Gottman Method Couples Therapy in Baltimore
Research-Based Support to Strengthen Your Relationship
When conflict feels constant, communication has broken down, or emotional connection has faded, many couples reach a point where they need practical skills and a research-based approach to create lasting change.
The Gottman Method for Healthy Relationships is a form of couples therapy that derives from decades of relationship research by psychologist John Gottman and Julie Gottman. The Gottman Method is built on scientific observation into how couples interact and what patterns lead to relationship problems or success. The Gottman Method teaches couples to use techniques that happy, stable, long-term couples have used successfully.
At the Baltimore Therapy Group, our couples therapy and marriage counseling services are provided by Gottman trained therapists who use evidence-based couples therapy using the Gottman Method. The Gottman Method helps couples rebuild trust, deepen intimacy, and communicate in ways that actually work.
Baltimore Therapy Group Accepting New Patients
Meet the Baltimore Therapy Group's
Gottman Couples Therapy Specialists
Andrea Castelhano, PsyD
LIcensed Psychologist
Gottman Therapist in Baltimore
Andrea is a Gottman trained therapist who works with couples to strengthen emotional connection. She uses the Gottman Method to help couples understand how individual struggles create disconnection between partners and teaches them to become sources of comfort for each other.
Cassandra Ekstrom, LCSW-C
Licensed social Worker
Gottman Therapist in Baltimore
Cassie is a Gottman trained therapist who works with couples struggling with communication breakdowns and conflicts. She brings a direct approach to helping couples therapy clients access deeper feelings driving conflicts. Cassie uses the Gottman Method to help partners stay emotionally connected.
Elise Swanekamp, LGPC
Licensed counselor
Gottman Therapist in Baltimore
Elise is a Gottman trained therapist who works with couples experiencing communication difficulties. She uses the Gottman Method to help partners understand attachment fears and unmet needs driving reactive patterns while guiding them toward expressing vulnerability.
Zak Fusciello, LCPC
licensed counselor
Gottman Therapist in Baltimore
Zak is a Gottman trained therapist who works with couples experiencing conflict and disconnection. His warm style helps partners take emotional risks. Zak uses Gottman Method principles to help couples understand attachment fears driving reactive patterns and develop new habits of connection.
What is the Gottman Method?
The Gottman Method was created by Drs. John and Julie Gottman, co-founders of The Gottman Institute in Seattle. John Gottman is an American psychologist known for his research on divorce prediction and marital stability. Through decades of research in the "Love Lab," Gottman analyzed how couples interact to understand what contributes to relationship success.
Gottman has published over 190 papers and authored 40 books on relationship science, including work on why couples divorce and how to prevent it. His research forms the foundation of the Gottman Method, making it the "Gold Standard" in couples therapy because it is strengths-based, research-driven, and practical.
The Gottman Method is a broad-based treatment serving all couples, at any age, and in any stage of relationship. The approach focuses on developing skills for partners to maintain fondness and admiration, turn toward each other, and manage conflict constructively.
The Sound Relationship House
The Gottman Method is based on the Sound Relationship House theory, which includes nine components:
Build Love Maps: Understanding your partner's inner world. Love Maps help partners stay connected to each other's psychological world.
Share Fondness and Admiration: Expressing appreciation and respect.
Turn Toward: Responding positively to bids for connection.
The Positive Perspective: Maintaining a favorable view of your partner.
Manage Conflict: Learning practical skills to handle disagreements constructively.
Make Life Dreams Come True: Supporting each other's goals.
Create Shared Meaning: Developing shared values and rituals that give deeper meaning.
Trust and Commitment: Building reliability and choosing your relationship.
The Gottman Method Assessment Process
A Gottman trained therapist begins couples therapy with a structured assessment. The Gottman Method assessment process consists of three sessions lasting approximately four hours total.
Session 1: Couples meet together to share what brings them to therapy and discuss a common disagreement. The therapist observes communication patterns.
Session 2: The therapist meets separately with each partner to understand individual perspectives and how backgrounds influence the relationship.
Session 3: The therapist shares assessment results and discusses potential goals, creating a treatment plan.
The assessment includes questionnaires using Affective Software, similar to what you would experience inside a Gottman couples therapy session at our practice. The Gottman Method emphasizes that therapy sessions are conducted with both partners together, and therapists do not keep secrets.
Key Gottman Method Principles
“The Gottman Method is applicable to couples at any stage of relationship, regardless of background or issues. Whether you’re newlyweds, parents maintaining connection while raising children, or long-term partners stuck in negative patterns, the Gottman Method provides a framework. The assessment and treatment plan are tailored to each couple’s challenges. Gottman Method couples therapy requires commitment and work, but the practical skills become tools you’ll use throughout your relationship.”
The Magic Ratio
Gottman's research indicates successful relationships require five positive interactions for every negative one. The Magic Ratio means ensuring positive moments far outweigh negative ones.
The Four Horsemen
The Gottman Method identifies four destructive communication patterns: Criticism, Defensiveness, Contempt, and Stonewalling. Gottman trained therapists help couples recognize and change these patterns.
Softened Startups
The method promotes using softened startups to approach discussions gently, a key theme in our writing on what happens in couples therapy sessions. How you begin a conversation determines how it ends.
Repair Attempts
The Gottman Method provides tools for repairing damage from disagreements, reducing resentment and illustrating what to expect from marriage counseling when working on your relationship.
Turning Toward Bids
Turning Toward Instead of Away teaches couples to respond positively to small daily bids for connection.
Gottman Method Techniques
Gottman trained therapists teach specific techniques:
Active Listening: Nodding, affirming, and paraphrasing to make partners feel heard.
Effective Communication: Expressing feelings without blame (using “I statements”), reducing defensiveness.
Stress-Reducing Conversations: Discussing external stressors without solving relationship issues, promoting empathy.
Building Love Maps: Understanding each other's inner worlds.
Rituals of Connection: Establishing regular moments that strengthen connection.
The Gottman Method teaches couples to listen with empathy and speak with clarity. These practical skills couples can practice between sessions gradually create new patterns.
Getting Started with Gottman Method Couples Therapy
“The Gottman Method stands apart because it’s built on over 40 years of research into what actually works. This research revealed that successful relationships require a ratio of five positive interactions for every negative interaction such as criticism, defensiveness, contempt, and stonewalling, what Gottman calls “The Four Horsemen.” Gottman trained therapists teach techniques that research has shown help couples strengthen friendship and manage conflict constructively.”
At the Baltimore Therapy Group, our Gottman trained therapists provide couples counseling in Baltimore, MD using the research-based Gottman Method. Located in Towson, Maryland, we serve couples with both in-person therapy and online options, including online premarital counseling using the Gottman Relationship Checkup.
When you contact us for Gottman Method couples therapy, we'll schedule your assessment. The assessment gives your therapist comprehensive understanding of your relationship dynamics. Together, you'll create a treatment plan focused on building skills necessary for healthy relationships.
The Gottman Method helps couples rebuild trust, improve communication, manage conflict, and create deeper intimacy and shared meaning. Couples therapy provides a safe space for partners to express feelings and understand perspectives. Our Gottman trained therapists support couples in creating stronger, more connected relationships.