Gottman Method Couples Therapy Experiential Workshop For Couples To Reconnect & Rebuild Communication Skills, Resolve Conflict & Deepen Emotional Connection In One Weekend

If you’ve drifted apart, can’t talk without arguing, or feel stuck in negative cycles, our expert-led workshops offer a proven way to reconnect and repair—together. This workshop is for couples who want practical relationship tools without committing to weekly therapy.

Whether you’re engaged, newly married, or navigating decades together, these workshops are for couples ready to improve communication, repair emotional disconnect, and build new habits for lasting intimacy. 94% of couples who have attended Gottman Couples Workshops have experienced positive results. We have presented this Gottman couples workshop over 80 times with groups ranging in size between 30 to 50 couples.

Darren and Lawrence with John and Julie Gottman.

Both Darren and Lawrence are Advanced Gottman Clinical Trainers for The Gottman Institute and regularly teach the Gottman Method Couples Therapy Levels 1, 2 and 3 to mental health professionals across Canada. They are part of the Gottman “Big Five” master trainers and present Gottman Workshops throughout all of Canada.

Darren shares how to make love last a lifetime.

What’s Getting in the Way?

Communication breakdowns, betrayal, emotional distance, or unresolved conflict are blocking connection and peace.

Communication Breakdowns

You can’t seem to talk without tension—or total shutdown.

Growing Emotional Distance

You love each other, but the closeness is gone. You’re drifting instead of growing.

Unresolved Conflicts and Fears

You worry small issues may become big problems—or already have.

Expert Guidance That Doesn’t Judge, Just Helps: You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to show up willing to learn. Our certified therapists are trained in the Gottman Method, one of the most respected and research-backed couples therapy models in the world. With over 40 years of combined experience, our team knows how to guide couples with clarity, compassion, and structure.

Your 3-Step Workshop Plan

Step 1: Choose a Workshop Date

If you see multiple workshop dates, select the Gottman Method workshop that suits your schedule.

Step 2: Register and Prepare

Sign up online and receive prep instructions to make the most of your experience.

Step 3: Attend and Reconnect

Join other couples in a safe, structured environment designed to help you reconnect, learn, and apply new tools immediately.

View Testimonials From Our Gottman Method Couples Therapy Workshops

View This Couple’s Big Takeaway From Our Workshop

View Reason Why This Couple Attended A Second Time

Discover This Couples’ Takeaway From Our Workshop

Couple Shares How This Workshop Compares To Others

Workshop Attendees Share Their Experiences

What Will Change

Move from hurt, fear, and disconnection to clarity, connection, and confidence.

Stronger Connection Starts Here:

  • Couples who complete our workshops often say:
    • “We’re finally having real conversations again.”
    • “We feel heard—and hopeful.”
    • “This gave us tools we can actually use.”
  • You’ll leave with skills to defuse conflict, express needs calmly, and deepen emotional connection—together.

Without Help, Things Tend to Spiral:

  • Avoid emotional distance, painful patterns, or years of frustration. These workshops are designed to help you stop unhealthy cycles before they become your norm.

Top 5 Questions New Clients Ask Us

Workshop registration fees are listed per couple, purchase ONE ticket per couple
Option 1. = Early registration by April 4, 2026 $1075.00 plus taxes
Option 2. = Standard registration $1175.00 plus taxes
Option 3. = Therapist registration $975.00 plus taxes.
Please provide your phone # when asked below so we can provide further details!
Previous Attendees and/or Clients of Best Marriages:
If you have attended one of our ASL Workshops in the past, or if you are a current client of Best Marriages/Lighthouse Counselling you can register at a discounted rate!  Call us at 604-539-5277 or e-mail us at info@bestmarriages.ca to register and receive your discount.
Alternate Method of Registration:
If you do not wish to register online, you may Register by Phone at 604-539-5277 and pay by VISA, Mastercard, American Express or E-Transfer.

Yes. Workshops condense 6+ weeks of therapy into 1–2 days of focused, research-based learning. Ideal for fast breakthroughs or those with limited time.

Many describe it as transformational:

“We left feeling closer than we have in years.”

“We left feeling closer than we have in years.”

“The best relationship investment we’ve ever made.”

Common issues include poor communication, frequent conflict, emotional withdrawal, and feeling misunderstood or stuck.

Couples who want to strengthen, repair, or enrich their connection. Especially effective for premarital, high-stress, or post-crisis support.

