J ohn Gottman, a research psychologist, studied couples over a period of years. Couples came to his laboratory and discussed marital issues. He connected them to devices to measure heart and breathing rate and other vital signs. Then he observed them as they struggled, negotiated or fought in their attempt to resolve the inevitable problems that arise in any relationship.

He discovered that those couples who had more than one discounting or demeaning action for every five validating, appreciating, approving actions created a field in their relationship which led to distancing, and more often than not, divorce within several years.

The four kinds of actions that always precipitate trouble he called "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse". In biblical history they were War, Death, Disease, and Famine. Gottman's interpretation considered them: Criticism, Contempt, Stonewalling, and Defensiveness.

In Sexual Marriage Therapy individuals learn constructive methods of dealing with the serious problems of couples in the areas of: communication, intimacy, sexuality, lifestyle choices, money, and personal growth and change.