Gottman Referral Network

About

Michael Basta, L.C.S.W.

Welcome and thanks for checking out my profile.

After working as a therapist for over 40 years, I have started to move to a semi-retirement mode. I will continue to see returning couples, but will only be seeing a limited number new couples for marathon couples therapy only.

I will also continue to offer consultation to therapists that a seeking training in Gottman Method couples therapy (either in the certification track or outside of it).

I am an Advanced Trainer for the Gottman Institute, but I am no longer offering couples workshops or trainings for therapists through the Institute.

Choosing a couples therapist is a very personal decision. I invite you to read further to learn more about me and my couples therapy practice.

I became a therapist largely because of how I grew up. We were Catholic – my dad was a bartender, and I thought I would either end up as a bartender or a priest. I experienced loss early in my life and became very motivated to learn how to deal with loss and how families are affected. I learned that I could help people because of my experiences.

My early professional experience was working with the disabled population. I found I was really drawn to work with the families of my clients so I pursued my post-graduate education in clinical social work at the University of California Berkeley with an emphasis in family therapy.

I worked for many years as a therapist and often felt that the best way that I could help a troubled child/teen was to work separately with their parents. I read about John Gottman’s research on couples relationships and had the opportunity to train with the Gottman's in 2002. This training has been career changing for me.

After working for 17 years as the coordinator of an intensive outpatient program for teens (in addition to seeing couples) I changed my private practice to focus almost exclusively on couples using Gottman Method Couples therapy.