Couples Therapy with One Partner: Can It Work?
Creating the Beginnings of a "Solution Avalanche"
By Michele Weiner-Davis - How is it possible to do couples therapy with just one partner? We clinicians communicate our presuppositions about people and how they change when we do our work. If we begin therapy with a "this is better than nothing" attitude, we undoubtedly broadcast a pessimistic message about the possibilities for change.
Daily Blog
The Surprisingly Simple Way to Jump-Start Intimacy
Traditional Approaches Aren't Always the Best Option
By Michele Weiner-Davis - When it comes to feeling loved in a marriage, everybody has different requirements. Some people feel loved when their spouses spend time with them. Others feel loved when they've had "good talks." I believe that behavior change often precedes affect or cognitive changes. For many, touch says love like nothing else. Making love is love.
Daily Blog
When All Else Fails
Stories of Vulnerability and Possibility
The self-assurance of expert practitioners who publicly present their work can lead everyday therapists to believe that psychotherapy is a far more predictable craft than it actually is. The reality, of course, is much muddier. Therapists on the ground eventually learn that only one mantra applies to every case—it's more complicated than that.
- I’m Funny and I Faint by Lynn Lyons
- Thinking Outside the Gift by Lisa Ferentz
- The Final Shot by Kenneth Hardy
- First Make the Bed by Michele Weiner-Davis
- It’s Never Too Late by Daniel Siegel
Magazine Article
Affair Repair
Two Contradictions That Can Help Couples on the Brink Restore Connection
By Michele Weiner-Davis - Couples therapy can be difficult and dicey, especially when there’s an affair in the mix. To keep afloat in the emotional tumult, most therapists cling to certain hard-and-fast rules that form the foundation of their work. One therapist learns some surprising lessons when she reevaluates those tenets.
Daily Blog
Affair Repair
Lessons on Changing Directions
Couples therapy can be difficult and dicey, especially when there’s an affair in the mix. To keep afloat in the emotional tumult, most therapists cling to certain hard-and-fast rules that form the foundation of their work. One therapist learns some surprising lessons when she reevaluates those tenets to find out what really helps her clients heal from infidelity.
Magazine Article
The Sex-Starved Marriage
A sex-starved marriage isn’t about the number of times per week or per month people are actually having sex. It’s one in which one spouse is longing for more touch, more physical closeness, more sex, and—here’s the rub—the other spouse is thinking, “What’s the big deal? It’s just sex.” But it’s a huge deal because it’s really about feeling wanted, loved, and connected. It places the marriage at risk of infidelity and divorce.
Magazine Article
Copyright:
10/29/2015
Authors:
SUSAN JOHNSON, ED.D.
ESTHER PEREL, MA, LMFT
HELEN FISHER, PH.D.
RICHARD SIMON, PH.D.
MICHELE WEINER-DAVIS, MSW
IAN KERNER, PHD, LMFT
SUZANNE IASENZA, PH.D.
Product:
NRS001170
Copyright:
10/29/2015
Authors:
SUSAN JOHNSON, ED.D.
ESTHER PEREL, MA, LMFT
HELEN FISHER, PH.D.
RICHARD SIMON, PH.D.
MICHELE WEINER-DAVIS, MSW
IAN KERNER, PHD, LMFT
SUZANNE IASENZA, PH.D.
Product:
NRS001170
Copyright:
10/2/2015
Authors:
TERRENCE REAL, LICSW
WILLIAM DOHERTY, PH.D.
ESTHER PEREL, MA, LMFT
TAMMY NELSON, PH.D.
RICHARD SIMON, PH.D.
MICHELE WEINER-DAVIS, MSW
PATRICIA PAPERNOW, EDD
Product:
NRS001076
Copyright:
10/2/2015
Authors:
TERRENCE REAL, LICSW
WILLIAM DOHERTY, PH.D.
ESTHER PEREL, MA, LMFT
TAMMY NELSON, PH.D.
RICHARD SIMON, PH.D.
