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NP0038: Who’s Afraid of Couples Therapy?
Welcome to our “Who’s Afraid of Couples Therapy?” This exciting series, back by popular demand, is based on our November/December 2011 issue on this topic and will explore the challenges of couples work.
What are the most effective strategies in working with couples? How can therapists structure therapy—particularly in the early sessions—so that couples leave with a sense of hope, rather than frustration? Can working with individuals who have serious issues in their relationships actually be detrimental to them? Find out the answers to these questions and much more. In this first session with expert couples therapists Ellyn Bader and Peter Pearson, the creators of the Developmental Model of Couples Therapy, you’ll find out why clinicians often avoid working with couples and how you can better prepare yourself for couples therapy work.
How can therapists most effectively work with emotion in the consulting room—particularly when it comes to couples therapy? Learn with internationally known couples therapist Hedy Schleifer how to help create a nourishing connection between partners, define a role as therapist-as-guide, and much more. Schleifer, who’s pioneered the training of Imago Relationship therapists internationally, will go into how to use this theory in practice and how to best work with emotions.
What happens when partners in couples therapy have two different agendas in mind? Hear from expert William Doherty on this little spoken about topic. Learn how Discernment Counseling, an approach that helps couples clarify their feelings about the next step in their relationship, can help both clients and therapists.
Is it possible to rebuild trust and intimacy in a couple’s relationship after a partner has had an affair? How can therapists help? Hear from Esther Perel, author of the international bestseller Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence, on how to help couples after an infidelity and the role that cultural perspectives have in this emotional situation.
Explore this classic dynamic of couples therapy—an angry woman and a withdrawn man—that’s often confusing for therapists, with couples therapist Jette Simon. Learn more about what’s behind the feelings of anger and the behavior of withdrawing, and how clinicians can more effectively work with shame and fear of disconnection.
Hear an unconventional perspective on couples therapy from David Schnarch, who believes that the best way to help couples is to challenge partners to change their individual behaviors and attitudes. Schnarch’s direct, upfront approach to helping clients will illustrate a different viewpoint on effective couples therapy.
Join Marty Klein, a marriage and family therapist and certified sex therapist, us for a candid discussion about the assumptions that both clients and therapists often share that can get in the way of improving couples’ sexual relationships.
Discover with Kathryn Rheem how to respond effectively when clients express strong feelings in session. Based on Emotionally Focused Therapy, you’ll explore attunement and how to use your own emotions to help clients move beyond attachment injuries.
After the session, please let us know what you think. If you ever have any technical questions or issues, please feel free to email support@psychotherapynetworker.org.
Whole Psychiatry: Alternatives to Conventional Psychopharmacology with Robert Hedaya
Meds: Myths and Realities: NP0035 – Session 4
Is psychopharmacology is a 'go-to' in your practice? Join Robert Hedaya as he discusses how to treat the bodily systems that underlay many mental health issues while avoiding medication. After the session, please let us know what you think. If you ever have any technical questions or issues, please feel free to email support@psychotherapynetworker.org.Tough Customers: Is It Them or Us?
By Rich Simon As therapists, many of us practice in two different worlds. In the first, we see polite, well-behaved, articulate clients with solid values. They engage fully in therapy, talk cogently about their problems, listen attentively to our responses, make reasonably good-faith efforts to follow our suggestions, and sooner or later get better. No wonder we genuinely like these people! 
 NP007 The Road to Clinical ExcellenceThis blog focuses on discussion regarding the course NP007 The Road to Clinical Excellence. NP007, Excellence, Session 1, Scott MillerWe all strive to improve at what we do each day, but how do we achieve excellence as therapists? How do we ensure that we consistently succeed in helping clients? The Road to Clinical Excellence includes six presentations, plus a bonus session, which are sure to change the way you think about clinical mastery. You’ll learn about the most recent research on the topic of excellence, and come away with practical ways that you can use to immediately and dramatically enhance your therapeutic effectiveness. The first session with Scott Miller, the founder of the International Center for Clinical Excellence, will cover why experience, theoretical orientation, and interpersonal skills actually are not highly correlated with outcome. He’ll discuss ways to drastically enhance your performance and how to reinforce your clinical growth by creating “cultures of excellence.” Please take a few minutes after each session is over to engage in the Comment Board. Feel free to comment about what you’ve learned in the session, to ask any questions you may have of the presenter or your peers, or to share any relevant experiences. Comments  |
© 2013 Psychotherapy Networker
I’m a little confused, though. I remember reading a fairly recent article (sorry, don’t have specifics just now) that indicated something to the effect that more effective therapy was done by more experienced clinicians in whatever their chosen therapy mode. I need to look up that reference. Still, much food for thought, much to learn. Thanks for getting me started in this area.
