A Roadmap for Couple Therapy Integrating Systemic, Psychodynamic, and Behavioral Approaches

A Roadmap for Couple Therapy offers a comprehensive, flexible, and user-friendly template for conducting couple therapy. Grounded in an in-depth review of the clinical and research literature, and drawing on the author?s 40-plus years of experience, it describes the three main approaches to conceptualizing couple distress and treatment?systemic, psychodynamic, and behavioral?and shows how they can be integrated into a model that draws on the best of each. Unlike multi-authored texts in which each chapter presents a distinct brand of couple therapy, this book simultaneously engages multiple viewpoints and synthesizes them into a coherent model. Covering fundamentals and advanced techniques, it speaks to both beginning therapists and experienced clinicians. Therapists will find A Roadmap for Couple Therapy an invaluable resource as they help distressed couples repair and revitalize their relationships.

Acknowledgements About the Author I: Conjoint Couple Therapy and Marital Challenges 1. Introduction 2. Couple Therapy 1.0 3. What Makes Marriage Challenging II: Systems Upgrades 4. Focusing on the Interpersonal Process 5. Couple Dances Examined More Closely III: Psychodynamic Upgrades 6. Focusing on Hidden Issues, Fears, and Desires 7. Focusing on Divergent Subjective Experiences 8. Focusing on Transference 9. Focusing on Projective Identification 10. Focusing on Acceptance and Forgiveness IV: Behavioral/Educational Upgrades 11. Teaching Speaking and Listening Skills 12. Teaching Emotion Regulation 13. Teaching Problem-Solving and Negotiation Skills 14. Encouraging Positive Experiences V: Sequencing Interventions and Closing Thoughts 15. General Guidelines and Sequencing of Interventions 16. Concluding Remarks References Index

Arthur C. Nielsen, MD, is associate professor of clinical psychiatry at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, teaches couple therapy at the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis, and serves on the faculty of The Family Institute at Northwestern University.