Excellent class. I have learned so much from the entire staff on how to be a more integrated couples therapist. Highly recommended.
Lindsey Rosenthal, MFT, AACAST-Certified Couples and Sex Therapist
I strongly recommend the AACAST training for any therapist who treats adults – individually or as a couple. It is a unique program that recognizes that couples and sex therapies should not be trained separately. The content is expansive, the speakers come from all areas of the field and they are excellent. The supervision is incomparable: supportive, informative and interactive.
Sarah Fitzsimmons, MFT, ATR-BC
Training and certification through AACAST provided me with the tools and clinical knowledge necessary to help couples transform their relationships and enjoy deep connection and intimacy. The AACAST curriculum integrates theory and clinical material to provide clinicians, such as myself, with a complete approach to working with couples. Training includes role-play and video analysis of couples in therapy with Dr. Brackelmanns. These hands-on experiences proved to be invaluable to the learning process. Everyone working with couples should take this training!
Amy DiNoble Farley, PhD, AACAST-Certified Couples and Sex Therapist
I highly recommend this extensive yearlong integrated couples and sex therapy training. I particularly appreciated the consultation sessions each week with Walter Brackelmanns and Wendy Cherry, which were helpful for processing my work and giving me the tools to be a better couples therapist. Being in private practice can sometimes feel quite isolating, and having a community of warm, knowledgable fellow therapists to bounce ideas off was a wonderful experience!
Su Lim, MFT
As an individual and couples therapist working toward certification as a sex therapist, I have found the AACAST training very beneficial to my practice. Walter’s guidelines for when to employ specific interventions with a couple are grounded in psychodynamic and developmental theory. Moreover, they work! And often quite quickly. I look forward to class each week as well as to the excellent supervision offered by Walter and Wendy Cherry.
Liz Selzer-Lang, MFT
My work with couple’s and individual clients has benefited tremendously since joining the AACAST program and case consultation. Dr. Brackelmanns’ approach or “dialogue of intimacy” is a straightforward and practical way to get couples talking and listening to each other, staying in the world of feelings and keeping the transference within the couple. Blending couples work and sex therapy into one course is invaluable! I have learned a wealth of information through this course and believe I am a better couple’s therapist/sex therapist because of it!
Ziba Ramin, MFT
I took this course twice several years ago and I can’t even begin to tell you how valuable this course was both on a personal and professional level. It was life changing. I highly recommend!
Yisraela Hayman, MFT
I was lucky enough to take the course with Drs. Brackelmanns, Cherry and Crane. I can’t even describe the difference in my abilities and confidence as a couples therapist due to both the theoretical knowledge and practical training I’ve gained from this course. I repeat it as often as I can and I learn something new every time. The case consultation is invaluable. I recommend the course highly!
Terri Barach, MFT
I cannot imagine working with couples without the skills and information I gained through AACAST. It would be like trying to build a house without a hammer. I never feel like I don’t know what to do in the sessions, and I see the difference my training makes with the couples who come in. Besides the training, the instructors are knowledgeable, caring, and smart. My highest recommendation if you work with, or want to work with, couples.
Tony Davis, MFT
AACAST has enabled me to work with couples much more confidently. I feel I am able to provide clear, unequivocal therapy to clients and actually help save relationships. It has been an invaluable adjunct to my work.
Michel Horvat, MFT
This is a wonderful class which teaches you the skills you need to do couple’s counseling. You get first hand skills from teachers who have a lot of experience. You also experience a variety of guest speakers to add to the experience. I would highly recommend it if you are serious about doing couple’s work. I was lost before this. It teaches you how to get couples to get closer, rather than talk about content.
Adrianne Faye, MFT
IACT is the foundation of my work with couples. It’s a True North protocol. When a couple in front of me loses their ability to function adequately, I simply return to IACT and the Dialog, and without fail the couple will re-regulate and quickly regain adequate function. In the event the couple cannot address each other, I engage in Dialog with the one most disturbed and once again, they will regulate down and regain function. I am familiar with many different couple therapy protocols and use aspects of some in my work, but IACT is the best of the lot for the way I approach the therapeutic project. The year-long class is entirely complete. Detailed clinically-oriented, and useful from Day 1. Within a few weeks you’ll be using IACT in your practice and when combined with the expert supervisions you will finish the class more than ready to use IACT to help couples build the relationship they dream of.
Charles Andrews, MFT
I haven’t encountered another training that combines sex therapy and couple’s therapy. This training feels foundational to how I approach my work with couples. I believe that effective training needs to provide a theoretical understanding the modality’s “why.” It also needs to provide a technique that is practical, adaptable and effective. Finally, it needs to increase my knowledge base. AACAST provided all three. I particularly appreciated the many MD guest lecturers who deepened my understanding of sexual functioning.
Eric Weiss, MFT
This certification program changed my practice and the way I work. This is the training I needed in graduate school. I learned more in this certification program then I did in my graduate program. Dr. Cherry is a leader in the field, she is always available and a constant source of support in doing this work. She brings her own ongoing research into the class offering innovative strategies in working with individuals and couples. I highly recommend this program.
Kimberly Clapp, MFT
Without the AACAST training, I would not have the tools to work with couples in a clear and present way. The training has been invaluable for my work with couples. The instructors were always clear and so knowledgeable.
Dana Julian, MFT
I have found the AACAST training, knowledge and guidance from the instructors invaluable to my clinical work, not just in the areas of couples and sex therapy, but has increased my confidence and competence in my identity as a therapist. Through this training, we’ve had access to expert guest speakers in the field of couples and sex therapy and on-going, in depth consultation with Dr. Cherry and Ron Crane. They cultivate an authentic and warm environment where your uniqueness is celebrated and welcome, which you naturally bring into your work with your clients. The instructors and classmates have become a supportive community for me, which I so look forward to being a part of and seeing everyone on an on-going basis.
Anahita Kashefi, MFT
The sex and couples therapy course has been a game changer for me when it comes to talking about sex in a knowledgeable, confident, and relaxed manner. The course materials are engaging and touch upon the major issues in sex therapy. The case consultations provide the support every therapist needs from time to time and the opportunity to get to know the professors and other members on a more intimate level as you learn together. I am really glad I took this course and highly recommend it as it has positively impacted my couples work as well as my marriage!
Letta Venegas, MFT
The tools and approach to couples and sex treatment that I learned through the AACAST training and certification process have transformed my business. The training provided me with a clear framework for approaching couples and sex issues and, as a result, I’ve retained more clients and grown my client base. I highly recommend this training.
Patrick Jensen, MFT, AACAST-Certified Couples and Sex Therapist
