The Goals of Relationship Counselling
We have developed our counselling approach around the research of Dr. John Gottman, Ph.D. World-renowned for his work on marital stability and divorce prediction, John Gottman has conducted 40 years of breakthrough research with thousands of couples. His work on marriage and parenting has earned him numerous major awards
Our goals for relationship counselling are based on Gottman Method Couples Therapy and the work of Drs. John and Julie Gottman. Dr. John Gottman was one of the Top 10 Most Influential Therapists of the past quarter-century by the Psychotherapy Networker. He is the author or co-author of over 200 published academic articles and more than 50 books, including the 2024 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Fight Right: How Successful Couples Turn Conflict into Connection, and others such as the bestselling The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work; What Makes Love Last; Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love; The Relationship Cure; Why Marriages Succeed or Fail; and Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child — among many others. Dr. Gottman’s media appearances include Good Morning America, Today, CBS Morning News, and Oprah, as well articles in The New York Times, Ladies Home Journal, Redbook, Glamour, Woman’s Day, People, Self, Reader’s Digest, and Psychology Today.
Topics will include:
- Understanding personality differences
- How to build passion and love back into the relationship
- How to solve or dialogue effectively about any issue you face
- Learning about love languages and how to discover yours
- How to process failed bids for connection
- Building a shared meaning system that propels you into a more fulfilling future.
You will be expected to:
Inform your Therapist if you are not understanding something or if he/she is missing something
Do weekly homework
Participate fully in all appointments
Commit to having a better relationship
You Will Learn:
How to develop and create a shared system of values and meanings
How your personality styles affect your relationship and what to do about it simple negotiation techniques
How to identify and find antidotes for the “Four Horsemen”: Contempt, Criticism, Defensiveness, and Stonewalling
About your “Friendship Profile”, the “Conflict Profile”, and the “Shared Meanings Profile”
How to resolve the “physiological flooding” and anxious feelings that accompany many relationships
To successfully dialogue about grid-locked conflicts
To establish six social skills necessary for effective conflict resolution
To love unconditionally with no strings attached
Stages of forgiveness and how to apologize and mean it
How to deepen “the friendship System”
If you are ready to undertake these expectations and would like to see the above tools and principles developed in your relationship, call us at 604-539-5277 to set up a counselling session.
Don’t live in our area? We can still help — see our page on marathon counselling sessions and call us today for further information. We also offer professional advice and guidance on dealing with affairs, depression, addiction, trauma and violent behaviour.