Bay Area CoupleTraining Institute
Warm Greetings:
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.
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 Biography
Allan Pleaner MA.
Marriage, Family and Child Psychotherapy.
CA lic.# MFT24606
Allan has worked internationally with relationships and communication, for over twenty-five years, sharing the journey of hundreds of couples and teaching relationship skills enabling resiliant and more fulfilling relationships.
With a strong focus on ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and other Mindfulness-based approaches, his work is eclectic, drawing on several evidence-based approaches. These strands weave together into gentle and powerful of transforming and strengthening relationships.
Allan’s style in working with couples blends a playful, humorous and lighthearted approach with empathy, caring, respect and patience.
He is a licensed psychotherapist with offices in San Francisco. Daly City and Burlingame and runs workshops and trainings for couples in the Bay Area.
Sources of Inspiration
My work is deeply shaped by humanistic, existential, contemplative and psycho-spiritual perspectives with 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 my approach include Stephen Hayes and Russ Harris with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT); John and Julie Gottman and Ellen & Peter Bader.Daniel Wiles, Harville Hendrix, Jack Kornfield, Daniel Goleman, Norman Fischer, John Kabat Zinn and Saki Santorelli have all been both valuable and essential teachers.
Marsha Linehan and Tom Marra have also been sources of inspiration, particularly regarding working with difficult, uncomfortable and distressing emotions using Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) approaches.
Perhaps the greatest inspiration has been the courage, resiliance and determination of the hundreds of couples, from so many different cultures with whom I’ve worked. You have been without doubt, my greatest teachers.
Contact information:
Allan Pleaner MFCT
allanpleaner@earthlink.net
#415-468-2627