What to Expect from Your Gottman Method Couples' Therapy

The Gottman Method is based on more than 30 years of research with thousands of real couples. We teach you to do what successful couples do.

Ongoing Therapy (70 minutes)

What makes Gottman therapy special is that you talk directly to your partner, after three sessions of research-based evaluation. Every session is a chance for you to safely explore what’s on your mind, learn new approaches and release long-stored tension. Ongoing sessions are 70 minutes, 1.5 times the length of a standard session, and the first three evaluation sessions are 90 minutes.

You’ll talk to your partner and tell each other things that you haven’t been able to say. Your partner will be learning to be a better friend and ally to you, asking you questions to guide you in telling them what you want them to know. I will coach you how to make these conversations lead to emotional connection. I will interrupt negative patterns that the research shows do not work for couples. From time to time, you may get to watch yourselves on video to help you and your partner literally see what’s going on in the relationship.

Why waste time repeating the same patterns in therapy when you can learn the best practices of happy, successful couples? Through this process, your body may relax and you may grow in empathy and understanding for one another. From there, anything’s possible.

Therapy begins with three sessions of evaluation based on Gottman’s research. Please take a moment to read here to learn about the evaluation sessions.

Please call Center for Stress Reduction at (510) 594-8224 to schedule your first appointment and get thoughtful answers to any questions you may have. You can also visit the Hours & Contact page for directions and additional details.