Los Angeles PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

Dr. Tatkin received his early training in developmental object relations (Masterson Institute), Gestalt, psychodrama, and family systems theory. His private practice specialized for some time in the treatment of adolescents and adults with personality disorders. Over the last decade, his interests branched out toward psycho-neurobiological theories of human relationship, integrating principles of early mother-infant attachment with adult romantic relationships. He speaks to professional audiences on subjects of couples therapy and preventative psychotherapy through early intervention with infants, children and their parents. He has published several articles on the psychobiology of couples' therapy and is currently training therapists on his unique approach to couples work using attachment theory, neuroscience, and principles of arousal and affect regulation.

Dr. Tatkin was a primary inpatient group therapist at the John Bradshaw Center where, among other things, he taught Mindfulness to patients and staff. He was trained in Vipassana meditation by Shinzen Young, Ph.D., and was an experienced facilitator in Vipassana. He was also trained by David Reynolds, Ph.D., in two Japanese forms of psychotherapy, Morita and Naikan.

Dr. Tatkin was clinical director of Charter Hospital's intensive outpatient drug and alcohol program, and is a former president of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, Ventura County chapter.

In addition to his private practice, he teaches and supervises first through third-year family medicine residents at Kaiser Permanente, Woodland Hills, through which he is an assistant clinical professor at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine. He is also adjunct faculty for Antioch University, Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, and California Lutheran University. 

Dr. Tatkin is a veteran member of Allan N. Schore's study group. He has trained in the Adult Attachment Interview through Mary Main and Erik Hesse's program out of University of California, Berkeley. He is a contributing editor on a book with Allan Schore entitled, Reader's Guide to Intersubjective Neurobiology, for W.W. Norton & Company and his new book, Love and War in Intimate Relationships: A Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy with Marion Solomon for Norton's Interpersonal Neurobiology Series is due April 2010.

Dr. Tatkin's next book, Neurobiology of Love: An Insider's Guide to Your Partner, will appear Valentines Day 2012 through New Harbinger.