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
Elise Swanekamp, LGPC
Workplace Stress & Burnout counselor
Licensed counselor in Baltimore
Elise works with individuals experiencing work stress, burnout, and struggles with work-life balance. She uses a collaborative approach that helps clients make value-driven decisions about careers and set boundaries that protect well-being. Elise helps clients who tend toward avoidance when overwhelmed.
Cassandra Ekstrom, LCSW-C
Workplace Stress & Burnout therapist
Licensed Social Worker in Baltimore
Cassie works with individuals struggling with work burnout, stress, depression, and anxiety. She brings a direct approach that helps clients identify concrete steps forward. Cassie helps clients see connections between burnout and other life challenges and address the whole picture.
Elise Swanekamp, LGPC
Workplace Stress & Burnout counselor
Licensed counselor in Baltimore
Elise works with individuals experiencing work stress, burnout, and struggles with work-life balance. She uses a collaborative approach that helps clients make value-driven decisions about careers and set boundaries that protect well-being. Elise helps clients who tend toward avoidance when overwhelmed.
Andrea Castelhano, PsyD
Workplace Stress & Burnout therapist
Licensed Psychologist in Baltimore
Andrea works with individuals struggling with work burnout, particularly burnout related to perfectionism and cultural stress. She helps clients whose burnout is compounded by workplace discrimination or imposter syndrome. Andrea helps challenge unrealistic standards that contribute to exhaustion while developing healthier boundaries.
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
“Burnout Isn’t a Personal Failure — You might believe that if you were more resilient or had stronger work ethic, you wouldn’t be struggling. The truth is that burnout often stems from feeling overworked and undervalued—systemic workplace issues, not personal weakness. Chronic stress from excessive work demands, little or no control over job tasks, or a hostile work environment creates conditions where anyone will eventually burn out. Seeking help from a mental health professional is not admission of failure. Employee assistance programs exist because employers recognize workplace stress is a real occupational phenomenon affecting employee health. You’re not weak for struggling with burnout; you’re human.”
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.
Using "I" Statements: Expressing feelings without blame, 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
“Burnout is a gradual process, and recovery is too. Small, consistent changes—better sleep habits, regular physical activity, clear boundaries, social support—gradually rebuild resilience and energy levels. The goal isn’t to power through burnout. Burnout affects physical and mental health in ways requiring active intervention. Whether that’s therapy, boundary changes, workplace accommodations, or ultimately finding a different job, addressing burnout is essential for your long-term health and well-being.”
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.
Schedule with Us or learn more about how to schedule therapy in Baltimore.