About Us

The World No.1 Parent Education Program Spread 53 Countries Globally

Gordon Parenting

The P.E.T. course is a 24-hour program and the schedule depends on the individual P.E.T. Instructor and participants. It is made up of 8 parts lasting 3 hours each and may be delivered over 3-4 full days or 5 half days spread over several weekends or weekdays. Another popular alternative is to deliver one 3- hour session per week over 8 weeks. The training is ideally done in a group setting but individual classes may be arranged. Group size varies but usually between 10-15 participants.
In Hong Kong, Macau and the Philippines, Gordon Parenting has a pool of trainers with diverse cultural and education backgrounds, which reflects the multi-cultural society that is present in those territories.
Gordon Parenting has a pool of certified instructors who are professionals, respected individuals and who are successful in their own respective fields (as counselors, coaches, teachers, educators, HR practitioners, social workers, entrepreneurs and passionate moms). They are real people and are role models who will share their knowledge and skills to parents. They conduct P.E.T. as certified instructors and draw learnings and experiences from their other professional and personal life.

55 years of the Gordon Method Parents Workshops are now distributed in over 53 countries, including Japan, Iceland, Egypt and South Africa. The following countries have recently joined the group: China, Greece, Maldives, Mexico, Lithuania, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan , Poland, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, Macau and The Philippines.

Gordon Training International USA

Gordon Training International (GTI) is the educational organization founded by Dr. Thomas Gordon . This entity provides educational materials and training focused on effective communication and building satisfying relationships. On the death of Thomas Gordon in 2002, Linda Adams, widow of Thomas Gordon and his partner for 35 years , became President. Gordon Training International is located in Solona Beach, near San Diego, USA .
GTI is the leading entity to which all Authorized Representatives around the world are affiliated. This organization ensures cohesion of all Gordon Workshops offered throughout the world – in content, pedagogy and philosophy.
In Hong Kong, Macau and the Philippines, Gordon Parenting is the exclusive holder of the Gordon license.

Key Numbers

6,000,000+

books sold
since 1962

53+

countries
spread with P.E.T

100+

professional P.E.T
instructor worldwide

3

Nobel Peace
Prizes Nominated

1,000,000+

parents trained
worldwide

100+

languages translated
over 9 books publishment

Dr. Thomas Gordon

Founder of Parent Effectiveness Training, Gordon Training International
Widely recognized as a pioneer in teaching communication skills and conflict resolution methods to parents, teachers, youth, organization managers and employees, Dr. Thomas Gordon was the founder of Gordon Training International. His Gordon Model concepts are now known world-wide.
A licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Gordon received his B.A. from DePauw University, his M.A. from Ohio State University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, where he served on the faculty for five years. From 1942-1946 he served in the Army Air Force.
He was the author of nine books: Group-Centered Leadership, Parent Effectiveness Training (P.E.T.), Leader Effectiveness Training (L.E.T.), Teacher Effectiveness Training (T.E.T.), Parent Effectiveness Training in Action, Discipline That Works, Sales Effectiveness Training (co-authored with Carl Zaiss), Making The Patient Your Partner (co-authored with W. Sterling Edwards, M.D.) and Good Relationships: What Makes Them, What Breaks Them (co-authored with Noel Burch). His books have been published in over 32 languages and over 7 million copies have been sold worldwide. (If you’d like an in-depth biography on Dr. Gordon, we offer an e-autobiography from our “Books” page.)
In addition, Dr. Gordon contributed over 50 published articles on organizational leadership, communications, counseling, discipline, parenting, conflict resolution and democratic decision-making.
The Parent Effectiveness Training (P.E.T.) program, which he introduced in 1962, is widely recognized as the first skill-based training program for parents. It spawned the widespread parent training movement in the U.S. and it has been taught to over a million parents in over 50 countries around the world.
The P.E.T. book was updated and revised in 2000. GTI has revised and updated the P.E.T. program and workshop materials periodically.
The Teacher Effectiveness Training (T.E.T.) program was introduced in 1965 in response to parents who wanted their children to be treated the same way at school as they were at home. T.E.T. has been taught as an accredited course to hundreds of thousands of teachers in the U.S. and in a number of foreign countries. The T.E.T. book was revised in 2003 and the T.E.T. workshop materials have been revised and updated a number of times.
The Leader Effectiveness Training (L.E.T.) program was introduced in 1957 and revised many times since then. L.E.T. has been taught in hundreds of corporations in the U.S. and worldwide, including many Fortune 500 companies [click here to see our list of our clients]. Dr. Gordon is recognized as a pioneer in developing a model of democratic and collaborative leadership and identifying the effective communication and conflict resolution skills required to implement it. The L.E.T. book was revised in 2001 in a 25th anniversary edition and is now in it’s 35th printing.