Self Psychology-Informed Couple Therapy

and Gottman Method Couple Therapy:

Comparison, Contrast, and Proposed Integration

Carla Leone, PhD and Michael McNulty, PhD, LCSW, LICSW

Sunday, April 19, 2026

10:00am-2:00pm EST

Live Interactive via Zoom

Zoom Invite Will be Sent to Registrants on April 18, 2026

4 CEs offered for Counselors, Psychologists and Social Workers

CEs accepted by many states - check with your local boards.

Carla Leone, PhD

Carla Leone, Ph.D., is the Director of the certificate program in Integrative Psychoanalytic Couple Therapy, a couple therapy training program offered virtually by the Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago, where she is on the faculty. She is also Adjunct Faculty at the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute and the founder and director of a group private practice in the Chicago suburbs, where she works with individuals, couples and families, provides individual consultation and runs study groups. She is President of the International Association for Psychoanalytic Self Psychology (IAPSP), and has previously served the organization as Secretary, a member of its governing International Council, Co-chair of its Membership Committee and Writing Interest Group and Chair of its Couple Therapy Interest Group and its Education Committee. She is the author of numerous published papers on the application of self psychology to couple and family therapy and one on the “unseen spouse” of patients in individual therapy, has presented nationally and internationally on these topics, and is currently working on a book on self psychology-informed couple therapy.

Michael A. McNulty, PhD, LCSW, LICSW

Dr. Mike McNulty is a psychotherapist, consultant, and advanced clinical trainer with practices in Evanston, IL, and Bellingham, WA. Renowned for integrating contemporary psychoanalytic approaches with the research-based Gottman Method, Dr. McNulty specializes in intensive couples therapy, complex relationship dynamics—including infidelity recovery, neurodiversity, and emotional trauma.

Recognized for his collaborative and humanistic style, Dr. McNulty became the first Certified Gottman Therapist in Chicago and has since mentored dozens of clinicians toward certification. He has co-authored a textbook chapter with Drs. John and Julie Gottman on recovery from betrayal and contributed an upcoming chapter on using the Gottman Method with neurodiverse couples for the forthcoming book, *The New Marriage Clinic*. His research, “Dyslexia and the Life Course,” was published in *The Journal of Learning Difficulties*. He has also authored articles for The Gottman Blog on using ambiguous loss theory to cope with uncertainty during COVID-19 and following the LA fires.

Dr. McNulty regularly presents at national conferences on integrating the Gottman Method with psychoanalytic theory and working with neurodiverse couples. He has been interviewed on relationship issues for podcasts, television and radio programs, and news outlets including *Business Insider*, *Parade*, *Time Magazine*, and *The Chicago Tribune*, among others.

A five-time Fulbright Specialist Grant recipient, Dr. McNulty has trained paraprofessional counselors in Sri Lanka, traveling there 22 times since the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami.

He holds a Ph.D. from the Institute for Clinical Social Work, and has taught as an adjunct or visiting professor at the Institute for Clinical Social Work, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, and the Professional Development Program at the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice at the University of Chicago. Dr. McNulty is licensed to practice in Illinois, Washington, and Alaska.

Workshop Description

This workshop will present two popular models of couple therapy and compare and contrast them in an effort to make them clinically relevant and useable in clinical work with couples. Although originally developed in the context of individual psychoanalysis, Self Psychology’s offers a wealth of concepts that can be extremely useful in work with couples, including self-object needs, self-object functions, and self-object transferences, empathic attunement and responsiveness, the “forward edge” of even highly problematic behavior, close attention to narcissistic vulnerability and injury, and empathic interpretation. Dr. Leone will begin by presenting this approach and illustrating it with detailed clinical examples, after which Dr. McNulty will do the same with The Gottman Method. The Gottman Method is a structured, primarily psycho-educational approach based on the research findings of Dr. John Gottman and his colleagues, who have studied couples and followed many longitudinally to identify factors associated with successful and unsuccessful relationships. Based on this information, John and his wife Dr. Julie Gottman developed a treatment approach that includes assessment and tools to help couples learn about each other, resolve conflict and deepen their emotional connection. 

After a break, Drs. Leone and McNulty will identify similarities and differences between the two models and discuss ways both methods may be integrated in work with couples. Case examples, including video clips, will be used to demonstrate how the two models may support each other. 

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Explain the key tenets of the self-psychological approach to couple therapy

2. List several key findings of the research on which Gottman Method is based

3. Describe the similarities and differences between the two approaches

4. Discuss ways the two models might be usefully integrated to help couples deepen their connection.

Target Audience:  Suitable for Psychologists, Social Workers, Licensed Professional Counselors, Psychiatrists, Advanced Practice Nurses, Graduate Students, Marriage and Family Therapists.

Level of Sophistication: This is an introductory level post-graduate continuing education program suitable for all levels of training.

ADA accommodations available upon request (Required at least 14 days prior to course start date).

4 Continuing Education Credits

Counselors: CPPNJ has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6863. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CPPNJ is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

Psychologists: CPPNJ is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. CPPNJ maintains responsibility for this program and its contents.

NY Psychologists: Center for Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis of New Jersey is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0165. 

Social Workers: Center for Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis of New Jersey is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0757.

The New Jersey Board of Social Work Examiners, and some other state boards, recognize CEs approved by the New York State Education Department.

COST: Members $100/$120 pre-registration by April 5 CPPNJ Candidates: $45; Students with ID: $15; Non-Members $160/$180 pre-registration by April 5.

Cancellations made prior to three days (72 hours) before the event will receive a full refund minus a $25 administrative fee.  Cancellations made less than 72 hours before the event will be given a refund of half of the registration fees. Refunds will NOT be granted for cancellation requests made on the day of the event.

There is no potential conflict of interest and/or commercial support for this CE event.



For more information or registration, please call 973-912-4432, visit us online at www.cppnj.org, contact us by email at cppnj@cppnj.org or at CPPNJ 235 Main St, Madison, NJ 07940