John Gardner, MA, LMFT

He/him

“Going back to childhood, one of the things I’ve always thought was important was to be able to listen. If I can listen deeply enough to someone, I can get where they are, where they live, where they’re coming from. That alliance has always been the most important thing to me. If I don’t have that, I don’t have anything.”

John’s manner is understated and self-effacing, but his sharp wit shines forth after a few minutes’ conversation. What may take longer to reveal is the breadth of his knowledge and the depth of his commitment to the people he works with. John is not just talk. In his own quiet, understated way, he puts his money where his mouth is and is a fierce advocate for the power of commitment. Combining over 30 years of experience helping families and couples. In his personal life, John and his wife have raised six children, four adopted, and fostered 50 children. He has personal insight into how to make unorthodox families work and feels a lot of supposed children’s problems are to a large extent couples’ problems.

Services Offered: Couples therapy at NCCT home office and online couples therapy with couples that are residents of MA and international couples. Private intensive marriage retreats at NCCT and in Boston, NYC and LA.

Ask me about: My family

Ever since I was young, I’ve been: Reading, loving the outdoors, hanging out with different types of people.

My favorite quote: “You can be right or you can be married; but you can’t do both.” —  John Gottman

Favorite kind of couple: Couples who want to work hard to heal – regardless of the level of distress they are in

Credentials

John is the senior clinician at NCCT, first hired at its founding in 2010.
LMFT – University of Connecticut, School of Family Studies
Gottman Method Therapy – Level I and II
Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy – Certification Eligible
Pragmatic Experiential Couples Therapy – trained by Brent Atkinson
Additional Training in: Discernment Counseling
PACT Level I Therapist