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About Marriage Prep 101 Leader

Michelle Joy, MFT is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and has been working with Relationship Experts, Dr Ellyn Bader and Dr Peter Pearson at The Couples Institute & CICS in Menlo Park for 20 years. Michelle Joy leads Communication Workshops for Couples, sees individuals and couples in her private practice and trains therapists locally and nationally.

Michelle Joy, MFT, has been associated with The Couples Institute (and now The Couples Institute Counseling Services) in Menlo Park, CA, since 2002, almost the longest among the entire staff.Side Head Shot E1650750838992

In addition to Couples Therapy Intensives, Michelle offers Communication Workshops for ALL couples.  She also leads Marriage Prep 101 Workshops for Engaged, Newly Married, or Seriously Dating couples for those interested in Bay Area premarital counseling.

A graduate in The Developmental Model of Couples Therapy – Advanced Level, Michelle is a go-to person for professional trainings. In addition to teaching advanced classes as well as providing consultations and trainings to couples’ therapists, Michelle has been a local and national speaker for several professional associations, including PESI.com  and CAMFT, on how to help more couples.  Michelle also gets invited to teach expert classes that reaches therapists all over the world, as well as to speak on an “expert couples therapy panel” by CAMFT, both designed to train couples therapists.  She is an expert author on Marriage.com.

Her clients appreciate her wisdom, insight and the expertise she’s gained from years of learning from some of the top leading experts in the world, the breadth of experience she has gained in her almost 20 year experience in specializing in helping couples, as well as in her own marriage with her husband.

Michelle says, “Through my work with long term couples, I notice too many unneccesary divorces that could have been prevented with earlier implementation of specific concepts, techniqiues and tools. I have infused Marriage Prep 101 with exactly that, so that every couple who applies them ‘from this day forward’ can have a relationship that withstands the test of time!  I look forward to meeting you!”

Our Marriage Prep 101 Program is now virtual!Click here to learn more