t a course that demands your life. It meets you wherever you need it.
What You Get
The Advanced Training is high-touch by design. This is a smaller group, which means more access to Ellyn & Pete, more interaction, and more direct input on your cases.
Advanced clinical calls with Ellyn: case consultations where you bring your stuck points and get new direction for your work.
Bonus calls with outside experts coming up: Helping Couples Navigate Early Sobriety: What Therapists Need to Know About Motivation, Triggers, and the ‘I'll Just Moderate' Loop. And Neuro-Informed: Competencies for Any Helping Practitioner.
One Reason to
Join Before June 1
The next live bonus call, Helping Couples Navigate Early Sobriety: What Therapists Need to Know About Motivation, Triggers, and the ‘I'll Just Moderate' Loop, is on June 1 at 11am Pacific.
Members join live and ask questions directly. If you enroll before then, you're in.
What This Training Is Really For
“In Level 1, it was a lifeline to help me know I can do this. In the Advanced Training, it's a lifeline to help me know I want to keep doing this.” – Jolyn Sawatzky
That's it, exactly.
This training is for therapists who love this work and want to go further in it. Who want to become more confident, more differentiated, and more themselves in the room. Who want to develop the kind of clinical instincts that tell them clearly where to go next.
You don't have to feel ready. You just have to want to keep going.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. You don’t need to have studied all the material in Level 1. The Advanced Training is for therapists who want to advance their work, not for those who already “feel advanced.”
Level 1 is where you learn the Developmental Model. The Advanced Training is where you integrate it, apply it with more nuance, and make it your own. The group is smaller, the calls go deeper, and you get Pete's Personal Discovery work (and you retain all Level 1 material).
You don't have to. Understanding how relationships develop and where they get stuck makes you better with every client, individuals included. Most therapists find the model changes their work with individuals, couples, nonmonogamy, and even family systems.
3 hours a month is enough to get real value. You can watch recordings if you miss live calls. It's designed to work around a full caseload.
Yes. All sessions are recorded and archived. You won't fall behind by missing a call.
27 CEs are available after completing 12 months of the program. Details on course objectives and CE requirements are available before you enroll.
Yes. Month to month, no contracts.
Email us within 7 days and we'll refund your first month. No forms, no hoops, no hard feelings.
Questions? Email us before you buy — we're happy to talk through whether this is the right fit for where you are. Ruth@couplesinstitute.com