MICHELE WEINER-DAVIS, MSW
PATRICIA PAPERNOW, EDD
Product:
NRS001076
Helping Therapy Clients Push Their Limits
Embracing the Client's Capacity for Resilience and Recovery
When we learn that clients have experienced tough childhoods, sexual or emotional abuse, or significant losses, we often make immediate assumptions about their current struggles and the kind of treatment they require. In many ways, the information we gather about problematic pasts biases and blinds us. But human beings are far too complex to assume that we know how any single person assimilates his or her experiences. So why not assume resilience? Why not trust people’s abilities to rebound from adversity?
Daily Blog
Can Couples Therapy Work with Only One Partner?
Action-Oriented Strategies for the Couples Therapist
Many therapists define the type of therapy they practice by taking a head count: if one person is present, they're practicing individual therapy; if two or more people are present, it's couples or family therapy. I believe this is misguided. The key to determining which brand of therapy is in use at any given point lies in the therapist's orientation and focus, not the number of people occupying space in the room. In contrast to therapists who question the value of doing couples therapy with individuals, this approach is often my method of choice for a variety of reasons. I find it can empower people by showing them that they no longer have to play the waiting game of "I'll change if you change first." Instead, they find themselves back in the driver's seat of their own lives.
Daily Blog
Copyright:
10/29/2015
Authors:
SUSAN JOHNSON, ED.D.
ESTHER PEREL, MA, LMFT
HELEN FISHER, PH.D.
RICHARD SIMON, PH.D.
MICHELE WEINER-DAVIS, MSW
IAN KERNER, PHD, LMFT
SUZANNE IASENZA, PH.D.
Product:
NRS001170
Copyright:
10/29/2015
Authors:
SUSAN JOHNSON, ED.D.
ESTHER PEREL, MA, LMFT
HELEN FISHER, PH.D.
RICHARD SIMON, PH.D.
MICHELE WEINER-DAVIS, MSW
IAN KERNER, PHD, LMFT
SUZANNE IASENZA, PH.D.
Product:
NRS001170
Copyright:
10/2/2015
Authors:
TERRENCE REAL, LICSW
WILLIAM DOHERTY, PH.D.
ESTHER PEREL, MA, LMFT
TAMMY NELSON, PH.D.
RICHARD SIMON, PH.D.
MICHELE WEINER-DAVIS, MSW
PATRICIA PAPERNOW, EDD
Product:
NRS001076
Copyright:
10/2/2015
Authors:
TERRENCE REAL, LICSW
WILLIAM DOHERTY, PH.D.
ESTHER PEREL, MA, LMFT
TAMMY NELSON, PH.D.
RICHARD SIMON, PH.D.
MICHELE WEINER-DAVIS, MSW
PATRICIA PAPERNOW, EDD
Product:
NRS001076
Page 1 of 1 (2 Items)
Couples Therapy with One Partner: Can It Work?
Creating the Beginnings of a "Solution Avalanche"
By Michele Weiner-Davis - How is it possible to do couples therapy with just one partner? We clinicians communicate our presuppositions about people and how they change when we do our work. If we begin therapy with a "this is better than nothing" attitude, we undoubtedly broadcast a pessimistic message about the possibilities for change.
Daily Blog
The Surprisingly Simple Way to Jump-Start Intimacy
Traditional Approaches Aren't Always the Best Option
By Michele Weiner-Davis - When it comes to feeling loved in a marriage, everybody has different requirements. Some people feel loved when their spouses spend time with them. Others feel loved when they've had "good talks." I believe that behavior change often precedes affect or cognitive changes. For many, touch says love like nothing else. Making love is love.
Daily Blog
Affair Repair
Two Contradictions That Can Help Couples on the Brink Restore Connection
By Michele Weiner-Davis - Couples therapy can be difficult and dicey, especially when there’s an affair in the mix. To keep afloat in the emotional tumult, most therapists cling to certain hard-and-fast rules that form the foundation of their work. One therapist learns some surprising lessons when she reevaluates those tenets.
Daily Blog
Helping Therapy Clients Push Their Limits
Embracing the Client's Capacity for Resilience and Recovery
When we learn that clients have experienced tough childhoods, sexual or emotional abuse, or significant losses, we often make immediate assumptions about their current struggles and the kind of treatment they require. In many ways, the information we gather about problematic pasts biases and blinds us. But human beings are far too complex to assume that we know how any single person assimilates his or her experiences. So why not assume resilience? Why not trust people’s abilities to rebound from adversity?
