The Enhanced Relationship Checkup

 What Every Couple Should Do Once a Year

Regular health checkups help us detect hidden conditions or disease so that early treatment can prevent the problems from worsening. Likewise, regular relationship checkups are a great way to understand in detail the health of your relationship, identify any underlying problems and develop a roadmap for how to restore and maintain health and satisfaction in your relationship. 

Whether you’ve been married for decades, are still dating, or are in a relatively new relationship; getting a comprehensive relationship checkup once or twice a year is something all couples can do to protect and preserve their most valuable asset — a healthy, thriving, life-long relationship.

 “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Benjamin Franklin

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One of the key assessment tools used by Drs. John and Julie Gottman, and over 10,000 other clinical professionals, is the Gottman Relationship Checkup. Using research-based algorithms, this assessment tool generates unique summary reports for both coaches and the couple. Validated and highly reliable, the Relationship Checkup reports also provide recommendations relating to 5 primary areas of a couples relationship:

  1. Friendship and Intimacy: relationship satisfaction, romance, admiration, emotional disengagement, breakup risk

  2. The Safety Scales: trust, chaos, commitment, and emotional philosophies

  3. The Conflict Scales: stress, relationship harshness, and conflict management tactics

  4. The Shared Meaning System: shared rituals, values, and goals in a relationship

  5. Individual Areas of Concern: individual risks, safety, sex, depression, drug and alcohol use, domestic violence, anxiety, and other psychological or psychiatric issues requiring attention

Developed from over 40 years of scientific research by Dr. John Gottman, this relationship assessment tool relies on intensive, detailed, and evidence-based information as to why relationships succeed or fail

Enhanced Relationship Checkup

FAQs

1. What is the Gottman Relationship Checkup?

The Gottman Relationship Checkup is an online assessment tool created by Drs. John and Julie Gottman in collaboration with The Gottman Institute in Seattle, Washington. The assessment is composed of 337 questions in 5 categories: Friendship and Intimacy, The Safety Scales, The Conflict Scales, The Shared Meaning System, and Individual Areas of Concern. Question topics include friendship, intimacy, conflict, finances, children, trust, commitment, drug and alcohol screenings, and individual issues that can put a relationship at risk.

2. Who will work with us?

Jonathan and Teresa Penner. That’s us! Together we will work with you and your partner coaching you on your journey toward a stronger and more resilient relationship. As relationship coaches, founders of LifeApp, and certified Gottman educators, we’re both passionate, trained, and experienced in guiding couples through this process.

3. How do we know this will actually help our relationship?

Dr. John Gottman is a clinical psychologist known for his work in marital stability and relationship analysis. Dr. Julie Gottman is a clinical psychologist who has extensive experience in private practice and teaching settings. Based on 40 years of intensive, detailed, evidence-based research with thousands of couples, the Gottman’s created this assessment tool to aid relationship coaches and counsellors in understanding the strengths and challenges of a relationship and subsequently determining a relational health and wellness plan.

4. How long does it take to complete the assessment?

The actual time it takes to complete each questionnaire varies based on individual responses, the complexity of relationship dynamics, and the choice to use optional comment areas to provide additional information about the relationship. On average, you can expect it will take between one and two hours to complete the online assessment.

5. If I don’t want to take the test all at once, can I stop taking it and resume later?

Yes! The pace and timing for completing the assessment is entirely up to you. You can answer the questionnaires all in one sitting or work on them over time. If you choose to take a break, simply log out of your profile. When you return, the system will remember where you left off and will resume at that point.

6. Can my partner and I see each other's answers?

No. The assessment is done separately where each of you will receive a unique login and password. Neither of you can access the other’s information at any time, and we encourage you not to share your login information with your partner in order to preserve the integrity and effectiveness of the questionnaire.

 

7. While taking the assessment, do I have to answer all the questions or can I skip the ones I don’t want to answer?

For the relationship checkup to be successful, it is important that your relationship coach understands all of the issues occurring in your relationship. With this in mind, it is not possible to skip questions or to shorten the assessment. However, many questions have optional comment areas intended for clarification or for further explanation of your responses. These can be used as a way to explain your thoughts about specific questions - positive or negative - and to add any important details you would like your coach to have about a particular question, topic, or concern.

8. Will I get a copy of my results?

The report will not be provided to you directly as the results are for your relationship coaches to review and interpret in the context of all the other information obtained about you during the assessment process. This includes joint and individual sessions with your coaches, as the results of the questionnaires do not stand alone. A second reason is that each of you will set up a private login account so you can feel free to answer the questions openly and honestly without concern about what your partner may think about your answers.

9. How long is the complete Relationship Checkup process?

Once your assessment has been completed and the results sent to your coaches for review, both of you and your coaching couple (Jonathan and Teresa) will meet with you in a 4 hr coaching session completed in one sitting. First they will meet with you individually to clarify any questions they may have in connection with your results. Then all four of you will meet in a 2-on-2 coaching session.

10. How much does it cost?

Refer to our “Fees, Programs, & Packages” page for current information.

11. Is there any followup after our coaching session?

Yes! There are both fee and free followup options. LifeApp is a non-profit for a reason, we believe nothing is more important in life than that quality of our relationships. Our end goal is to do all we can to empower more people to live love well. So whether it’s live events that are sponsored, classes for a fee, or private 2-on-2 coaching, we work to provide scholarships, secure private sponsorships, and remove the cost barriers as much as possible without compromising the quality of our services.

12. I am interested in the checkup. How do I proceed?

Great, you can get in touch with us by email or text. We will setup a complimentary 20 min call or zoom before initiating the assessment process. Contact Us