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Monday 9am - 9pm Tuesday 9am - 9pm Wednesday 9am - 9pm Thursday 9am - 9pm Friday 9am - 9pm Saturday 9am - 9pm

Principle Skills Relationship Center

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United States
Colorado Springs, CO
Principle Skills Relationship Center

Gottman training for professionals • Certification mentoring • Couples therapy & intensives • Betrayal trauma, addiction, and Couples On The Brink”specialists

Principle Skills Relationship Center is one of the few therapy practices in Colorado that specializes in treating couples with The Gottman Method, which is based on extensive research and data on relationships. Our therapists integrate the Method with other therapeutic approaches. We provide individual, couples and family counseling for a range of issues:
- Trauma
- Addiction
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Trauma
- Betrayal
- Life Transitions
- Emotional/Sexual Betrayals
- Pornography-related problems
- Sexual Compulsions
- Substance Abuse
- Disabilities & Medical Conditions
- Divorce & Separation

We were the first group to offer The Gottman Institute’s couples and parenting workshops to families in Colorado and Hawaii. We also train healthcare professionals in The Gottman Method and other continuing education courses in Colorado and Hawaii.

03/19/2026

Defensiveness ruins more conversations than you think.

Fix it here: https://principleskills.com/

03/08/2026

Clinically, relational stability is predicted by interactional patterns over time rather than the strength of initial attachment.

Ongoing responsiveness, repair, and emotional attunement are stronger indicators of durability than verbal commitment alone.

This framework helps couples shift from intention to sustained relational practice.

03/06/2026

In couples therapy, validation is a foundational intervention.

Helping partners reflect understanding without requiring agreement lowers defensiveness and supports emotional regulation.

Once individuals feel understood, the nervous system settles, making repair and collaboration possible.

03/04/2026

From a clinical standpoint, therapy is a space for skill development, not just symptom correction.

Clients build emotional regulation, insight, and adaptive relational patterns that support long-term stability across life stages.

Normalizing therapy as growth-oriented reduces stigma and increases access to care.

03/02/2026

Many couples — and even clinicians — use the terms high conflict and abuse interchangeably.
But they are not the same.

And the difference determines safety, treatment planning, and outcomes.
High conflict involves escalation cycles, reactivity, and breakdowns in repair.

Abuse involves coercive control, intimidation, and patterns of harm.
Mislabeling either one can lead to ineffective interventions — or worse, unsafe therapy environments.

In this article, Caralee Frederic, LCSW, breaks down:
-The clinical differences
-What Gottman research clarifies
-How therapists can assess properly
-Why precise language protects clients

Read the full article here: https://principleskills.com/high-conflict-vs-abuse-in-relationships-how-to-tell-the-difference-and-why-it-matters/

03/01/2026

In therapy, many clients equate relationship outcomes with personal worth, which often intensifies shame and self-blame.

From an attachment-informed view, relationship success depends on compatibility, emotional capacity, and relational skills — not inherent value.

Healthy partnerships are sustained through safety, repair, and availability over time.

02/27/2026

Commitment shows up most clearly in how partners behave under stress — not in what they promise when things are easy.

The way partners repair, stay emotionally present, and show up when things are hard reveals whether a relationship can feel secure.

Security grows through consistency.

02/26/2026

From a therapy perspective, intimacy is an outcome of sustained emotional engagement, not conflict avoidance.

We often help couples shift from reactive exchanges to curious dialogue, where listening replaces defense and meaning is co-constructed.

These conversations allow partners to feel known at a deeper level, which strengthens emotional bonding over time.

02/23/2026

In clinical work, relationship distress rarely comes from difference itself, but from how difference is managed.

Differences challenge emotional regulation and reveal each partner’s capacity for curiosity rather than defensiveness. When couples learn to tolerate and explore differences, flexibility increases and polarization decreases.
Therapeutically, this becomes a key site for growth rather than rupture.

02/22/2026

From a therapeutic lens, early-stage relationships are less about chemistry and more about the formation of emotional safety.

Clinically, we assess how partners respond to bids for connection, manage early conflict, and attempt repair. These micro-patterns quietly establish whether trust can develop long term.

When challenges arise — emotional, relational, financial, or intimate — it’s the foundation of emotional safety built early that sustains the bond.

02/21/2026

Working with couples can feel clinically demanding in ways grad school never prepared you for.

• You’re tracking two emotional systems.
• Two histories.
• Two competing realities — in real time.

Small missteps can shift alignment, Moments escalate quickly and Progress can stall without clarity.

Couples therapy requires deliberate structure — not just strong therapeutic presence.

Our live training events are designed for clinicians who want:
• A clear roadmap from assessment to intervention
• Greater confidence in high-intensity sessions
• Stronger therapeutic leadership in the room

If you want more clarity and direction in your couples work:

👉 Explore upcoming events and register here:
https://principleskills.com/event/

Limited spots available.

Address

7710 N Union Boulevard #202
Colorado Springs, CO
80920

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 9pm
Tuesday	9am - 9pm
Wednesday	9am - 9pm
Thursday	9am - 9pm
Friday	9am - 9pm
Saturday	9am - 9pm

Telephone

+17194947412

Website

http://www.principleskills.com/

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Our Story

Caralee presents The Gottman Institute's couples weekend workshop, The Art and Science of Love. She completed a lengthy and rigorous training program to earn her credential as a Certified Gottman Therapist and a Certified Gottman Levels 1 and 2 Trainer. Caralee was the first Certified Gottman Therapist to open the “Art & Science of Love” couples workshop to the public in Colorado, hosting the first event in the Spring of 2015. Caralee's practice, Principle Skills Relationship Center, operates in Colorado Springs and she presents her couples workshops in various beautiful Colorado locations. She also provides trainings for Gottman Couples Therapy Levels 1 and 2. Caralee is also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has operated a private practice since 2009. As a marriage and couples therapist/counselor, Caralee has experience helping people who deal with issues such as depression, addiction and betrayal. Caralee is also a certified Sexual Addiction Recovery Therapist. Her credentials, plus her wealth of experience, allows her to effectively and compassionately help couples strengthen their relationships.