Marriage Crisis Management
Institute™ Training for Therapists
Offered by the Marriage Crisis Management Institute™
Training and Certification for Marriage & Family Therapy’s Newest niche.
- Questions
- Learning
- Ideas
- Sharing
- How can we better help couples in crisis?
Looking for 10 Marriage Therapists to Mentor in Marriage Crisis Management.
Become one of the First Marriage Crisis Management Practitioners™ in the World.
A one-year online Fellowship in Marriage Crisis Management™Managed Separation, and Radically Positive Amicable Divorce navigation.
Applications close August 1, 2026, for the inaugural cohort.
Only 10 therapists will be accepted.
Ready to join me in the amazing and fulfilling work of marriage crisis management?
Why this fellowship exists.
I’ve been networking with other marriage therapists at conferences over the last few years, have presented on marriage crisis management, and have learned one thing: many of you are hungry to learn more about marriage crisis—it is very gratifying to know we have a strong need for therapists who would enjoy this work.
There is a lot to know about marriage crisis management, managed separation, and the radically positive amicable divorce and co-parenting process. To continue providing this service to couples in crisis and to meet demand, we must build a cohort of knowledgeable therapists we can refer to. I have developed a Founding-Fellows Program for 10 therapists only, a one-year program to train and mentor them to become Founding Fellows in Marriage Crisis Management.
Who is the ideal candidate for the Marriage Crisis Management Founding Fellows Program?
We begin with a licensed therapist who is trained in couples therapy. From there, we are looking for:
- A marriage therapist dedicated to systems thinking.
- A therapist who loves teaching and educating people
- Someone confident, willing to be assertive and patient, and who enjoys being directive and instructional.
- Someone looking for a higher income and less time in the therapy chair.
- Someone who can handle challenging clients.
- A person trained in trauma and other healing modalities.
- A person willing to work as a life coach so they can see couples wherever they are when the need arises.
- Continued access to supervision and guidance.
l
If you are looking to be on the forefront of a well-needed, in-demand niche, then please request more information. We all need you!
The semester will start in September 2026. Application deadline July 1, 2026.
Becky Whetstone, Ph.D.
The Marriage Crisis Manager™
I never dreamed I would be making a career of marriage crisis management, but it is so needed, no one else was doing it, and so I felt compelled by some unexplainable, yet heartfelt desire, to step in. For me, it has become a mission to assist people in one of the worst times of their lives, and lead them to responsible, well-considered decisions.
– Becky Whetstone
Meet Becky Whetstone, PhD, LMFT, LPC
Becky Whetstone grew up in southern Arkansas, devouring the local newspaper and dreaming of becoming an advice columnist one day. She majored in journalism, but didn’t pursue it immediately. She married, moved to San Antonio, Texas, in 1985, had two children, and was a stay-at-home mom. The marriage began to falter early on, and after 8 years of asking for change, she gave up and found herself in a full-blown marriage crisis.
She and her husband went to marriage therapy, and the therapist said he couldn’t help them and sent them away to deal with it themselves. They made a mess, divorced prematurely, and the entire family system paid a heavy price.
After her divorce, Becky pursued her dream by taking a job as a features writer and columnist at the San Antonio Express-News, becoming the first Carrie Bradshaw-type columnist before there was a Carrie Bradshaw.
The local media began featuring Becky on the radio and TV, and people loved her, but some complained that she wasn’t credentialed or qualified to talk about relationships. To quiet the mob, Becky enrolled in the Marriage and Family Therapy program at St. Mary’s University Graduate School.
What had happened with her marriage had bothered her for many years. So she spent five years studying marriage crises and what could have been done to save a marriage on the brink. There was a lot of research available, but no one seemed to know anything about it. Some of the information Becky found blew her mind: “I felt it was an emergency to get this information out into the general public,” she said.
In her last year of school, she worked on her dissertation, which examined how people decide to divorce. This deepened her understanding of the deteriorating dynamics of a marriage on the brink.
After she graduated in 2006, she began developing a research-based way to help couples in crisis. She tweaked her methods for years, then wrote a book about it to help couples and their therapists.
Today, she is known as the marriage crisis manager and helps dozens of couples a year, but the demand is tremendous. She needs other therapists to refer to, and has now created the Marriage Crisis Management Fellowshop Training & Certification to bring couples on board with marriage crisis management. We hope you will join us and be at the forefront of this amazing and powerful intervention for couples on the brink.
Fellowship Structure
The Founding Fellows Program is a one-year advanced training and mentorship experience designed to help therapists confidently navigate marriage crises, managed separations, and amicable divorce cases.
The first training term is September 2026 to August 2027.
Twice-Monthly Live Training Session (90 minutes)
Once each month, Fellows participate in a live training focused on the Marriage Crisis Management™ model, including assessment, intervention, decision-making, managed separation, and amicable divorce navigation.
Case Consultation Group (90 minutes)
Once each month, Fellows participate in a live consultation group where real cases are discussed and explored. This is an opportunity to receive guidance, ask questions, and deepen understanding.
Private Facebook Community
Fellows will have access to a private online community for discussion, networking, referral development, resource sharing, and ongoing support throughout the year.
Private Voxer Community
Fellows may submit questions, discuss challenges, and receive support between meetings through a private Voxer group.
Observation Opportunities. When available and with client permission, Fellows will have opportunities to observe Marriage Crisis Consultations, Managed Separation cases, and Amicable Divorce cases to see the model in action.
Resource Library
Fellows receive access to a growing library of tools and resources, including:
Marriage Crisis Assessment Tools
Consultation Protocols
Managed Separation Plans
Client Worksheets
Clinical Handouts
Intake Forms
Practice Resources
Marketing Your Practice. Learning to scale your marriage crisis management business so you can attract high-quality clients and be paid as the specialist you are.
Capstone Project
Each Fellow will complete a final reflection and innovation paper that explores what they learned, insights gained from marriage crisis work, and recommendations for advancing the field.
Certification
Upon successful completion of the Fellowship requirements, participants will earn the designation:
Certified Marriage Crisis Management Practitioner™ (CCMMP)
Members of the inaugural cohort will also receive the permanent distinction:
Founding Fellow
Marriage Crisis Management Institute™
Referrals, Membership, and Continuing Education. Fellows in good standing will be able to post a profile in our Certified Practitioner Directory on the Marriage Crisis Manager website, including their photo, bio, credentials, licensing status, website link, specialties, and a direct contact button. Annual membership is $500 and includes the listing, annual update training, use of our CCMMP designation, referral eligibility, Facebook community, and Vocer access, and institute updates. Once a year, we will have a two-hour meeting to provide updates on our work, share news, and answer questions.