2024 PACT Level 3 Advanced Practicum

The PACT Institute’s commitment to education and training has long helped clinicians move forward in the practice of couple therapy.

PACT Level 3 Advanced Practicum helps you expand your skills, gain deeper understanding, and develop a more complete command of advanced PACT interventions.

PACT Level 3 Advanced Practicum provides a challenging curriculum with a high level of support to reinforce your growth and development as a couple therapist. This level of training prepares you to become a top PACT provider. Successful completion of Level 3 training also enables you to seek PACT Certification.

As you prepare for Level 3 in 2024, think: Grad School. The Level 3 program is vigorous and challenging, much like a good graduate school program. Level 3 has high academic expectations along with dedicated faculty support. The training combines online learning consisting of four two-day experiential teaching blocks with PACT developer Dr. Stan Tatkin and senior core faculty member Dr. Hans Stahlschmidt.

Stan and Hans are committed to nurturing your professional and clinical development and helping you deepen your clinical knowledge and skills.

Support is a cornerstone of the training. In Level 3, the majority of the training sessions are spent workshopping new skills and getting instruction in real time. Stan and Hans provide frequent feedback on each student's work and complete written evaluations of their final papers.

PACT Level 3 Advanced Practicum emphasizes developing a more complete command of advanced PACT skills and deepening the integration of PACT into your clinical practice.  

Building on what you learned in Level 2, you’ll gain new insight, develop your assessment strategies and intervention techniques, and enjoy collaborating with colleagues on particularly thorny cases.

Learn how to handle common difficult situations, including: sexual issues, personality issues, acting out, betrayal, deal breakers, Islands and Waves, disorganized presentation, additions, and situations where one partner doesn’t want to play.

Take PACT even further in your work with couples. Successful completion of Level 3 Advanced Practicum rewards you with the designation as a PACT Level 3 clinician/therapist, indicating knowledge of and proficiency in integrating basic and advanced PACT skills and principles in a clinical setting. Successful completion of Level 3 training also opens the door for you to seek PACT Certification.

Level 3 Advanced Practicum was designed for high-level PACT practitioners who have been using PACT in their practice for a minimum of three years and are ready for in-depth learning to expand their knowledge and skills and deepen the integration of PACT into their clinical practice.  

The training is limited to a maximum of 20 students. The low student to teacher ratio enables a different type of training experience with a high level of attention and support from each instructor for each student. In Level 3, the majority of the training sessions are spent workshopping new skills and getting feedback in real time.

To determine if you qualify for this advanced training, please review the detailed list of PACT Level 3 requirements and expectations here.

2024 PACT Level 3 Advanced Practicum Days/Times

Join PACT Level 3 Advanced Practicum in 2024.

September 7-8 | October 5-6 | November 16-17 | December 7-8

All times are 7:00 am - 12:30 pm Pacific

10:00am Eastern | 2:00am AEDT (Sydney) | 4:00pm CET (Paris)
Convert to your time zone here

PACT training is intended for fully licensed marriage and family therapists, professional counselors, social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists (or those who have earned an equivalent degree outside of the United States).

Requirements for Participation in PACT Level 3:

• Minimum of 3 years in practice
• PACT treatment with a minimum of 30 couples 
• Completion of all modules of Level 2 training within the last two years. 
• If you completed Level 2 training more than two years ago, you may repeat Level 2 or you must have engaged in professional development through the PACT Institute for the last two years.
• Professional development includes participation in a minimum of six hours per year of continuing education through the PACT Institute. 
• Those six hours must include at least three hours of Case Analysis Labs.
• Those six hours may also include participating as a coach in PACT training.

In addition, before registering for Level 3, you will be asked to:

1.     Provide your professional license type and number
2.     Confirm your office setup includes rolling chairs and video capabilities
3.     Confirm your malpractice insurance is current and in good standing

PACT Level 3 is not offered every year, so those years when it’s not offered is a perfect time to endeavor more deeply in the application of your current PACT knowledge and abilities. As a Level 2 alum, continue to actively practice, apply, and expand what you have learned in Levels 1 and 2 to prepare for taking PACT Level 3. 

