Keys to Successful Marriage According to John Gottman
The Gottman Institute, headed by the highly influential psychotherapists Drs. John and Julie Schwartz-Gottman, provides practical, research-based tools to strengthen romantic relationships. The Gottman Method is a valued training method. Gottman certified mental health professionals provide couples therapy, treat couples in a novel way by identifying key relationship practices that couples can introduce and avoid in their marriages to ensure healthy, long-lasting relationships. These trained therapists aim to help couples build stronger relationships overall and balanced ways to cope with conflict.
Gottman Communication Styles
The Gottman ideology focuses on four types of communication styles that can disrupt healthy and stable relationships. The first step in working on your relationship is identifying these four communication patterns. After the negative communication style is identified, it is important for you to learn how to eliminate it, and then replace it with respectful and productive communications. This guarantees a successful long-term relationship.
The Four Horsemen
Gottman refers to these four negative communication styles as “The Four Horsemen”. The “Four Horsemen” include criticism, contempt, stonewalling, and defensiveness. According to Gottman research, couples who communicate with criticism, contempt, stonewalling and defensiveness regularly, are more likely to separate.
Criticism
Criticism can be problematic in relationships. When it becomes pervasive, criticism can be viewed as an attack on the partner’s character. Resulting in the victim of the criticism feeling rejected and hurt. Often causing the perpetrator and victim to fall into an escalating pattern where the criticism reappears with greater frequency. Which in turn leads to contempt – the second of the “four horsemen”.
Contempt
Contempt is an issue when one partner treats the other with disrespect, such as mocking, sarcasm and ridicule. This makes the victim of the contempt to feel worthless and undesirable, resulting in long-standing feelings of negativity between couples. Moreover, according to Gottman theorists, contempt is the single greatest predictor of divorce!
Defensiveness
Defensiveness is the result to response to criticism and feeling that a partner is being unjustly accused. While defensiveness is commonly used as an emotional response when feeling stressed and attacked, it’s also important to remember that defensiveness typically escalates the conflict. For instance, a better suggested approach is to take a non-defensive stance, express acceptance of accountability and understanding of your partner’s perspective.
Stonewalling
Stonewalling results from a response to contempt. This occurs when one partner essentially “shuts down” and simply stops responding to their partner. This type of communication style is particularly hurtful and problematic because it does not confront the presenting issues in a relationship. However, stonewalling only amplifies negativity between partners. Gottman therapists believe that it takes time for the negativity created by the first three “horseman” to become overwhelming enough that stonewalling becomes an issue. Once this appears, stonewalling results in bad habits that are destructive to relationships.
Gottman Referral Network
Marriages and relationships, in general, take work but it’s never too late to get help. Moreover, Gottman trained therapists are all over the country and ready to help you reignite the spark with your special someone.
The Gottman Referral Network is the primary resource for couples worldwide who are seeking professional help from Gottman-trained therapists. You can locate a Gottman Professional near you here.
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