2027 Somatica Professional Couples Training
Every couple faces unique challenges. Many seek out a coach who has completed a couples coach training to help them enhance their sexual compatibility and emotional connection.
If you work with couples in need of this support, you’ve come to the right place — the Somatica Professional Couples Training is here to help. During this course, Somatica graduates (and psychotherapists, MFTs, and CSWs) can deepen their knowledge about long-term relationships and broaden their intimacy and sexuality toolboxes.
Why Take The Professional Couples Training?
Traditional couples therapy training is limited in its inclusion of sexuality. As a result, clients bringing up sexual topics feel ashamed about their sexual desires, affairs, and differences surrounding intimacy. They might not get the help they really need.
Here at Somatica, we offer a professional couples training that treats sex as one of the central needs in a partnership. In fact, it’s the acceptance of each person’s real sexual and emotional needs, and their full airing of their fears and challenges, that creates secure attachment, ongoing intimacy, and satisfaction.
When a person sees and accepts their partner for who they are, the relationship will either flourish or need to shift. That’s what we help couples see and do as part of our professional couples training for Somatica coaches.
What You Will Learn
In this class, you’ll explore new ways to help your clients navigate intimacy, vulnerability, and erotic energy. You will learn how to help them develop skills for honest emotional sharing, self-awareness, and empathetic listening without judgment. This includes:
- Knowledge of the different ways couples approach attachment and intimacy
- Techniques for dealing with affairs, sexless marriages, sexual dysfunction, low sexual desire, making sex hot again (or for the first time), non-monogamy, open relationships, and polyamory
- Tools to understand, map, and intervene in couples’ dynamics and vortexes with the goal of maximizing their sexual satisfaction and compatibility
- Skills to identify and process disappointments in relationships to promote growth and deepen connection
- Somatica’s 9-step roadmap for relationship repair
Like in the Somatica training, we’ll be teaching this course using an experiential style that extends to lectures and demonstrations. You will participate in dyad practices, experiential exercises, and practices with real couples.
Who Is It For?
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My husband and I had an amazing experience at the couples workshop – it way exceeded our expectations!
Who knew there was so much that one could learn – and enjoy learning – about how to relate and create intimacy with your partner. There seem to be so few places in life to ask questions about this topic – we don’t do that well in our society – to find out more information, to find out what other people have already learned. But the workshop was the perfect environment. The content was engaging and helpful, we practiced together and with the teachers and coaches, and we were able to bring home some great ways of relating that have opened up an already great relationship into something even better. Danielle and Celeste were masterful in how they taught and coached and in sharing the wisdom they’ve learned over their years of helping others. I couldn’t recommend the workshop any more heartily to others!
– Couples Training graduate
Class Details (Prereqs, Dates, Tuition)
Prerequisites
The Somatica Professional Couples Training is only offered to students who:
- Have completed the Somatica Core Training curriculum or
- Work as psychotherapists, MFTs, CSWs, sex coaches, relationship coaches, sexologists, somatic sex coaches, certified Sexological Bodyworkers, and life coaches
- Are the partner to someone who belongs in one of the above categories, and your partner is taking the training with you (even if you are not a trained or licensed professional)
If you are not on this list of professionals (or a professional’s partner who is also enrolling in the training), please still feel free to contact us to see if the training is right for you.
Dates and Location
This training is live and fully online over Zoom. It will be held over two modules and each module consists of one long weekend (Friday – Sunday).
Module 1: November 5-7, 2027Module 2: December 3-5, 2027
Hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. Pacific time (with a 45-minute lunch break at appx. 11am).
Tuition
Tuition for the Somatica Professional Couples Training is $2,400. A $200 early bird discount is applied if you register and pay in full before September 1, 2025, bringing the tuition down to $2,200.
If you have taken the Professional Couples training before, you can retake it for the early bird fee of $1,500 if paid in full before September 1, 2025. Tuition will go up to $1,750 on September 1, 2025.
A $500 non-refundable deposit is required at registration to hold your spot. We also offer payment plans and are happy to set you up with one.
Other discounts:
- Couples discount: $200 off each.
