EP13 Topical Panel 15 - Family and Couples Therapy - John Gottman, PhD; Julie Gottman, PhD; and Cloé Madanes, Lic. Psic

Description:

Educational Objectives:

1. Compare and contrast clinical and philosophical perspective of experts.

*Sessions may be edited for content and to preserve confidentiality*

Outline:

Panel Introduction and Goals

• Roxanna Erickson-Klein introduces panelists: Dr. John Gottman, Dr. Julie Gottman, and Cloe Madanes.

• Focus: comparing their approaches to couples and family therapy.

• Emphasis on a spontaneous, unscripted discussion of core philosophies.

Cloe Madanes’ Therapy Approach

• Emphasizes self-determination, personal responsibility, and ethical action.

• Rejects strict determinism in family therapy.

• Uses direct and indirect directives to encourage action.

• Highlights importance of spirituality, planning, and restoring family hierarchy.

• Views families as self-help systems and supports structure over chaos.

John Gottman’s Research-Based Approach

• Based on research with over 3,000 couples.

• Introduces the Sound Relationship House Theory:

  • Love maps, fondness, admiration

  • Managing conflict

  • Avoiding the “Four Horsemen”: criticism, contempt, defensiveness, stonewalling

• Emphasizes physiological self-soothing, humor, shared meaning, and making therapy unnecessary through skill-building.

Contrasting and Complementary Views

• Cloe values attributing good intentions in conflict and helping clients find life meaning.

• Pushes back on being described as a “dinosaur” or “magician”—stresses her methods are grounded in clinical results.

• Highlights need for flexibility vs. solely research-based models.

Audience Q&A Highlights

• Parenting and conflict: Gottmans stress importance of emotion coaching for children’s emotional development.

• Aging and joy: Addressed with empathy, focus on independence and connection.

• Anger in relationships:

  • Gottmans: Anger is healthy; focus on listening, not criticizing.

  • Julie: Anger reveals one’s own needs—should be expressed without blame.

Cloe Madanes on Divorce and Family Repair

• Shares divorce prevention strategies and post-divorce communication tools.

• Promotes “Human Rights and Divorce” to help children understand separation.

• Stresses clarity and cooperation between co-parents.

Reversing Hierarchy to Heal Families

• Cloe describes a case where children take the lead in restoring parental connection.

• Example: kids organize family activities, resulting in improved dynamics and recovery of a dyslexic child.

• Highlights how flipping family roles temporarily can spark healing.