10 Principles for Doing Effective Couples Therapy

Here, two of the world’s leading couple therapists give readers an inside tour of what goes on inside the consulting rooms of their practice. They have been doing couples work for decades and still find it challenging. This book gathers together what they have learned over the years of their practice and touches on issues at the core of couples work.

Topics addressed include:

• You know that you need to “treat the relationship,” but how are you supposed to get at something as elusive as “a relationship”?
• Compared to an individual client, a relationship is an entirely different animal. What should you do first? What should you look for? What questions should you ask? If clients give different answers, who should you believe?
• Which client is right if they argue in front of you? Which one is the culprit, and which one is innocent? Who should you empathize with?
• How do you empathize with both clients if they have opposite points of view? Later on, if they end up separating does that mean you’ve failed? Are you only successful if you keep couples together?
• What are you supposed to do with all the emotional and personal history that your clients stir up in you?
• How to make your work research-based