We want nothing more than for you to enter Level 3 successfully and complete Level 3 successfully. We believe in setting you up for success and helping you set your couple clients up for success.

That’s why the PACT Institute offers many ongoing opportunities that are designed to support your growth as a clinician and will help you advance and prepare for the rigors of Level 3. 

• Become a PACT+ Member. Through PACT+, you’ll have multiple opportunities every month for learning and expanding your skills as a PACT therapist. Take advantage of all that PACT+ offers to ensure your connection and growth as a practicing PACT therapist. You’ll also gain confidence as you integrate new clinical skills into your practice.
• Participate in Advanced Casework with Stan. Actively attending Advanced Casework Groups with Stan is one of the best ways to deepen your understanding and practice of PACT. When you feel ready to present a case to your peers, we even have a template to help you to prepare your case study for discussion and analysis. 
• Become a Coach. Once you have attended multiple Level 1 or 2 clinical trainings, roll up your sleeves and experience what it’s like to be a PACT coach. Peer coaching helps you deepen your understanding of PACT also.
• Answer chat questions during live clinical trainings.
• Head into breakout rooms with new students, and give students feedback on their role play, much like a teacher’s assistant.
• If you’re interested in becoming a PACT coach, reach out to your PACT training operations manager: [email protected].
• Retake Level 2. “I need to spend more time with the material” is a common refrain we hear from recent Level 2 alumni.  Indeed, Level 2 training is so packed with rich content that clinicians report that they get more out of the course each time they take it. It’s true. Your most successful Level 3 colleagues have taken Level 2 several times to solidify their learning and incorporate it into practice. The PACT Institute offers a 15 percent discount on Level 2 when you take it more than once.
• Dig into those Level 3 Requirements. PACT has many Level 3 requirements. Have you taken a look at the list? For example, did you know that you need 3 years as a PACT therapist and need to have treated 30 couples with PACT techniques to qualify? 

With Level 3 requirements like these in mind, we encourage you to develop a strategy and a timeline to tackle the application checklist. Sign up for the Level 3 interest list, and we will help you use the year ahead to prepare and qualify for acceptance into the program.

• Write a PACT blog. Writing can help you reflect on a specific couple challenge that you have success addressing and how PACT helps in the process as you help others. Publishing also can help you promote your expertise. Start brainstorming ideas, and contact [email protected] for our writers’ guidelines.

At the end of PACT Level 3 Training, participants will be able to:

1. Assess issues related to sex and intimacy
2. Plan and propose treatment for issues related to sex and intimacy
3. Evaluate issues related to various behavioral and chemical addictions as a mismanaged third
4. Manage issues related to various behavioral and chemical addictions as a mismanaged third
5. Appraise gender-related issues
6. Adapt treatment to the needs of gender-related issues
7. Distinguish the different needs of various cultures
8. Adapt treatment to the needs of various cultures
9. Assess the needs of various alternative relationships (e.g. polyamory)
10. Organize treatment based on the needs of various alternative relationships (e.g. polyamory)
11. Demonstrate a basic understanding of neuropsychological deficits, to assess and make appropriate referrals
12. Demonstrate the ability to teach PACT theory
13. Demonstrate the ability to teach PACT techniques
14. Demonstrate competency in case conceptualization
15. Devise treatment plans using PACT principles
16. Assess for acting out behaviors
17. Formulate and apply appropriate interventions for acting out behaviors
18. Evaluate and support insufficient therapeutic alliance
19. Establish and support a therapeutic frame
20. Analyze video recording and playback for therapeutic purposes
21. Demonstrate self-regulatory skills
22. Demonstrate recovery under stressful conditions
23. Evaluate the needs of couples/partners with disorganization or personality disorders
24. Formulate a treatment plan for couples/partners with disorganization or personality disorders
25. Demonstrate appropriate interventions for couples/partners with disorganization or personality disorders
26. Differentiate between defensive structures
27. Manage defensive structures in treatment
28. Interpret countertransference 
29. Utilize transference and countertransference material
30. Interpret projective identification
31. Manage projective identification

Level 3 Terms of Service.