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Sound Relationship House in Gottman Method Couples Therapy

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Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy

Name of Theory

The Sound Relationship House in Gottman Method Couples Therapy

Introduction

The Sound Relationship House (SRH) theory forms the empirical basis for Gottman method couples therapy. Based on John Gottman’s research that began in the 1970s at the University of Illinois and then at the University of Washington, Gottman’s lab was one of the first labs to employ systematic observation to determine if there were patterns of behavior in relationships that could discriminate happy from unhappy couples (Gottman 1994). The results from Gottman’s lab, in collaboration with colleague Robert Levenson, led the researchers to discover that they could predict divorce with over 90% accuracy (Gottman and Levenson 2000).

The model was originally comprised of seven levels, or building blocks, of relationship development. The levels of the relationship house are divided into three interrelated components, the friendship system, the conflict system, and the meaning system. The SRH provides a...

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References

  • Gottman, J. M. (1994). What predicts divorce? The relationship between marital processes and marital outcomes. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

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  • Gottman, J. M. (2015). Principia amoris: The new science of love. New York: Routledge.

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  • Gottman, J. M., & Driver, J. L. (2005). Dysfunctional marital conflict and everyday marital interaction. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 43, 63–77. https://doi.org/10.1300/J087v43n0304.

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  • Gottman, J. M., & Levenson, R. W. (2000). The timing of divorce: Predicting when a couple will divorce over a 14-year period. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 737–745.

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  • Navarra, R. J., Gottman, J. M., & Gottman, J. S. (2016). Sound relationship house theory and relationship and marriage education. In J. J. Ponzetti Jr. (Ed.), Evidence-based approaches to relationship and marriage education (pp. 93–107). New York: Routledge.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Gottman Institute, Seattle, WA, USA

    Robert J. Navarra & John M. Gottman

Authors
  1. Robert J. Navarra
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  2. John M. Gottman
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Jay Lebow

  2. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Anthony Chambers

  3. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Douglas C. Breunlin

Section Editor information

  1. Colorado State University, Marriage and Family Therapy Program, Human Development and Family Studies, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Kelley Quirk Ph.D.

  2. The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Adam Fisher Ph.D.

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© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

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Navarra, R.J., Gottman, J.M. (2018). Sound Relationship House in Gottman Method Couples Therapy. In: Lebow, J., Chambers, A., Breunlin, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_208-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_208-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-15877-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-15877-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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