There are three parts to our answer based on the current literature regarding research on couples therapy. The current research design was approved by an Institutional Review Board. 

Part A: The cost.

Most couples therapy research studies are done in university settings in a controlled environment with the benefit of grant funding to allow the cost of therapy to be free. While there is grant funding in other countries for couples therapy, we have not received funding for this research study because there are no funds offered for couples therapy studies at this time in the United States. Not to mention, with a sample size of 120 couples, by far the largest study on couples therapy to date, that would be a very large grant. Despite this, we feel there is still more research needed. In our part to reduce cost, we do offer the assessments for free which is a $475 value. Some of our Certified Gottman Therapists offer sliding scales and insurance (see the section above). 

Part B: The Therapist

Most couples therapy studies are completed in controlled conditions such as a university setting with student therapists under a supervisor who may watch the session live (Christensen, et al., 2005). When a couple sees a therapist in their office, there is no supervisor watching every second of the session. The difference in this study is that the counselors being seen are not students but fully licensed therapists who are specifically trained to work with couples using the Gottman Method. 

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of Gottman Method Couples Therapy with couples seen in typical therapy offices. Previous studies on the effectiveness of couples therapy indicated that interventions need to be stronger to effectively help couples. This study requires that participating therapists be Certified Gottman Therapists. A Certified Gottman Therapist has completed three levels of training in Gottman Method couples therapy, had multiple videos of their work scrutinized by Master Trainer Gottman Therapists, and passed a video review process demonstrating that they can effectively use Gottman interventions with couples. There are currently only 411 of therapists that meet these qualifications in the world. By agreeing to participate as a therapist in this study they have agreed to follow the Gottman Method protocol by using the appropriate interventions at the appropriate time during treatment.

Part C: Efficacy Studies In University Settings Do Not Translate to Real Therapy Offices

The efficacy studies in university settings fail to reproduce similar results in a naturalistic setting such as a typical therapy office (Halford, Pepping, & Petch, 2016). Again, this has to do with supervision as well as the type of therapist being studied. 

We also know that the screening procedures of university-based outcome studies often include a population that is only 0.5 standard deviation below the mean, meaning they are slightly unhappy (Gottman & Gottman, 2018). However, many couples starting couples therapy are 2.5 standard deviations below the mean indicating high levels of distress (Gottman et al., 2020). This highlights that the university-based outcome studies don’t include the kinds of couples seen in a typical therapist office. Our data from 40,681 couples starting couples therapy indicate that over 80% of couples about to start therapy have serious problems with both conflict and intimacy (Gottman et al., 2020). 

Furthermore, the university based studies on the effectiveness of couples therapy screen out many couples who struggle with substance abuse, bipolar, and personality disorders (Baucom et al., 2009; Christensen et al. 2010.). Our data indicates that these struggles are the norm and we need to learn how to help couples with these challenges in a therapy office.