Bay Area Couples Training Institute: Nurturing Healthy Relationships Since 1986
Bay Area CoupleTraining InstituteWarm Greetings:
The harsh reality couples so often are faced with is that the pressures and stressors of everyday life all too often sap our energy, leaving us feeling exhausted with little to no energy for attending to our partners. This becomes all the more difficult when there are children or work obligations demanding our attention. At the end of the day its often easier to collapse in front of the TV than to take the energy to connect with the person we once felt really close to. Under these conditions, its no wonder that couples drift apart. Conflict becomes more difficult to manage. Problems become harder to negotiate. We seem to talk to each other less. Affection and tenderness seem to give way to us drifting further and further apart. Sometimes infidelity happens. At the Couple Training Institute we hold passionately that relationships can be improved. They can also heal. They can also not simply work, but can thrive as a source of joy and fulfillment. We offer support for individuals as well as couples. The aim is to provide exceptional quality service at an affordable fee. Personal BiographyAllan Pleaner MA.
In addition to facilitating the Skills Toolbox™Workshop for Couples, Allan also works with individuals and couples in a private practice. His work is eclectic, drawing on several evidence-based therapeutic approaches. Together, these strands weave together into gentle and powerful ways of working. He is a licensed psychotherapist with offices in San Francisco. Daly City and Burlingame. Additionally, he teaches a range of classes at Kaiser South San Francisco including Approaches to working with Anxiety and Fear, Stress management, Mindfulness-based Stress reduction and Couples Communication. Sources of InspirationAllan uses research-based approaches in working with couples and individuals. His work is deeply shaped by humanistic, existential, contemplative and psychospiritual perspectives. At the heart of these approaches is an emphasis on cultivating a Mindful presence as a means by which to connect with that which is most alive in our hearts and being. Important contributions to his approach toward developing resilience in couples as well as building relationship skills include Ellen & Peter Bader, Daniel Wiles, John and Julie Gottman, Harville Hendrix, Jack Kornfield, Norman Fischer, John Kabat Zinn & Saki Santorelli and John Amodeo. These have all been both valuable and essential teachers. His approach to working with couples also draws on the work of Daniel Goleman, particularly regarding working with difficult and challenging situations by developing the skills towards greater emotional intelligence. He has also studied with Marsha Linehan and Tom Marra and implements Dialectical Behavior Therapy approaches specifically around developing the skills of working with uncomfortable, overwhelming and intense emotions. Allan’s style in working with couples blends a playful, humorous and light-hearted approach with empathy, caring, respect and patience. Contact information: Allan Pleaner MFCT |
Taking care of a marriage or couple relationship is without doubt one of the toughest things to. It can also be a source of enormous joy, fulfillment, fun, purpose, meaning and happiness.
Allan has worked with relationships and communication, on three continents (UK, USA and Europe) with a wide range cultures for over twenty years. During this time, he has helped close to one thousand couples to develop more effective ways of building trust and friendship in their relationships, and as a natural consequence, more effective ways of dealing with conflict. 
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