CEs
This course meets the qualifications for 30 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs, as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.
The Somatica Institute is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT Provider #146640)to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs and LCSWs. We maintain responsibility for this program and its contents.
- For additional information see Training Details below.
Refund Policy
If you choose to withdraw from the training 30 days or more before the first day of the program, you will be refunded all tuition paid, with the exception of the non-refundable $500 deposit. If you choose to withdraw from the training less than 30 days before the first day of the program, you will be responsible for the full tuition.
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In my practice, it is now not at all uncommon for couples to enter my office in conflict and leave holding hands.
Whether you are a therapist or a coach – I highly recommend the Somatica Couples Training. It has given me a powerful paradigm to work with couples who are having challenges around intimacy, relationships, and sex. Through this unique, holistic, embodied approach, couples learn how to care for and love each other, resolve the inevitable conflicts that arise, deal with disappointment without blame or shame, and deepen their relationships and intimacy.
– Xanet, Couples Training graduate
Training Details
The Somatica® Professional Couple’s Training
This course offers The Somatica Methodology for working with couples to identify and communicate their sexual desires and goals. It will address common issues from sexual dysfunction to low desire and present ways to address these issues with couples and individuals. The training is offered fully online and is delivered live over Zoom over 2 weekends. Each weekend is a module.
Instructor Information
Danielle Harel, Ph.D. is the Co-Founder of the Somatica Institute, in addition to her Ph.D. in Human Sexuality, she also has a M.A. in Clinical Social Workl and a B.A. in Psychology.
Celeste Hirschman, MA is the Co-Founder of the Somatica Institute. In addition to her Master’s degree in Human Sexuality Studies, she has a bachelor’s degree in Women’s Studies.
Both instructors have been working with clients since 2006 and training coaches and therapists in the Somatica Method since 2013.
Educational Goals
- Understand how couples maintain sexual attraction and satisfaction in long-term relationships
- Gain a systematic approach to helping couples improve their sexual connection
Learning Objectives
After completing this course students will be able to:
- Participants will learn how to utilize 2 key concepts – Core Desires and Hottest Sexual Movie. These two concepts are central to helping people have better sex and relationships.
- Participants will be able to apply 2 tools to increase attachment.
- Participants will be able to identify and describe two pathways for supporting couples presenting with sexual dysfunction: (1) interventions aimed at overcoming the dysfunction, and (2) strategies for maintaining an ongoing sex life even if the dysfunction does not change..
- Participants will be able to demonstrate increased comfort with emotional volatility in a couple’s session and carry out the 2 main tools of 1) neutralizing and 2) translating to lower the volatility.
- Participants will be able to identify five key underlying causes of sexless or low-sex marriages and “lost spark” relationships—(1) low compatibility in core desires, (2) lack of emotional intimacy, (3) depression or illness, (4) unprocessed sexual violation or abuse, and (5) low interest, prioritization, or time—and apply one appropriate clinical approach for addressing each cause.
