Designed to provide a thorough understanding of couples therapy from a developmental and integrative perspective. The developmental stages are derived from Margaret Mahler's work on infant developmental stages and proposed by Dr. Ellyn Bader and Dr. Peter Pearson from the Couples Institute in Menlo Park, California. The course will address the 5 stages of couple development, the assessment and treatment appropriate for each stage of development and suggest interventions to remove impasses that hinder the couple from progressing from stage to stage. This model is future focused rather than conflict-content focused and promotes hope during the more difficult aspects of couple development. The course will also address the biblical foundation for couple health and conditions that limit the use of couple therapy. Didactic instruction with applied interventions of the model will be provided as well as opportunities to practice couple therapy in a modified lab setting.