Certified Gottman Method Therapist
What is the Gottman Method Couples Therapy?
The Gottman Method to Couples Therapy aims to disarm verbal conflict; enhance respect, appreciation and affection; increase empathy and understanding between the couple: and ultimately deepen their emotional connection. It utilises research-based interventions which couples will be invited to learn as relational skills. Couples therapy using the Gottman Method starts with an assessment, which begins with a joint session between the couple and the therapist.
The empirical basis to the Gottman Method has been established and you can read it here:https://www.gottman.com/about/research/faq/
Goals and Principles of the Gottman Method
The primary aim of the Gottman Method Couples Therapy is to disarm conflicting verbal communication, to increase intimacy, respect and affection, to remove the barriers that cause gridlocks in conflicting situations and to create a heightened sense of empathy and understanding within the context of the relationship.
Gottman Method Couples Therapy is a couples therapy and marriage counseling approach that our team uses with the vast majority of couples that walk through the door.
The Gottman Method Couples Therapy and marriage counselling begins with a comprehensive in-depth assessment of the relationship, which explores three profiles in every relationship – the friendship profile, the conflict profile and the shared meanings profile. Based on the outcome of this assessment which comprises a questionnaire followed by one to two interviews, interventions tailored to the couple’s profiles will be developed and explored.
With regards to conflict, couples will be shown how to discern between perpetual issues and solvable problems, how to adopt a gentle startup in their approach to conflict and for men to accept their partners’ influence balanced by how women respond in return. It is also important to learn about repair and recovery conversations and about creating a dialogue instead of a gridlock over perpetual issues.
