Patsy and Josh are a volunteer couple, already in Emotionally Focused Therapy. They are further helped through an EFT session with Sue Johnson. Patsy, suffering from deep wounds of the past, is vulnerable and fearful, and often shuts down—even though she knows her actions prevent connection with Josh. Her husband tries to be caretaker and nurturer. Johnson helps them stay with emotion, expand their connection and shapes their interaction bringing both to a safer, more loving place.
EP09 Topical Panel 06 – Couples Therapy – John Gottman, Julie Gottman, Harville Hendrix, and Michele Weiner-Davis
Educational Objective: To compare and contrast clinical and philosophical perspectives of experts.
EP09 Dialogue 07 – Marital Enhancement – Harville Hendrix, MD and Susan Johnson, EdD
Educational Objective: Given a topic, to describe the differing approaches to psychotherapy, and to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each approach.
A systemic research-based approach to assessing and treating distressed couples will be presented. Multi-method assessments using questionnaires, interviews, observations, and physiological measurement will be reviewed. Key interventions based on the Gottman Sound Relationship House Theory will be described, and video segments of in-office therapy sessions will be shown to demonstrate them.
This workshop describes a 22-session couples’ group intervention and curriculum for lower and middle-class couples. Each session begins with a talk-show video showing discussions with couples in poverty on curriculum topics, e.g.’ healing from infidelity, avoiding and healing from domestic violence, etc. The video is followed by group discussion, a brief teaching,and an exercise that focuses on learning new skills. Throughout most of the curriculum,, physiological soothing is taught through biofeedback. Details of the curriculum and video samples will be shown.
Cloé Madanes (2009) Strategic Therapy with a Couple demonstrates with a young couple who is conflicted about holiday celebrations and vacations. The husband has wounds from his past that resonate with family holidays. He also wants to be more a part of his wife “inner circle” with her son from a previous marriage and vacations challenge him in this area. Madanes uses humor, insight and emotional connection to guide the couple to an accepting compromise.
Few couples seem as unlikely to profit from therapy as those in which one partner as already decided to leave. Yet, even at this point, a therapist has an opportunity to turn the situation around. In this workshop, you will learn how to step in, even at the 11th hour, and help couples with seemingly intractable problems – hopelessness, ongoing affairs, and one spouse’s unwillingness to seek therapy, to resolve their difficulties, recommit to their marriage, and reclaim their lives.
Many women are in a couple ship riddled with deception, lies, and false perceptions as a result of her partner’s compulsive sexual acting out. Dr. Black will describe the dynamics of co-sex addiction and the role of family of origin issues in thispartnership. She will address early stabilization issues as sell as treatment and recovery issues.
In this workshop, using lectures, demonstrations and practice, participants will distinguish between the individual and relational paradigm, and learn how to use the Imago Dialogue Process to help couples create a conscious partnership in which difference is accepted, conflict is transformed into creative tension, love is born and sustained, and personal healing and growth are facilitated.