By Rich Simon It seems astonishing that even just two or three decades ago, parents not only pretty much knew what was expected of them to turn their offspring into civilized adults, but they could actually count on society to back them up. Even more astounding, kids seemed to understand this, too. Even if they rebelled against, yelled about, or sullenly resented how “unfair” adults were, they seemed to acknowledge adult authority and realize that they would just have to wait until they turned 18 to get for themselves the keys to the kingdom of grown-up independence. 
CE Credits: 3 • Price: $39Yet, in the past 25 years, some of the field’s foremost scientist-practitioners have created a virtual science of marriage and established a range of empirically validated therapy interventions for a whole range of couples issues. In this Reading Course, Katy Butler accompanies John and Julie Gottman as they present workshops on their surprisingly common-sense approach to marital therapy, based on 30 years of path-breaking research. Susan Johnson demonstrates Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy, an intervention based on attachment theory and one of the best validated couples treatment methods in North America. Esther Perel discusses the toll that the birth of a child can take on a marriage and how to help couples reclaim their own relationship as new parents. Jay Lebow offers an enlightening tour of the latest research on couples therapy. Ashley Prend explores how Buddhist mindfulness practice can make divorce less traumatic by helping even hostile partners cultivate a spirit of generosity and compassion toward each other. Rosalind Barnett and Caryl Rivers discuss popular gender stereotypes of the “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” variety, which actually tend to undermine couples relationships.
Course Readings
The Art and Science of Love: Can the Gottmans Bring Empirical Rigor to the Intuitive World of Couples Therapy? by Katy Butler
Small Things Often: The Gottman Method in a Nutshell by Katy Butler
Are You There for Me? Understanding the Foundations of Couples Conflict by Susan Johnson
When Three Threatens Two: Must Parenthood Bring Down the Curtain on Romance? by Esther Perel
Scoreboard for Couples Therapy: Which Are the Winners in the Latest Research? by Jay Lebow
Divorcing Well: Bringing Buddhist Practice to Divorce Counseling by Ashley Prend
The Mars and Venus Myth: Uncovering the Stealth Assault on Feminism by Rosalind Barnett and Caryl Rivers
Learning Objectives
1. Describe the qualities of “successful” couples.
2. Discuss how relationship conflicts and resolved and couples are healed.
3. List some three ways that children can threaten the emotional life of a couple.
4. Describe what it means to “divorce well.”
© 2013 Psychotherapy Networker