The FAMILY/COUPLE THERAPY
Marital (Couples) Therapy *
This collection has been assembled and remastered from previous programs. Startling and stimulating information on work with couples experiencing great relationship difficulties.
Program Description
This collection of interviews consists of conversations on the subjects of object relations work with couples; work with borderline couples; infidelity; work with difficult couples; and working with couples where one partner is an alcoholic.
Learning Objectives
This program provides clinicians with the opportunity to:
Become familiar with systems theory in couples’ relationships.
Become familiar with the application of systems theory to couples where one partner is an alcoholic.
Become familiar with patterns of infidelity.
Learn about the dangers of the therapist’s keeping secrets and how the therapist’s naiveté can make things worse.
Interviews
Borderline Marriages - Charles McCormack
Anyone doing marital therapy knows there are couples, and then, there are couples! The "normal" couple rapidly incorporates the therapist's help with communication and conflict resolution issues. On the other hand, the personality-disordered marriage seems impervious to change and, in fact, seems to get worse in treatment. Charles McCormack is the author of Treating Borderline States in Marriage: Dealing with Ruthless Aggression, Severe Resistance and Oppositionalism. He describes marriage as containing both the dream and the nightmare of the couple's way of being in a relationship. The couple presents a tangle, which all three in the room must work to sort out.
Infidelity - Frank Pittman, M.D.
Most therapists view affairs as expressive of troubled relationships. Quite to the contrary, Dr. Frank Pittman, author of Private Lies, views affairs as indications of a character flaw in the person to whom he refers as the "infidel." He will discuss four patterns of infidelity, each of which must be approached differently. He also has strong words of admonition for therapists about secrecy and honesty, how to limit the damage affairs do, and how to heal a relationship that has been hurt by infidelity.
Object-Relations Focused Marital Treatment - David Scharff, M.D., Jill Scharff M.D.
All the object relations theorists share the fundamental premise that attachment is centrally motivated by the need to be in relationships, and therefore, personality forms in a relational context. A couple is not simply a pair of individuals. According to Drs. Jill and David Scharff, co-authors of Object Relations Couples Therapy, a couple is a system of conscious and unconscious intrapsychic object relationships, which are experienced in the interpersonal area. The Scharffs, who are married to each other, discuss object relations theory as it applies to couples.
Work with Difficult Couples - Marlene Watson, Ph.D.
Dr. Marlene Watson addresses breaking the destructive patterns that often exist in couples' relationships. She discusses marital therapy with hard-to-treat couples, how to break destructive patterns, how to view the relationship as a system, and how to deal with extramarital affairs. Additionally, she helps us understand the chronically stuck couple by looking at the meaning and purpose of conflict in a couples relationship and how to work creatively toward resolution.
“I'm so pleased with being able to earn CEs at home. As a mother of young children, my time is fragmented.This format is perfect.”
... Sarah S.
LCSW