R107: The Cutting Edge of Couples Therapy

Too many therapists blunder ineffectually through sessions until they're fired by their clients or, overwhelmed by a couple's anger and despair, give up themselves. This Reading Course will not only offer concrete methods, but showcase the fresh perspectives that characterize some of the most thoughtful and innovative couples therapists working today. Bill Doherty dissects the most common pitfalls of couples work and shows how to avoid them. Terry Real examines the underlying gender/power dynamics in troubled couples and demonstrates how to help intimacy avoiders transform their walls into boundaries. Michele Weiner-Davis reveals how to work effectively with couples when only one partner is motivated to change. Marian Sandmaier explores in depth the work of Harville Hendrix and the principles of Imago Relationship Therapy. Gay and Kathleen Hendricks take on one of the thorniest questions in couples therapy-the true meaning of "commitment." You will come away from this course with a wealth of ideas of how to make your couples work more effective, whatever your model.

Course Readings

The Art of Commitment: Dissolving Power Struggles in Couples Therapy by Gay Hendricks

It Takes One to Tango: You Don't Need Both Partners to Do Couples Therapy by Michele Weiner-Davis

Love for the Long Haul: Is Imago an Elixir for Couples' Transformation? by Marian Sandmaier

Bad Couples Therapy: Getting Past the Myth of Therapist Neutrality by William Doherty

The Awful Truth: Most Men Are Just Not Raised to Be Intimate by Terry Real

Learning Objectives

1. List 3 common mistakes of beginning couples therapists
2. Identify common mistake of therapists working with remarried couples
3. Create interventions to help men in couples therapy deal with grandiosity
4. Discuss the advantages of working with only one partner in couples therapy