Predictors of addiction have been an active area of research in recent years, with growing attention to the roles of adverse childhood experience (ACE), emotion regulation (ER) and stress. Our work adds a critical yet often overlooked factor to this equation: couple communication. Our latest research findings identified couple communication as a primary predictor of problem gambling severity with pathways connected to ACE, ER and stress. More than a simple behaviour, communication is a complex, multidimensional construct that is connected to family of origin modelling, psychological safety and intrinsic worth. Couples replay their learned communication postures for survival in their current relationship, recreating interactions similar to the distress they experienced in their adverse childhood experiences. The hopeful message is that couples can also utilize their relationship as a platform to create new patterns of communication that liberate them from the shackles of their past. This presentation will illustrate, through case examples, how fostering congruent communication raises self awareness as well as empathy for the other, expand the repertoire of skills to give range and depth to communication, and in so doing, lower chronic stress and reduce reliance on addictive behaviours as a way of coping. Learning Objectives: 1) Explain why couple communication is central to emotion regulation, stress reduction and severity of problem gambling. 2) Appreciate the complexity of communication and how it is more than just a behaviour. 3) Describe the mechanism that makes Congruence Couple Therapy effective as an addiction treatment model.