Gottman Method Couples Therapy Workshops FAQ

A Gottman Method workshop is a structured, research-based learning experience that teaches couples practical tools to improve communication, manage conflict, and strengthen emotional connection. Workshops are facilitated by trained therapists and are based on decades of relationship research, translating proven concepts—like Love Maps, the Four Horsemen, and repair strategies—into skills couples can use immediately.


About The Gottman Institute
The Gottman Institute, founded by Dr. John Gottman, applies leading-edge research on marriage stability in a practical, down-to-earth way. No other approach to couples education and therapy has relied on such intensive, detailed, and long-term scientific study of why marriages succeed or fail. Dr. John Gottman is a world renowned expert in relationships and marriages.



How Effective is it?

If your relationship is healthy, this workshop will give you insight and tools to make it even better. If your relationship is in distress, we can give you a road-map for repair.


That’s exactly why 94% of previous workshop attendees have reported positive results after attending this groundbreaking weekend session. Conflicts that once felt “gridlocked” are worked through successfully.


What Makes Us So Successful?

Our methods are backed by science. Our work is grounded in over 40 years of research with more than 3000 couples by the Gottman Institute.

Why wait until further damage has been done? Register today and take the first step to having a positive, healthy and passionate relationship.

What You Will Learn
In this relationship and marriage workshop, couples will learn how to:
– Foster respect, affection, and closeness
– Build and share a deeper connection with each other’s inner world
– Keep conflict discussions calm
– Break through and manage conflict grid-lock
– Strengthen and maintain the gains in your relationship

Register today to save your spot at our next exciting couples workshop and retreat!

What To Expect

After you complete our marriage and relationship workshop you’ll know how to foster romance and harmony as a couple. On day one you learn how to build closeness in your relationship and feelings of respect and affection.

On day two you begin to learn about managing conflict while communicating effectively. Through the use of anecdotes and role-play couples work privately to address real-life challenge.

There is no group work or public disclosure – so you feel comfortable every step of the way. Most couples find they become better friends then before they came because of the fun they experience working together to build a stronger bond.

Our Gottman Certified Therapists are there every step of the way to support attending couples one-on-one with exercises.



Proven Methods, Gottman Certified
An extension of the counselling provided in our offices, guidance is based on the teachings of Dr. John Gottman who developed his methods through more than 40 years of research and experience in counselling. Dr. Gottman has scientifically analyzed the habits of married couples and established a method of correcting the behavior that puts thousands of marriages on the rocks. His method helps couples focus on each other, on paying attention to the small day-to-day moments that, strung together, make up the heart and soul of any relationship.  These relationship-enhancing skills are the heart of our couples workshops.

Not true. Many couples attend workshops proactively to strengthen their relationship, improve communication, or prevent small issues from becoming bigger problems.

Workshops are ideal for couples at many stages: engaged, newly married, long-term partners, or couples experiencing stress or disconnection. They’re especially helpful for couples who want practical tools, preventative support, or a focused reset—without committing to ongoing weekly therapy.

While workshops are held in a group setting, couples work primarily with each other. Exercises are designed to be private, reflective, and practical, allowing couples to apply tools directly to their own relationship.

A workshop isn’t “better” than therapy—it’s different. Workshops are educational and skills-focused, offering concentrated learning in one or two days. Therapy is individualized and ongoing. Many couples use workshops as a strong starting point, a supplement to therapy, or a refresher when they want faster momentum and shared language.


A weekend can be enough to create meaningful insight, skill-building, and momentum. Workshops are intentionally designed to deliver high-impact tools that couples can continue practicing long after the workshop ends.

In a weekend workshop, couples typically learn how to:

– Communicate more clearly and calmly
– Understand and interrupt negative conflict patterns
– Build emotional safety and connection
– Practice effective repair strategies
– Apply Gottman tools to real-life conversations

The focus is on learning, practicing, and applying skills together—not just listening to lectures.


Workshop Topics Include:

Five Basic Questions
1. How is your marriage/relationship doing?
2. What makes relationships change, for better or for worse?
3. If your marriage is in trouble, how can you turn it around?
4. If your marriage is doing well, how can you ensure that your relationship will continue to grow?
5. As your relationship improves, how can you make changes last?

