I’m David Lechnyr, Certified Gottman Therapist. I’ve been in practice for over 20 years, and couples often come to me when they’re in crisis. They’d like to make some changes: Fight less, grow closer, or sometimes they’re not even sure if they want to stay married or be together with each other anymore.
Yet you don’t want a therapist who just sits there, patiently nodding, and saying, “And how does that make you feel?” You want someone to help guide you. Hold you both accountable. And challenge you to be the best versions of yourselves so that your relationship can be something you’ve long since desired.
And through the research that we have from the Gottman Institute over the last 50 years, we can now actually do just that. No longer are we saying, “Well, this relationship concept sounds like a good idea. I read it in an airline magazine, or saw it on Oprah, so I think this is going to change your relationship.” No. We don’t do any of that.
We now know, with alarming evidence, what successful couples do that makes their relationship come alive, and what others do that guarantees defeat. And that’s my job, to help you sift through the falsehoods and learn the skills to bring your relationship back on track.
Licensed Cross-State Service Areas
My clinical services operates out of a primary physical base in Portland, delivering secure and HIPAA-compliant telehealth sessions across Oregon and Arizona. For all other areas, a specialized version of Relationship Coaching is also available, with key differences.
Oregon # L4134
Certified Gottman Therapist # 436
Arizona # LCSW-17754
Services
My practice is focused exclusively on working with relationship issues for couples who struggle in recovering closeness, connection, and better conflict management skills.
Gottman Couples Therapy
For partners trapped in constant arguing, emotional distance, or gridlocked resentment. This track uses the Gottman Relationship Checkup to map your strengths and target the specific behaviors driving the conflict.
Discernment Counseling
For mixed-agenda couples, where one partner is leaning out of the relationship and the other wants to save it. A short-term, specialized protocol built to achieve safety, clarity, and direction, not to talk anyone into staying. Success here isn’t measured by whether you stay together, but by whether the decision comes from clarity instead of exhaustion.
Marathon Sessions
For couples in acute crisis, living out of the area, or whose schedules can’t sustain weekly sessions. A concentrated, multi-day format that compresses months of typical progress into a single block of time. Every marathon is private and individualized, one couple and one therapist for the whole block, not a group workshop.
Moving Beyond Standard Talk Therapy
Most traditional couples therapy models fail because they rely on passive conversation and the therapist’s shifting intuition. When your marriage is experiencing acute distressed, you do not need a referee to watch you argue. You need a structured, diagnostic system built on 50 years of data-driven relationship science.
Plus, you’ve tried talking it through, reading the books, and promising each other to do better. But nothing has made a lasting difference. It is exhausting to feel stuck in the exact same argument week after week, watching the emotional distance between you, grow wider. Or worse: Your relationship is truly amazing when it’s working, and a disaster when it’s not.
Specialized Clinical Relationship Frameworks
Our work together centers on concrete skill-building, structured assignments, and objective assessments. This methodology is directly grounded in peer-reviewed research, which has successfully predicted relationship stability and divorce trajectories with over 90 percent accuracy across multiple independent validation trials. To do this, we use pre-determined Relationship Roadmap (often referred to as a Treatment Plan).
As we work together, you can expect direct feedback, focused sessions, and absolute accountability. I will tell you exactly what I observe in your patterns, even when it is uncomfortable, because you deserve honesty over passive agreement. Whether your goal is to repair a marriage hanging by a thread or to gain ultimate clarity on your future, we deploy an intentional roadmap tailored to improve your relationship as fast as possible.
Ultimately, it’s important to be aware that it’s not whether there’s conflict in your relationship that will make or break it. It’s how you manage the conflict that really matters (J.M. Gottman, 1993). These patterns are so accurate that they tend to predict divorce with 93% accuracy (Gottman & Levenson, 2000). And yet, no one has taught you the skills you need for this.
Testimonials
Frequently Asked Questions
Are you accepting new clients?
Yes. I am currently accepting new clients for structured couples therapy, intensive marathon tracks, and short-term discernment (“should I stay or should I go”) counseling.
How is this different from other couples counseling?
Most couples therapy relies on processing the “fight of the week” and you end up leaving each session either with a temporary peace or, worse, feeling more disconnected than before. In my practice, the Gottman Method provides the needed structured and is research based, focusing on concrete skills and tools rather than endless emotional processing.
How long does therapy take?
Most couples see significant progress during the first 90 days. That being said, just showing up to sessions won’t make any meaningful difference without also practicing your new relationship skills and completing joint assignments with each other in-between your regular sessions.
Do you bill insurance?
No. However, I can provide the necessary documentation (superbills) for potential reimbursement using any out-of-network benefits you might have (Oregon and Arizona residents only).
Do you serve couples outside Oregon and Arizona?
Yes. I offer a modified version of relationship assistance called Relationship Coaching. There are some important (and interestingly more desirable) differences to be aware of.
Can this help if we are considering separation or divorce?
For couples uncertain if they want to stay together, the 5-Week Discernment Counseling Process gives you a focused timeframe where discussion takes the place of arguments.