Strategies and skills for therapists working with couples about to dissolve. Therapy with couples on the brink of relationship dissolution involves unique challenges. Partners present with high levels of conflict, low levels of intimate connection, disdain and discouragement, and limited patience or hope. These couples have often tried therapy without lasting success, and announce that “this is our last chance.” Partners want to see evidence in the first session that the therapist can offer something new and that change is possible. Peter Fraenkel presents a practical, creative, integrative approach that combines action- and insight-oriented techniques to help last-chance couples manage conflict, modulate intense negative emotions, address power struggles, develop mutual compassion, and restore emotional intimacy and pleasurable connection. Special attention is paid to developing a collaborative therapeutic alliance when partners have little motivation for therapy or faith that it can be effective. Through engaging in “nonbinding experiments in possibility,” partners can then better evaluate whether to “stay or go.”

Integrative Couple Therapy in Action offers a comprehensive, user-friendly guide to handling the most common problems and crisis situations seen by couple therapists. Drawing on the latest literature and the author’s experience of over 40 years, Nielsen investigates what makes certain issues, such as sex, or situations, such as extramarital affairs, so stressful for clients and challenging for therapists. Unlike most graduate programs and texts on couple therapy that focus on theory and technique, Integrated Couple Therapy in Action fills in the details. The chapters cover common presenting problems (sex, money, children, and the stresses of time, work, and simply living together) and then discuss catastrophic crisis situations (couples reeling from affairs, contemplating divorce, divorcing, or living in stepfamilies after divorcing). Integrative Couple Therapy in Action provides one-stop shopping for readers of all skill levels interested in understanding the subject matter that bedevils so many couples.

This book gives readers a rich and detailed understanding of what it is like to work with a diverse range of couple presentations from a CBT perspective. The book starts by outlining the principle conceptual insights and therapeutic strategies of two different two approaches to CBT Couple Therapy, Contextually Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Couple Therapy and Integrative Behavioural Couple Therapy. In part two, authors working in a wide range of clinical settings describe how they have drawn upon and applied CBT Couple therapy across a variety of issues including: couple distress, sexual issues, infidelity, inter-partner violence, transition to parenthood, separation issues, personality disorders, and more. Each chapter provides discussions of strategies for assessment and formulation and includes examples of dialogue from fictionalised case studies as well as therapist tips. Case Studies in Cognitive Behavioural Couple Therapy will be required reading for both beginning and experienced couple therapists who wish to draw upon the wide range of evidence-based strategies available in Cognitive Behavioural Couple therapy.

Writing to the practicing clinician, this book offers a step-by-step practical guide to Socio-Emotional Relationship Therapy (SERT) when working with individuals, couples, and families. Most therapists know sociocultural systems influence their clients’ lives, but few know how to connect the dots between what happens in the wider society, interpersonal neurobiology, relational processes, and client well-being. Written by a founder of SERT, Carmen Knudson-Martin draws on knowledge from multiple disciplines to innovatively weave together a practical step-by-step guide that demystifies the connections between micro and macro processes and relational/self-development. Divided into four parts, chapters cover how to conceptualize clinical issues through a socio-emotional lens, the therapist’s role in assessment, goal-setting, clinical decision-making, the “how-to” of each of the three phases of the SERT clinical sequence, and self-of-the-therapist work and clinical research that inform the model. The clear writing style and detailed examples make complex social processes accessible, demonstrating how good practice is—and must be—equitable and socially responsible. This practical guide is essential reading for all mental health professionals, such as seasoned family therapists, counselors, psychologists, social workers, and students in training in these fields.

Now in a significantly revised sixth edition with 70% new material, this comprehensive handbook has introduced tens of thousands of practitioners and students to the leading forms of couple therapy practiced today. Prominent experts present effective ways to reduce couple distress, improve overall relationship satisfaction, and address specific relational or individual problems. Chapters on major approaches follow a consistent format to help readers easily grasp each model's history, theoretical underpinnings, evidence base, and clinical techniques. Chapters on applications provide practical guidance for working with particular populations (such as stepfamily couples and LGBT couples) and clinical problems (such as intimate partner violence, infidelity, and various psychological disorders). Instructive case examples are woven throughout. New to This Edition *Chapters on additional clinical approaches: acceptance and commitment therapy, mentalization-based therapy, intergenerational therapy, socioculturally attuned therapy, and the therapeutic palette approach. *Chapters on sexuality, older adult couples, and parents of youth with disruptive behavior problems. *Chapters on assessment and common factors in couple therapy. *Chapters on cutting-edge special topics: relationship enhancement, telehealth interventions, and ethical issues in couple therapy.

A major revision of the classic divorce prevention book, with up-to-date research and inclusive content Fighting for Your Marriage is based on the widely acclaimed PREP approach (Prevention and Relationship Education Program). Research has found that couples who use these strategies can handle conflict more constructively, protect their happiness, and reduce the odds of breaking up. Based on more than 40 years of evidence, this book shows couples how to talk more and fight less, protect their friendship, and keep the fun alive. You'll learn what it takes to have a more intimate, sensual relationship and how to clarify and act on priorities. The 4th Edition has been substantially updated with advice for couples from a wide range of backgrounds and types who are interested in lasting love. The authors have included a wealth of techniques and down-to-earth guidance for all couples who seek to promote greater connection and pleasure in their long-term relationships. After reading the 4th edition, you will be able to: Apply up-to-date, research-backed strategies, using the renowned PREP approach to deepen your relationships Rekindle your marriage and bridge the emotional distance that has grown between you and your spouse Repair your or your partner's lack of desire for sensual and sexual connections Get research-based advice for enhancing and strengthening relationships for people who are interested in lasting love For decades, this book has helped couples in serious relationships, newly married couples, and long-term married couples. It is also a valuable resource for couples and family therapists, college professors, clergy, and other professionals working with diverse individuals and couples who want to have happy, healthy relationships.

Award-winning couples therapist Peter Fraenkel argues that most relationship problems can be traced to partners being out of sync on the powerful but mostly hidden dimension of time. Differences in daily rhythms, personal pace, punctuality, time perspective, and priorities about how time is allocated can all lead to couple conflict. Yet the fascinating fact is that these polarizing time differences play a potent role in attracting lovers in the first place. In this trailblazing new book, he draws on his original research to show how a clearer understanding of these forces can improve the health of your relationship and even rescue a failing one.

Edited by a renowned family therapist, this book brings together prominent marital and family therapists to explore the new challenges and opportunities facing couples and the clinicians who work with them. The volume presents a range of approaches to helping couples reconsider and reorder their life priorities around parenting, marriage, and other stages of life.

A step-by-step approach to making your marriage loving again.

This book presents Lee Baucom's system for saving your marriage in three easy steps: connecting with your spouse, changing yourself, and creating a new path.