Assess Your Marriage
– Learn to recognize the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and what to do if they are attacking your marriage.
– Identify your relationship’s specific strengths and how to build on these.
– Learn about the effects of physiological flooding and how it may affect conflict resolution
– Learn small easy steps that increase romance in your relationship

Build A Solid Marital House
– Learn how Love Maps provide a solid foundation for your marital intimacy
– Use the Fondness & Admiration System to renew respect and care for one another
– Create an Emotional Bank Account that you can draw upon in times of stress
– Develop your problem-solving skills, including the four techniques of effective conflict resolution: Softened Start-Up, Accepting Influence, Repair Work and De-escalation
– Find out how you can make your dreams and aspirations come true for you, your partner, and your relationship

Workshops do not replace therapy. They complement it. Some couples attend workshops instead of therapy; others use them alongside or before starting therapy. Follow-up counselling is always an option if deeper or individualized support is needed.

Yes. Gottman Method workshops are grounded in research on what actually helps couples succeed. While workshops are not crisis therapy, many couples report meaningful improvements in communication, understanding, and emotional closeness—even when facing long-standing challenges.

Workshops are open to all committed couples—married, engaged, or long-term partners. The Gottman Method focuses on relationship dynamics, not marital status.

Couples who don’t live near a certified Gottman Therapist, can’t commit to weekly sessions, or need urgent support for infidelity, grief, or crisis benefit most from this model.


Who Would Not Be A Candidate?

Couples who have already determined to leave their relationship and cannot commit to the therapy process are unlikely to derive significant benefit from this process, and are therefore not candidates for this type of therapy.


What if there has been infidelity?
Have you experienced an affair in your relationship recently? Our workshops can help you both recover from the experience and move forward in a positive way.


But our workshops are much more than that. Not just for couples looking to repair their relationships, these workshops are also for couples who would like to strengthen their existing relationship, grow much closer and kick start the romance and passion they are both seeking.

At The Art & Science of Love Gottman couples and marriage workshop you get 2 full days of real-world information and easy exercises/tools that will help to reinforce and restore your love.

Counsellors Darren Wilk and Lawrence Stoyanowski of Best Marriages bring an unparalleled level of insight to their Couples and Marriage Workshops in Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon and Vancouver. Highly endorsed by the Gottman Institute, Darren and Lawrence have even traveled to Seattle to present their Couples Workshop.

Attend with confidence knowing that we have presented this Gottman couples workshop over 80 times with groups ranging in size between 30 to 50 couples. These workshops will sell out in some areas. Read the reviews

The Art & Science of Love is a workshop for every type of couple and has been shown to achieve results similar to 6 months of traditional marriage counselling. That’s because we equip you with a box of Gottman researched-based techniques, cards, tools and tips to help support a healthy relationship long after you return home from our retreats.

This workshop is guaranteed to not make you feel uncomfortable, be nerve-wracking or a waste of your time. Using humor and proven techniques we will help you strengthen your relationship regardless of where the two of you are at.

Different Personalities

Marriage workshops provided by Best Marriages address the personality differences affecting countless couples. People’s personalities change as they grow, which is often difficult for their partners to accept. Darren Wilk and Lawrence Stoyanowski help couples learn to cope with these changes. Methods of rekindling the intensity of spouses’ feelings for each other are also taught, to combat the loss of passion many couples experience.

Communication

Successfully conveying feelings is helpful. However, despite the most effective communication techniques, occasional arguments will arise. Our relationship workshops provide guidance in managing these conflicts as well as moving past the inevitable impasses on certain issues.

Couples also learn how to apologize to one another following their disputes while seeing each other through the various stages of forgiveness.

Fostering Healthy Relationships

Another unique aspect of these workshops revolves around making the small but vital connections necessary for a healthy relationship. Though most people are aware of such needs, they often do not understand how to reach out to their partner or what to make of those times when their needs are ignored. Wilk and Stoyanowski shed light on these issues. Lastly, attendees learn the importance of a shared system of values as well as how to create one.

Couples Therapy Intensives for Clients Across Canada and the U.S.

Canadian Cities We Serve

U.S. Cities We Serve

Yes we do. Details here: Events – Best Marriages

Workshop Information

Weekend Schedule:
Saturday: 8:30AM–5:00PM (registration at 8:10 AM)
Sunday: 8:30AM–5:00PM

Cancellation Policy: If cancellation is made on or before the Early Registration Cutoff Date, a full refund less a $100.00 processing fee will be given. After the cut-off date, registration fees become a credit for a future workshops within one year.

Cost Per Couple:

  • Early Registration $1075.00 plus GST
  • Standard Registration: $1175.00 plus GST
  • Therapist Registration: $975.00 plus GST
  • Excludes hotel booking
  • LIMITED SEATS.