Weekend 1 – Module 1:
Community Agreements — 15 minutes
- Online container: confidentiality, consent, respect
- Communal repair ethics
Orientation: What We’re Really Doing in Couples Work — 45 minutes
- What constitutes as “Success” in couple’s work
- Coach stance and role clarity
What Is Intimacy, Actually? (Somatica lens) — 15 minutes
- Updating conventional narratives about relationships
- Experiential learning: leading couples into new experiences
Sex Positivity as a Clinical Frame — 15 minutes
- Sex as a form of intimacy and connection
- Nonjudgment and desire diversity
Bias Awareness Lab — 30 minutes
- Bias identification and self-reflection
- Small-group practice and discussion
Policies & Ethics in Couples Coaching — 1 hour
- Structure, boundaries, and confidentiality agreements
- Power differentials and ethical management
Where Relationship & Sexual Problems Come From — 30 minutes
- Difference as a primary source of tension/pain
- Common “difference stories” and judgment-as-cover (fears/needs underneath)
Clinician Mindset Before the Session — 15 minutes
- Outcome-neutral stance; clarifying what’s being chosen
- Underlying needs, dynamics focus, and bias self-check
Assessment: What We Track in Real Time — 15 minutes
- Differences + connection signals (pace, embodiment, warmth, touch, proximity)
- Escalation/self-soothing + story flexibility (defensiveness, shutdown, blame/shame)
Demo + Skills Lab: Reading the Room & Tracking the Cycle — 30 minutes
- Live tracking of cues (tone, gaze, distance, nonverbals, repair attempts)
- Debrief: connection-builders vs. escalation patterns
Core Frame: Attachment and Individuation as Mutually Reinforcing — 30 minutes
- Safety and selfhood: how they strengthen each other
- Emphasis shifts: attachment-focused vs. individuation-focused moments
Solidifying Attachment: Limbic Resonance, Love, Appreciation — 1 hour
- Secure base and return-to practices
- Channels of connection (attention, affection, empathy, repair, excitement, sexuality)
Experiential Practice Set (Triads) — 1 hour
- Connection practices adapted for online/in-person formats
- Coach stance: observing negotiation and connection patterns
Individuation: Needs → Deshamification → Communication — 30 minutes
- Individuation signals (resentment, judgment, refusal, “going through the motions”)
- Staying connected while touching difference; de-escalation supports
Translation, Neutralizing, Normalizing (Core Couple Skills) — 2 hours
- Translating feelings/needs beneath content
- Normalizing differences and desires (without compliance pressure)
Empathy Training: Feeling Empathy & Speaking Empathy — 1 hour
- Common blocks to empathy (fixing, defending, minimizing, premature apology)
- Turn-taking and guided empathy practice
Meta-Conversation Tools — 1.5 hours
- Agreements for repair (Somatica Steps/NVC-style/custom)
- Re-establishing agreements during tension; “witness” language
Sex as Attachment — 3 hours
- Sex as bonding/attachment channel for many couples
- Erotic attunement practices (touch/breathwork adaptations for online learning)
Weekend 2 – Module 2:
Safety & Harm: Recognizing Abuse and What a Coach Can Do — 1 hour
- Signs of abuse
- Coaching scope when unsafe
Core Wounds & Adult Attachment Patterns — 1 hour
- Common core beliefs
- Anxious/avoidant dynamics in couples
The Trigger Cycle: Mapping, Naming, Interrupting — 2 hours
- How core wounds interact and activate each other
- Identifying patterns
- Practice: trigger mapping + de-escalation coaching language
Facing Attachment Fears & Building Repair — 2 hours
- Inner-child care / tenderness practices
- Repair as a skill: quick repairs vs. deep repairs
Motivation & Capacity for Change — 30 minutes
- Capacity assessment
- Working with disappointment and fear
Affairs, Betrayal, and Rebuilding Trust — 1.5 hour
- Healing when there has been an affair
- Repair conversations that reduce shame and increase accountability
Open Relationships & Relationship Design — 1.5 hours
CE Information
The course meets the qualifications for 30 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.
There will be a 45 minutes lunch break each day. Please note: breaks will not be counted towards CE time awarded.
This training is provided by the Somatica Institute. The Somatica Institute is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs and LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs. The Somatica Institute maintains responsibility for this program and all its content (CAMFT Approved Provider #146640).
Course completion certificates will be awarded via email as soon as completed evaluation forms are filled out and $45 CE administrative fee is paid.
Refund Policy
If you choose to withdraw from the training 30 days or more prior to the first day of the program, you will be refunded all tuition paid minus the non-refundable $500 tuition deposit (minus any processing fees incurred).
If you choose to withdraw from the training for any reason whatsoever less than 45 days before the first day of the program, or should you miss any individual class sessions, you will be held responsible for payment of the full tuition.
Accessibility
We understand that everyone is unique, with their own needs and ways of being, and we honor and welcome those differences. If you have a disability or need special accommodations regarding the training, please email your request to [email protected], and we will do everything we can to support you.
If You Have a Grievance
We take the feelings and concerns of our students very seriously. If you have a grievance of any kind, please email [email protected], and we will get back to you within 48 hours to address your concerns.