I hope we are all interested in improving our clinical skills and effectiveness. This webinar provided some specific suggestions to begin a process of improvement.
Thanks so much for your note. If you do find the article, send it my way. In the meantime, here's a link that should shock and scare: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43784188/ns/health/?gt1=43001.
One request, please use black rather than blue for sub comments on "slides", I couldn't read anything other than the dark large print, The blue was too light. Thank you.
In my practice, I attempt to periodically check in with clients for feedback on how the work is going for them. With many clients who have a great desire to please, I get responses anywhere from "fine" to "it's just great". It's difficult to pull out what is going well, let alone what is not. I looked at your feedback rating scale, and imagine I'd have similar difficulties even with a written instrument. Can you help me with a few more responses (in addition to the one you mentioned about what could make me an 11 if they rated me 10) if I am wanting more authentic feedback from a client. Particularly if we are just doing it verbally, without a written instrument? Thank you so much for the awareness too, that our profession may operate on insecurity. So much of the desire to learn new techniques comes out of therapist insecurity, vs. what is really best for our clients. We truly have become a generation of workshop junkies. I'm just now learning to stop learning so many new things and deepen and refine what I already do.
Sorry to be late in responding here. I had been looking for a quiz but gather this is it? Much more interesting this way! Thanks to you and Rich for making this possible.
Jussi Light
Like the others above have commented, most of my clients are rating the sessions either a 9 or 10. A new client told me that she wanted me to help her focus on a specific area of her problem. It was the 2nd session and I just let her go on because I wanted to see what the scope of her feelings were about it. I never would have known had I not given her the rating scale. I like how Scott suggested that we need to learn and expand the negative comments. At first, I was worried about giving the clients the form, but now I look forward to it. This talk was inspiring and very helpful. It is easy to blame the client for not getting better because they are resistant and their disorder is tough but we as therapists are really the ones to create the change. Thank you for providing us this information. I will be thinking differently this week.
Renee-Minnetonka, MN
Your comments made me think of something--a detail--that I don't believe came out in my discussion with Rich. That is, most people who complete the SRS, score very high. Indeed, in our original normative samples, on average 75% of people score 36 or higher. So, here's what's important to conclude: a single point move is more than likely meaningful. Anytime the scores decrease--even a single point--be sure and address this openly and transparently with the client. If they can't identify anything concrete, offer to contact them at the end of the day. I usually start that call by saying, "I have about 5 minutes here, but just wanted to follow up...". The SRS is helpful in securing engagement in the absense of change or improvement and presence of relational difficulties between client and therapist! Hope this helps.
Ruchama Fund, Ph.D.
It's the first time i have written myself a to-do list after training... can't wait to get going on it. Thanks Scott.
Liz, Edinburgh, Scotland.
I liked the straight-forward and practical aspects of the seminar. Thanks again for this!
Joy, Waterloo, Ontario
look forward to trying out your scale. Thanks,
ann
One question that I have had, that has also plagued my colleagues at the community agency I work (and where we use the ORS/SRS) relates to the issue of "non-responders." This is a term that I borrow from Moshe Talmon in his work in Single Session Therapy. He says that up to 1/3 of clients presenting to community agencies are "non-reposnsive" to any length of therapy with anyone. He has identified some characteristics of this group in his work.
We use processes such as reflecting team, supervision, peer consultation, case review, transfer, and so on, and still find that a small group show no improvement. These clients also tend to rate SRS above the cutoff, indicating satisfaction with the service.
In this presentation, the implication is that, given the right conditions ALL clients will improve. I am wondering what Scott & others think about what Talmon calls "professional clients."
I have a thought about the supertherapist. I have studied many theorists and notice that they seem to be exceptional because they have discovered what about themselves has worked in the therapeutic alliance..to engender trust(feeling safe, accepted and understood. For me, Carl Rogers is a good example of pushing the envelop with great humility.
Rich, when I increased the size of the slides, they became blurry. This is not a problem I encountered in your last series.