Training & Method
Gottman Method Coaching
More than three decades of research with over 3,000 couples, turned into a structured, research-based approach — not guesswork, not generic advice, but what’s actually been proven to help relationships last.
I’m a coach, not a therapist. Gottman Method Couples Therapy is the clinical name for this method — I’ve bbem trained and certified through Levels I, II, and III and bring its research-based tools directly into my coaching work with couples.
The Research
What Gottman Method Couples Therapy Actually Does
Gottman Method Couples Therapy is structured, goal-oriented, and grounded in empirical data — not opinion. It’s built from Dr. John Gottman’s three decades of research with more than 3,000 couples, showing what genuinely helps a relationship succeed, not what sounds good in theory.
In practice, it helps couples increase respect, affection, and closeness; break through conflict when they feel stuck; build real understanding between partners; and keep hard conversations calm instead of explosive.
The Framework
The Sound Relationship House
Seven components that research shows genuinely healthy relationships build together — not abstract ideas, but things I watch couples practice, session by session.
Build Love Maps
How well do you actually know your partner’s inner world — their history, current stresses, hopes, and fears?
In session: I’ll ask, “What is your spouse most worried about this month?” — and watch what happens when neither of you has a real answer yet.
Share Fondness and Admiration
The antidote to contempt — how much genuine affection and respect is actually present and spoken out loud.
In session: couples practice saying one specific thing they admire about the other, out loud, in real time — not “you’re great,” but something true and specific.
Turn Toward, Not Away
Noticing and responding to your partner’s small bids for connection — a comment, a sigh, a glance — instead of missing them.
In session: we slow down a real moment from your week where a bid was missed, and practice what turning toward it would have looked like.
The Positive Perspective
Whether you’re approaching problems assuming good faith — and whether repair attempts actually land when offered.
In session: I watch how a couple repairs mid-argument — a joke, a touch, an “let me try that again” — and help you learn to actually receive it.
Manage Conflict
We say “manage,” not “resolve” — conflict is natural. The real skill is knowing the difference between a solvable problem and a perpetual one.
In session: we sort your recurring fights into “this can actually be solved” versus “this is a perpetual difference we need to learn to live with, gently.”
Make Life Dreams Come True
Creating real space for each of you to talk honestly about your hopes, values, and aspirations — without one always overriding the other.
In session: couples often discover a dream they’ve never actually said out loud to each other, even after years of marriage.
Create Shared Meaning
The visions, rituals, and stories that make your relationship uniquely yours — the “why” underneath the daily logistics.
In session: we build language for what your marriage actually stands for, beyond just managing a household together.
Trust
The felt sense that your partner acts to maximize your wellbeing, not just their own — that they genuinely have your back.
Commitment
Believing, and acting on the belief, that this relationship is your lifelong journey — for better or for worse, meaning you’ll both work to improve it, not walk away from it.
See This Work in Practice
This research shapes everything I do — from a single Fresh Start day to the full Turning Point intensive.