Daily Blog
Can Couples Therapy Work with Only One Partner?
Action-Oriented Strategies for the Couples Therapist
Many therapists define the type of therapy they practice by taking a head count: if one person is present, they're practicing individual therapy; if two or more people are present, it's couples or family therapy. I believe this is misguided. The key to determining which brand of therapy is in use at any given point lies in the therapist's orientation and focus, not the number of people occupying space in the room. In contrast to therapists who question the value of doing couples therapy with individuals, this approach is often my method of choice for a variety of reasons. I find it can empower people by showing them that they no longer have to play the waiting game of "I'll change if you change first." Instead, they find themselves back in the driver's seat of their own lives.
Daily Blog
It Takes One to Tango
You Don't Need Both Partners to Do Couples Therapy
Many therapists define the type of therapy they practice by taking a head count: if one person is present, they're practicing individual therapy; if two or more people are present, it's couples or family therapy. I believe this is misguided the key to determining which brand of therapy is in use at any given point lies in the therapist's orientation and focus, not the number of people occupying space in the room. In contrast to therapists who question the value of doing couples therapy with individuals, this approach is often my method of choice for a variety of reasons. I find it can empower people by showing them that they no longer have to play the waiting game of "I'll change if you change first." Instead, they find themselves back in the driver's seat of their own lives.
Daily Blog
It Takes One to Tango
You Don't Need Both Partners to Do Couples Therapy
Many therapists define the type of therapy they practice by taking a head count: if one person is present, they're practicing individual therapy; if two or more people are present, it's couples or family therapy. I believe this is misguided the key to determining which brand of therapy is in use at any given point lies in the therapist's orientation and focus, not the number of people occupying space in the room.
Daily Blog
Page 1 of 1 (7 Items)
When All Else Fails
Stories of Vulnerability and Possibility
The self-assurance of expert practitioners who publicly present their work can lead everyday therapists to believe that psychotherapy is a far more predictable craft than it actually is. The reality, of course, is much muddier. Therapists on the ground eventually learn that only one mantra applies to every case—it's more complicated than that.
- I’m Funny and I Faint by Lynn Lyons
- Thinking Outside the Gift by Lisa Ferentz
- The Final Shot by Kenneth Hardy
- First Make the Bed by Michele Weiner-Davis
- It’s Never Too Late by Daniel Siegel
Magazine Article
Affair Repair
Lessons on Changing Directions
Couples therapy can be difficult and dicey, especially when there’s an affair in the mix. To keep afloat in the emotional tumult, most therapists cling to certain hard-and-fast rules that form the foundation of their work. One therapist learns some surprising lessons when she reevaluates those tenets to find out what really helps her clients heal from infidelity.
Magazine Article
The Sex-Starved Marriage
A sex-starved marriage isn’t about the number of times per week or per month people are actually having sex. It’s one in which one spouse is longing for more touch, more physical closeness, more sex, and—here’s the rub—the other spouse is thinking, “What’s the big deal? It’s just sex.” But it’s a huge deal because it’s really about feeling wanted, loved, and connected. It places the marriage at risk of infidelity and divorce.
Magazine Article
Case Study
Knowing When to Push: Balancing Safety and Challenge
When a client has been sexually abused, it can be difficult to find the balance between creating safety and challenging old patterns.
Magazine Article
In the Mood
Desire Seldom Comes to Those Who Wait
If you've ever thought that a couple's sexual relationship is a barometer of other aspects of their marriage, join the club. And if, because of this belief, your work with distant and warring couples has you shoring up their emotional bond in the hopes that the rest of their marriage—their sex life—will eventually fall into place, you're in good company as well. But there's another, frequently more practical and expedient, way to break through marital gridlock and boost passion.
Magazine Article
It Takes One to Tango
You Don't Need Both Partners to Do Couples Therapy
Ascribing negative intent to those who prefer to steer clear of therapy is unfair, often incorrect and almost always hurtful to those who wish their partners would share their enthusiasm about the benefits of therapy. They end up blaming their partners even more intensely.
Magazine Article
Page 1 of 1 (6 Items)
Michele Weiner-Davis, M.S.W., director of the Divorce Busting Center, is the author of the bestsellers The Sex-Starved Marriage and Divorce Busting.
