Constructing The Sexual Crucible

This book challenges the fundamental paradigms in sexual-marital therapies, and provides a fresh look at the nature of intimacy and the diverse barriers to eroticism in many marriages. By integrating individual, sexual and marital therapies, this study attempts to provide a fresh look at the nature of intimacy and the diverse barriers to eroticism in marriage. The author refutes the common focus on sexual technique, calling instead for an emphasis on sexual potential.

This book challenges the fundamental paradigms in sexual-marital therapies, and provides a fresh look at the nature of intimacy and the diverse barriers to eroticism in many marriages. By integrating individual, sexual and marital therapies, this study attempts to provide a fresh look at the nature of intimacy and the diverse barriers to eroticism in marriage. The author refutes the common focus on sexual technique, calling instead for an emphasis on sexual potential.

In this remarkable sexual health and wellness book, Dr. David Schnarch, world-renowned sex and marital therapist and author of Passionate Marriage, offers a groundbreaking approach to resolving sexual difficulties and the relationship problems they cause. By showing couples how they can turn their worst sex and relationship disasters into personal growth and spiritual connection, Dr. Schnarch offers couples the best sex of their lives. In addition to taking an unflinchingly honest, realistic, and erotic approach to sex, Dr. Schnarch reveals the complicated emotional interactions hidden within couples' most private moments. Resurrecting Sex speaks of compassion, partnership, generosity, and integrity in adult sexual relationships, offering hope to millions of people who are struggling with sexual difficulties. Uplifting, provocative, and heartfelt, the book is organized into four sections: A crash course in sex Explanation of how sexual relationships really work Medical options and bionic solutions Vignettes of couples changing their sexual relationships Resurrecting Sex addresses all major sexual issues, including male erection problems such as rapid orgasm and delayed orgasm; women's problems with arousal and lubrication, difficulty reaching orgasm, and low desire; full coverage of Viagra (for both men and women); and other sex-enhancing drugs and medical options. Rather than dwelling on sexual techniques, this sympathetic book shows how to cure the rejection, hostility, and emotional alienation that often accompany sexual problems. Its unique method helps couples develop the love, affection, and commitment that prevent divorce and strengthen families.

In this groundbreaking book, Dr. David Schnarch, one of the foremost experts on sexuality and relationships, explains why normal healthy couples in long-term relationships have sexual desire problems, regardless of how much they love each other or how well they communicate. In-depth examples of couples he has counselled reveal his unique understanding of common-but-difficult sexual desire problems that affect couples of all ages. Combining compassion and clinical wisdom, Dr. Schnarch explains how to use his revolutionary Four Points of Balance approach to resolve low desire, mismatched desire, sexual boredom, and the emotional gridlock that accompanies these problems. Intimacy and Desire provides a roadmap for how couples can transform common sexual desire problems into self-exploration and personal development that leads to psychological and spiritual growth, stronger relationships, and more powerful and meaningful desire for each other. It provides time-proven comprehensive solutions that help couples reconnect with each other sexually, and take their intimacy and passion to new, previously unexplored heights.

Have you ever done something you knew would make someone else happy, sad or angry? Have you ever bought a thoughtful gift for someone you love? Or realized someone was being sarcastic with you? Or enjoyed someone else's misfortune? These everyday events involve mind mapping, your brain's ability to create mental pictures of how someone else's mind works. Mind mapping underlies all aspects of daily life, from the best to the worst. You won't find an aspect of your life where mind mapping isn't involved-and you probably never heard about mind mapping before! Brain Talk offers what you need to know about mind mapping and the emerging brain science of interpersonal neurobiology (how interacting with other people affects your brain). Brain Talk is written for the general public in an easy-to-read style and establishes a personal relationship with you. It creates vivid pictures in your mind with attention-grabbling examples, and walks you into powerful new insights about yourself and the important people in your life. Reading Brain Talk can be a life-changing experience. * Part One explains mind mapping and increases your ability to "read" people and map their minds (and your own). It helps you know what they want, what they're feeling and thinking, and what they're likely to do. Part One also covers mind masking (shielding your mind from being mapped), lying and deception. Brain Talk revolutionizes your understandings of yourself, your spouse or romantic partner, and your children, parents, siblings, and coworkers. * Part Two explores the darker aspects of mind mapping, like traumatic mind mapping and antisocial empathy.Traumatic mind mapping occurs when mapping some else's mind leaves your brain/mind traumatized. Did you grow up in a troubled home with experiences that produced vivid "flashbulb memories" lingering in your mind? Do you have recurring thoughts about someone you're dealing with who does disturbing things? Brain Talk helps you understand subtle interpersonal trauma and reveals the short- and long-term negative impacts of traumatic mind mapping. * Part Three shows you how to repair the negative impacts of traumatic mind mapping and effectively handle the difficult people in your life. Brain Talk also details how to use mind mapping to create positive healthy interactions with those you love, and ends on an uplifting note. Brain Talk is based on Crucible(r) Neurobiological Therapy, developed through fifteen years of clinical research with highly troubled clients. Brain Talk is also a crossover book for therapists, educators, and avid readers of brain science. * Four Appendices contain the scientific research underlying the main text and offer in-depth discussions of important topics and treatment details (over 100 pages and 400 references). Brain Talk is available in three versions: paperback and TWO Kindle versions (Standard and Professional). Brain Talk Professional Edition offers the additional functionality of directly downloading FREE scientific brain research articles published online. Consider this electronic edition if you a mental health professional, academic, graduate student, or die-hard brain wonk.(Read about Brain Talk Pro here.) Brain Talk is written by the award-winning clinical psychologist, Dr. David Schnarch, renowned relationship expert and author of the international best-selling books, Passionate Marriage and Intimacy & Desire. He has a proven track record for creating innovative therapies, and making complex brain science understandable and useful to the general public. His ground-breaking professional contributions have received awards from the American Psychological Association, the American Assn. for Marriage and Family Therapy, and the American Assn. of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists. He is Board Certified in Couple and Family Psychology (ABPP), and his textbook Constructing the Sexual Crucible is used by therapist training programs around the world.

