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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Explore this classic dynamic of couples therapy—an angry woman and a withdrawn man—that’s often confusing for therapists, with couples therapist Jette Simon.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! Does This Kid Need Medication? with Ron Taffel
Meds: Myths and Realities: NP0035 – Session 3
Do you feel like you could be a more effective therapist with your younger clients? Do you find it hard to determine when interventions--psychological and pharmacological--might be needed? Join Ron Taffel and learn to identify key diagnostic signs that indicate medications could be helpful when dealing with depression, anxiety, AD/HD, and affective disorders. 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.
 NP0010 Is Mindfulness Enough?This blog focuses on discussion regarding the course NP0010 Is Mindfulness Enough? NP0010, Mindfulness, Session 5, Richard SchwartzDuring meditation practices, we learn how to observe and calm our disturbing thoughts and feelings. Discover with Richard Schwartz, the founder of the Internal Family Systems model, how to take the next step from paying attention to these distressed parts to healing them.
10.24.2011 Posted In: NP0010 Is Mindfulness Enough? By Psychotherapy Networker
After this session, please take a few minutes to take a look at the Comment Board and let us know what you think. Do you have any experience with the Internal Family Systems model? If not, would you consider bringing these techniques into the consulting room? Do you have any questions for the presenter or your colleagues? We invite you to share your reflections and including your name and hometown with your comments. If you have any technical questions, please feel free to contact support@psychotherapynetworker.org. Thanks for your participation. Comments  |
© 2013 Psychotherapy Networker
Thank you for embodying the 8'Cs in this process with Rich. Question: is the process the same when working with the protectors, like Rich's resentment or the inner critic. Is there a way to approach that part and change the Self's relationship to that part, not just asking it to step aside, but to enter into a conversation with it, listen, help it transform. The same process? or any differences?
Thank you, Linda Graham, MFT
Wow! I have done some basic reading about your approach, but to hear you speak of it and see you in (semi) action was wonderful! Thank you.
I practice Ron Kurtz's Hakomi Body-Centered Psychotherapy and Jon Eisman's Re-Creation of the Self Psychotherapy - both mindfulness-based and incredibly effective, in my experience. I see many similarities between these therapies and yours and I am inspired to learn more about IFS.
My question: with regard to the "inner parent" - my understanding is that this is the Self. What I gathered is that, even if people did not have positive role-models for parents,they are able to be their own compassionate and loving inner parent because of the innate wisdom of the Self. Is this correct?
2. I feel compelled to state that I think Mindfulness is being misperceived in a number of ways
It is not a method to get away from experience, but a practice and way of being that is allowing a context for us to turn toward the difficulty and provide a relationship to that difficulty without judgment but with understanding.
The newness of adding Mindfulness to psychotherapy is not so new. It is a Transpersonal psychology---around since Jung if not before-----and holds a non-pathological view to existing symptoms---more, it is not about solely "going beyond" the personal, but learning how to be the bridge between the personal and a larger identity that can witness ones experience...each informing the other, not "spiritually bypassing" the psychological states of suffering, but turning toward once you find the stability and ground from which to do this.....
3. and hats off to you Rich Simon for your courage and vulnerability
Richard Schwartz's model also very much resembles Roberto Assagioli's psychosynthesis process
In therapy, I "saw" my mother, who was jealous of me, in a state of helplessness and crying as she was looking in the refrigerator. I had compassion for her for the first time in my life (at 50 years of age).
These two experiences seem to be examples of parts becoming securely attached to Self.
My clients often comment on appreciating my being 'calm'. I use parts therapy and observing body sensations and believe I can help clients even more using your advice.
Love,
Carol
Voice Dialogue, schema therapy, are the ones mentioned here but there are some others) in that all of us work with subpersonalities. The big difference for me is IFS's emphasis on and deliberate
promotion of what I'll call Self leadership. That is, we have learned how to quickly access this mindful state we call Self in clients and have them begin to get to know, befriend, and heal their parts from that place. Another difference is the incorporation of systems thinking and family therapy technique in our understanding of and ecological sensitivity to the workings of inner systems. Finally the systematic process of witnessing, retrieving, and unburdening parts is original.
How did I come to believe in the Self? It was an empirical observation that clients would suddenly shift into that state when certain parts separated.
We do work in the same way with inner critics that we do with other protectors and find that they often transform into cheerleaders once we can heal the exiles they protect.
Is the inner parent the Self? When people access Self, the Self does act like an inner good parent spontaneously and it is true, contrary to what most psychologies tell us, one does not have to have had good enough parenting to be able to access Self-- it seems to just be a natural birthright we all have.
Anyway, thanks for watching and thanks to Rich for being a good sport. May the Self be with you all.
Dick Schwartz
Martha Gunzburg