The Gottman method can be used as an effective treatment to improve marital relationships, adjustment, and intimacy.
One of the major tenets of the Gottman Method is that couples require five times more positive interactions than negative, as negative emotions, like defensiveness and contempt, hurt a relationship more than positive ones heal. As a result, the therapy focuses on developing the skills and understanding necessary for partners to maintain fondness and admiration, turn toward each other to get their needs met, and manage conflict. It also focuses on how couples can react and repair relations when they do hurt each other.