This book presents an integrative, growth-oriented approach to therapy with couples that demonstrates the dynamic interplay between partners’ emotional issues and their sexual difficulties. It offers a model for relational and sexual enhancement that focuses as much on partners’ present, nonverbal body-to-body communications as on their words. Dr. Stella Resnick draws on research from interpersonal neurobiology, sexology, positive psychology, and Gestalt therapy, and shares a rich assortment of therapy vignettes to demonstrate the transformative power of pleasure and how a focus on body-to-body intimacy can heal emotional wounds from the past and encourage greater presence, empathy, authenticity, playfulness, and sexual pleasure between intimate partners. The therapeutic process is explored in four related spectrums: the Problem-Transformation Spectrum, the Attachment-Sexuality Spectrum, the Pain-Pleasure Spectrum, and the Cognitive-Somatic-Experiential-Behavioral-Spectrum. Part I lays the theoretical foundation for the work. Part II examines the early attachment bond between parent and child and its effects on adult capacity for emotional closeness and sexual pleasure. Part III offers methods for resolving painful emotional issues underlying many sexual difficulties. Finally, Part IV describes the procedure for moving from a cognitive reframing of the problem to a somatic focus on the body and tracking present-moment emotional interactions to the repair of relational injuries that nurture transformational change. Also included is a series of process-oriented exercises and a handout that therapists can use in their own practice. Body-to-Body Intimacy will enable couples and sex therapists to expand their practices and enrich their clients’ sexual and relational dynamics. This book also contains valuable information that will be appreciated by anyone interested in a greater understanding of a growth-oriented therapeutic process for couples and what can be achieved together by gaining a deeply loving and sexually fulfilling intimate love relationship.

While retaining the basic structure of the original book, this new edition has been thoroughly updated in light of some official Catholic documents and other theological writings dealing with sexual morality that have appeared since 1986. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II's encyclicals Veritatis splendor and Evangelium vitae, and the 1986 and 1992statements of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on pastoral care of homosexuals and the issue of discrimination against them are among the more recent magisterial publications considered in this text. This edition also contains several new sections: the misuses of sex (adultery, pornography, prostitution, sexual violence); four rationales for viewing a committed love relationship as the only appropriate context for sexual intercourse; marriage as a sacrament and marital sexuality and love as embodiments of commitment, intimacy, and passion; and public policy and the civil rights of homosexuals. This edition also includes an expanded discussion of topics such as sexism, sexually transmitted diseases especially HIV/AIDS and the moral questions raised by new family-planning methods (Norplant, Depo-Provera), RU-486, postcoital hormonal interventions against pregnancy, the start of human life, and abortion. Vincent J. Genovesi, SJ, received his PhD in Christian ethics from Emory University. He is a professor at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia. His articles have appeared in such journals as The Thomist, The Way, America, and Review for Religious.

“If you have a troubled marriage, a troubled child, a troubled self, if you’re in therapy or think that there’s no help for your predicament, The Family Crucible will give you insights . . . that are remarkably fresh and helpful.”—New York Times Book Review The classic groundbreaking book on family therapy by acclaimed experts Augustus Y. Napier, Ph.D., and Carl Whitaker, M.D. This extraordinary book presents scenarios of one family’s therapy experience and explains what underlies each encounter. You will discover the general patterns that are common to all families—stress, polarization and escalation, scapegoating, triangulation, blaming, and the diffusion of identity—and you will gain a vivid understanding of the intriguing field of family therapy.