Gottman Method Couples Therapy
The Gottman Method runs on four decades of research — thousands of couples studied in enough detail that the patterns that predict decline are identified, named, and — more usefully — workable.
We use Gottman structure because couples deserve a method with an evidence trail — and because it gives two people a shared, non-blaming language for what's actually happening between them.
What the method looks at
- The Four Horsemen — criticism, contempt, defensiveness, stonewalling — and their researched antidotes
- Repair: the make-or-break skill of recovering mid-conflict
- The friendship system: turning toward each other in small moments
- Love maps: how well you actually know each other's current inner world
- Perpetual problems — Gottman's research found most relationship conflict is perpetual rather than solvable, and strong couples learn to hold it
- Shared meaning: what the relationship is for
How it works here
Couples work begins with structured assessment — together, individually, and via the method's questionnaires — producing an honest map of strengths and fault lines. Then sessions target the specific systems that need rebuilding, with practice that continues at home.
Where intimacy and desire are part of the picture — and they usually are — doctorate-level sex therapy is in the same room, so the conversation doesn't stop at the bedroom door.
Practical details
Couples sessions are 55 minutes, $215 with sliding scale from $150–194, downtown or via telehealth. See the couples therapy page for the fuller picture of how we work with pairs.
Common questions
Ready to begin?
The 15-minute consult is where most people begin.