Gottman Method Couples Therapy in Colorado
Evidence-Based Couples Therapy
Couples Therapy Grounded in Decades of Relationship Research
You’ve had the same argument a hundred times. You know exactly how it starts, what your partner will say, and how it ends. What you don’t know is how to stop having it.
Gottman Method couples therapy draws on decades of research into how couples communicate, handle conflict, repair after arguments, and maintain strong relationships. At Evergreen Counseling and Wellness, we use that research to identify the patterns behind your arguments and teach you how to change them.
Instead of having the same fight again, you’ll learn how to bring up difficult subjects without criticism, respond without getting defensive, and work through disagreements without tearing each other down.
Build a Stronger Relationship From the Ground Up
Gottman Method couples therapy goes beyond talking about your problems. We work directly on the communication, friendship, trust, and intimacy that make a relationship strong.
Together, we’ll work to:
- Rebuild your friendship so you can laugh together, have fun, and feel like partners again.
- Improve communication so you can bring up what’s bothering you without criticism, defensiveness, or shutting down.
- Work through recurring conflict without having the same argument over and over or dragging up every mistake from the past.
- Rebuild trust so you can stop questioning your partner’s intentions and second-guessing everything they say.
- Restore emotional and physical intimacy so you can hug, kiss, and touch each other without feeling distant or uncomfortable.
- Create a shared future by getting on the same page about your priorities, goals, and the life you want together.
How We Use the Gottman Method With Couples
Gottman Method couples therapy begins with a thorough assessment of your relationship. We look at your friendship, communication, conflict, trust, and intimacy, along with the problems that brought you to therapy. This gives us a clear picture of your relationship and where to focus our work.
What we learn from your assessment shapes the work we do together, from the conversations we tackle to the skills we practice in your sessions.
You’ll spend time talking directly to each other, with your therapist guiding the conversation. When criticism, defensiveness, or shutting down gets in the way, we step in, slow things down, and help you try a different response. You’ll practice these skills together, with feedback and support from your therapist as you work through real disagreements.
The goal is to take what you’re practicing in therapy and use it at home, whether you’re discussing money, parenting, or something that’s been bothering you for weeks.
The Gottman Method gives us a research-based foundation for this work. We also draw from attachment theory and emotionally focused approaches when they help us address what’s happening in your relationship.
Experienced Therapists. Research-Based Care.
At Evergreen Counseling and Wellness, relationships are at the center of our practice. Every couples therapist completes Gottman Method training before working with couples and continues developing their expertise through advanced training, supervision, and regular case consultation.
Our clinical director, Valery Krieg, MSW, LCSW, has more than a decade of experience working with couples and advanced training in the Gottman Method. She oversees our couples work and supports our therapists as they continue to develop their skills.
Across our team, we draw from Emotionally Focused Therapy, Relational Life Therapy, and attachment-based approaches, with additional specialized training in affair recovery and discernment counseling.
Meet Our Couples Therapists
Meet Valery
Valery Krieg, MSW, LCSW
Senior Couples Therapist
Valery specializes in high-conflict relationships, discernment counseling, and working with LGBTQ+ couples.
Meet Sydney
Sydney Zabel, MS, LPCC
Associate Couples Therapist
Sydney specializes in communication, rebuilding emotional connection, and premarital counseling.
Meet Catherine
Catherine Simons, MSW, LSW
Associate Couples Therapist
Catherine specializes in communication, conflict management, and premarital counseling.
Not sure who would be right for you?
Tell us what’s happening, and we’ll help you decide who to meet with.
What Is the Gottman Method?
The Gottman Method is a research-based approach to couples therapy developed from decades of studying how couples communicate, manage conflict, and maintain strong relationships.
Beginning in the 1970s, psychologist John Gottman and his colleagues studied couples as they interacted. They observed how partners argued, responded to each other, repaired after disagreements, and showed affection. They also followed couples over time to understand which patterns were associated with lasting relationships.
John Gottman and clinical psychologist Julie Schwartz Gottman used this research to develop Gottman Method couples therapy, organized around the Sound Relationship House. This framework identifies the foundations of a strong relationship, including friendship, trust, commitment, managing conflict, and creating shared meaning.
In therapy, we use this framework to understand your relationship and focus on the areas that need attention.
What Gottman’s Research Teaches Us About Conflict
According to Gottman’s research, approximately 69% of relationship conflicts involve ongoing differences that can’t be permanently resolved.
Think about the arguments you keep having. Money. Parenting. How much time you spend together. You may have talked about them a hundred times and still disagree.
That’s not necessarily a sign that something is wrong with your relationship. Some differences will always be there. What matters is how you handle them.
Gottman Method couples therapy helps you manage those differences without turning every disagreement into another fight. You’ll work on communicating without criticism or defensiveness, understanding each other’s perspectives, and finding ways to live with differences that aren’t going away.
Gottman Method Couples Therapy in Evergreen and Online Across Colorado
Whether you prefer meeting online or in person, we’re here to help. We offer online Gottman Method couples therapy throughout Colorado and in-person couples therapy at our Evergreen office.
Appointment times and in-person availability vary by therapist.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The Gottman Method is grounded in decades of research on relationships and has also been studied as an approach to couples therapy.
We use it because it gives us a structured way to assess your relationship, understand the patterns keeping you stuck, and select practical interventions based on what is happening between you.
Yes. It is not an optional add-on here. The Gottman Method forms the foundation of how our therapists assess relationships, understand conflict, and work with couples.
How it appears in your sessions will depend on what is happening in your relationship. We use the method to guide the work, not to force every couple through an identical process.
A previous experience that went nowhere does not mean couples therapy cannot help.
Couples therapy is its own clinical specialty. It requires a therapist to work with the relationship happening in the room, not simply listen to two individual accounts of the problem.
Our therapists are trained to identify the pattern between you, interrupt it as it happens, and help you practice a different way of responding.
Sometimes.
The work includes practical skills that you can use outside therapy, but we won’t hand every couple the same packet. Any exercises we recommend will connect to your relationship and the changes you are trying to make.
Both. We offer online Gottman Method couples therapy throughout Colorado and in-person couples therapy in Evergreen.
Sessions are $215 for 50 minutes with a senior couples therapist and $185 for 50 minutes with an associate couples therapist.
You can find additional payment and insurance information on our Rates and Insurance page.
Evergreen Counseling and Wellness is a private-pay practice, which means we don’t bill insurance directly.
Insurance typically covers treatment for a diagnosed mental-health condition. In couples therapy, the relationship itself is the focus of treatment: the communication, trust, conflict, and connection between you. Most insurance plans do not cover that work.
We can provide a superbill upon request, but a superbill does not guarantee reimbursement. Ask your insurance company whether your plan reimburses for relationship-focused couples therapy before assuming that any part of the fee will be covered.
