The lecture series Crossroads: Ideas for a New Century will continue on Saturday, April 19 with a presentation by part-time Orcas Islanders John Gottman and Julie Schwartz Gottman, co-founders of the Gottman Institute, who will discuss “Building and Restoring Intimate Relationships: A Research-Based Approach.”
John Gottman is world-renowned for his work on marital stability and divorce prediction, involving the study of emotions, physiology, and communication. As described in Malcolm Gladwell’s best-selling book “Blink: the Power of Thinking Without Thinking,” Gottman has used his training in both psychology and mathematics to design tools for evaluating and improving intimate relationships. While much of this work has involved heterosexual couples, the Gottmans have also conducted research focusing on the particular experience of gay and lesbian couples.
Gottman was recently voted one of the Top 10 Most Influential Therapists of the past quarter-century by the “Psychotherapy Networker” publication. Julie Schwartz Gottman is a licensed Clinical Psychologist who has authored or co-authored three books and has been a frequent guest on radio and TV talk shows.
Individually and together, the Gottmans have been featured in such diverse publications as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Seattle Times, Newsweek, Redbook and Psychology Today, and have appeared on television shows including CBS News, Dateline, Oprah, the Today Show, and presentations on the Discovery Health Channel.
As co-founders of The Gottman Institute, the Gottmans teach weekend workshops for couples and training workshops for clinicians. Julie Gottman is also the Clinical Director of the Institute, and the designer and Clinical Director for Loving Couples Loving Children, a curriculum for couples suffering from the effects of poverty. Through the independent Relationship Research Institute, of which John Gottman is the Executive Director, the couple is also developing programs for parents transitioning to parenthood and beginning a new research project on domestic violence.
“Building and Restoring Intimate Relationships” will take place at 2 p.m. at Orcas Center. Those wishing to attend should note that this is an afternoon program, rather than an evening program, as is usual with Crossroads. Free tickets may be obtained at the Library and at Darvill’s Bookstore, although contributions to ensure the continuity of the Crossroads series will be much appreciated.
