Couples Workshop · Ferndale, MI & Virtual

Couples Communication Workshop

Learn to navigate conflict with more ease, empathy, and effectiveness in just two hours.

2 Hours One Couple Trained Therapist Gottman Conflict Blueprint In-Person or Virtual

Introductory Offer

$299

Regular price $350

Book Your Workshop View All Couples Programs

Why This Workshop Exists

Most couples want to communicate better. Few have ever been shown how.

Conflict is not the problem. How we handle it is.

Every couple argues. That is not a sign that something is wrong with your relationship. According to research by the Gottman Institute, 69% of relationship problems are perpetual, meaning they are rooted in genuine personality differences between partners that will never fully resolve. The goal is not to eliminate conflict. The goal is to navigate it without letting it damage the closeness between you.

The problem is that most of us were never taught how to do that. We learned conflict styles from our families of origin, our early relationships, and years of trial and error. For most couples, that means defaulting to patterns that feel instinctive in the moment but that quietly erode the relationship over time.

A little structure changes everything.

When you understand what is actually happening during a disagreement, underneath the surface frustration, you can respond to each other differently. The Gottman Conflict Blueprint gives you that understanding in a clear, practical framework, along with the tools to use it immediately. No months of therapy required to get started.

The Research Behind the Workshop

The Four Horsemen of relationship conflict

Gottman researchers identified four communication patterns that predict relationship breakdown with over 90% accuracy. This workshop teaches you to recognize and replace all four.

Criticism

Attacking your partner's character rather than raising a specific concern. "You never think about anyone but yourself" instead of "I felt hurt when that happened."

Defensiveness

Responding to a complaint with counter-complaint or self-protection, which signals to your partner that their concern does not matter.

Contempt

The most damaging of the four: eye-rolling, sarcasm, mockery. Contempt communicates disgust and superiority and is the strongest predictor of relationship breakdown.

Stonewalling

Emotionally shutting down and withdrawing from interaction. Often a response to feeling flooded, not indifference, but it leaves the other person feeling shut out.

Each of these patterns has a direct antidote. In this workshop, you will learn to recognize when they show up for you as a couple and practice the specific responses that replace them. Learn more about the Gottman Method.

What You'll Take Home

Practical tools you can use the same day

This is not a passive seminar. You will practice, reflect, and leave with a shared framework that belongs to you as a couple.

An Understanding of Your Conflict Patterns

Learn to see the dynamic that plays out between you during disagreements, not just the content of the argument, so you can interrupt it before it escalates.

The Conflict Blueprint Framework

A clear, research-based structure for how healthy conflict actually works, from the way you raise a concern to how you repair after a hard conversation.

Softened Startup Skills

How you begin a difficult conversation largely determines how it ends. You will practice raising hard topics in ways that invite openness rather than defensiveness.

Repair Attempts and How to Use Them

Gottman research identifies repair attempts as one of the most important predictors of relationship health. You will build a shared vocabulary for de-escalating in the moment.

Self-Soothing and Co-Regulation

When we feel flooded, we lose access to empathy and curiosity. You will learn to recognize physiological flooding and have a plan for what to do when it happens.

A Shared Language Going Forward

The most lasting benefit is the shared vocabulary you leave with: words, phrases, and signals that you and your partner can use to navigate hard moments for years to come.

Who This Is For

This workshop is a good fit if...

You do not need to be in crisis to benefit. Most couples who attend are simply ready to do better.

You keep having the same fight

You argue about the same things repeatedly without resolution and want to understand what is actually happening beneath the surface.

You avoid conflict altogether

You have learned that bringing things up leads to hurt feelings or shutdown, so you stay quiet and let things build. There is a better way.

You are in a good place and want to stay there

Things are solid, but you want practical tools before stress, life transitions, or bigger challenges test you. Proactive couples do better.

You are newly committed or engaged

You want to start your next chapter with real skills, not just good intentions. This workshop is a strong complement to or starting point before premarital counseling.

You have been together for years

Long-term couples often have deeply grooved patterns. Even one new framework can shift something that has felt stuck for a long time.

You are not sure therapy is right for you yet

A two-hour workshop is a low-stakes, no-commitment entry point. Come as you are, see what is possible, and decide what comes next from there.

Workshop Details

What to expect

A focused, private session with a trained therapist

This is not a group class. You and your partner meet one-on-one with a Gottman-trained therapist for a dedicated two-hour session. Choose in-person at our welcoming Ferndale office, or via secure HIPAA-compliant video from anywhere in Michigan. The session is structured and guided, with space for reflection and real conversation between you.

2 hours, private session for one couple
Led by a Gottman-trained therapist
In-person in Ferndale, MI or virtual anywhere in Michigan
No prior therapy experience needed
Practical framework and tools to take home
One-time, no ongoing commitment required

Want to continue the work after the workshop? Ongoing couples therapy and our full premarital counseling program are both available. There is no pressure, but the option is there if it feels right.

Book Your Workshop

Introductory Offer

$299

Regular price $350

One flat fee for two partners. Private-pay only. HSA and FSA funds may be accepted.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Everything you might want to know before booking.

Do we need to be in couples therapy to do this workshop?

No. The workshop is completely standalone. You do not need any prior therapy experience and there is no requirement to continue with ongoing sessions afterward. It is designed as a self-contained two-hour experience that gives you real, usable tools regardless of what comes next.

Our relationship is pretty good. Is this still useful?

Yes, and in many ways it is more useful when things are good. When you are not in an active crisis, you have the emotional bandwidth to actually absorb and practice new skills. Many couples who attend describe themselves as "mostly happy but stuck on a few things," and often leave having named something they had never quite been able to articulate before.

What if one of us is more skeptical about this kind of thing?

That is very common and completely fine. The workshop is practical and grounded in research, not abstract or emotionally heavy. Most skeptical partners leave pleasantly surprised.

How is this different from couples therapy?

Ongoing couples therapy is a longer, more exploratory process that goes into your individual histories, relationship patterns over time, and deeper emotional work. This workshop is focused and skill-based: it teaches you a specific framework for conflict in a single session. Think of it as giving you the tools, where ongoing therapy helps you build and use them over time. They complement each other well, but neither requires the other.

Is this offered virtually?

Yes. The workshop is available in-person at our Ferndale, MI office or via secure HIPAA-compliant video for couples anywhere in Michigan. Both formats offer the same structured, private session with a Gottman-trained therapist.

Do you accept insurance?

The workshop is private-pay only at $299 for the introductory offer. HSA and FSA funds may be accepted. Insurance is not billed for couples or relationship-focused services, as it requires a diagnosis for one partner, which is not consistent with how we view or approach couples work.