What is Gottman Method Couples Therapy?

What is Gottman Method Couples Therapy?

Gottman Method Couples Therapy is a form of couple therapy, sometimes called relational therapy of marriage therapy (although you don’t need to be married) which combines more than three decades of Gottman research and clinical practice.

Through research-based interventions and exercises, Gottman Therapy helps couples break through barriers to achieve “greater understanding, connection and intimacy” in their relationships. 

This form of therapy is a structured, goal-oriented, scientifically-based. Intervention strategies are based upon empirical data from Dr. Gottman’s three decades of research with more than 3,000 couples. This research shows us what actually works to help couples achieve a long-term healthy relationship, and what doesn’t (which includes some things we have previously suggested). Gottman Method Couples Therapy was developed out of this research to help couples to do four things:

• Increase respect, affection, and closeness 
• Break through and resolve conflict when they feel stuck
• Generate greater understanding between partners 
• And keep conflict discussions calm 

After becoming a licensed and registered Marriage and Family Therapist I started training in the Gottman method.  Gottman based Couple’s Therapy is now my first recommendation whenever it is an appropriate method. There are times couples may need individual therapy to augment couple therapy, or may need to address specific behavioural or mental health needs. But Gottman Couple Therapy provides an excellent scaffold around which to build an individualized approach to therapy.

Gottman therapy – couple therapy, marriage therapy, family therapy, “plays well” with other techniques, but for the most part addresses most areas of concern a couple may have. Couples come to therapy and can additionally make use of Dr. Gottman’s books, manuals and training DVD’s. If you are considering seeing a marriage and family therapist I would suggest you visit Dr. Gottman’s website, or the Gottman Institute’s YouTube channel and start by looking at the video’s there. It’s a good place to make a start, and make a decision on what kind of therapy would be best for you.

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This post is not meant to provide medical or psychological diagnosis. If you are suffering from symptoms that cause you distress, see your medical doctor or psychologist for help.

More information can be found about my services, which include individual therapy, couples counselling, comprehensive assessments for the diagnosis of ADHD, Learning Disorders, Aspergers and Autism Spectrum Disorder at my web site: www.relatedminds.com

Others sites include:

 http://therapists.psychologytoday.com/rms/70682
 http://psychologists.bc.ca/users/jimroche
 http://psyris.com/drjimroche

 http://www.actcommunity.net/jim-roche.html

Offices are located in Burnaby (serving Coquitlam, New Westminster, Maple Ridge and Surrey) as well as in Vancouver. Call 778.998-7975 for more information.